Ahnenpass the Nazi party required a pass identifying that at least three generations of your forefathers were pure-blooded Aryans
allogeni At this time in Italy, this word referred to “the others” – meaning foreigners.
Apfelstrudel/Strudel is a strudel, sweet pastry
Außenseiter literally, outsider. A foreigner
Balilla boys The youngest Italian fascist youth group under Mussolini’s regime
Bauernschlau this refers to a type of intelligence that might be unexpected from an “uneducated” folk. When someone refers to this “farmer’s cleverness”, it is usually in reference to a brilliant and unexpected idea, or prank, or joke. Kind of like “playing dumb” and getting the best out of something.
BDM Bund Deutsche Mädel – Germany’s League of German Girls
BIZ Bolzano Industrial Zone
Braunvieh the typical cattle breed in the area
carabinieri the Italian gendarme, or military corps police
Come stai How are you in Italian
coppole Italian-styled caps
Corriere della Sera An Italian daily newspaper
Dirndl the traditional Austrian dress of women.
fidanzata girlfriend, the catcalls Annamarie hears from Italian men in her valley
foehn (Föhn) the hot, southerly winds from Africa that blows over Europe
Frau Mrs
Fräulein out of date today, but Miss
Giovane Italiane the Italian fascist’s female youth group
Giovanni Fascisti Young Fascists
Gioventù Italiana del Littorio The GIL was the consolidated youth military starting in 1937
Gipfel pastry shaped like a croissant but not as flaky, usually more like a sweet bread, can be filled with a hazelnut paste
Goulasch a traditional Hungarian beef stew
Hauptbahnhof train station in German
Herr Mr
HJ Hitler Jugend – Germany’s male youth group
Hof the courtyard or inner courtyard – but also referring to a large farm
Kärner a sneaky salesman
Lederhosen short leather trousers with suspenders worn in German cultures
Monte Fulmini Electrical, or MFE The (fictional) name of the Colonel’s electrical company. In reality, it was calle Montecatini (Grimani is also a fictional figure)
Nuremberger laws The nationalist laws imposed in Germany and within the Reich that constituted race-related oppression
ONC Italian veteran’s administration
podestá equivalent to a prefect or magistrate in a town or district
Sauerbraten pickled roast (marinated beef roast)
Schlutzkrapfen very similiar to ravioli, filled with cheese or spinach
Schupfnudeln like Italian gnocchi but without the egg
Schütze the local guard, literally means “shooter” or “rifleman”
SEAA South Tyrolean electrical society – a cooperative
Segratario the secretary
Sekt sparkling wine
Senner the dairy man, the person in charge of processing the milk from cows for butter, yoghurt and cheese, usually hired on at the pastures / alps during the summers
Signor Mr
Signora Mrs
Signorina out of date today, but Miss
Sommerfrischler a slang term for vacationers, literally meaning someone who is out to take in the fresh summer air
Speck smoked side of pork, bacon (very special to the region and as unique as Canadian bacon is to Canada).
Stadl stable
Stube In Germany and Austria, this was similar to a living room but functioned as a sitting room, eating room and even might have had a bed and benches to sleep on because the tiled oven was almost always in this room.
Stube in a guesthouse was usually the dining area, also containing the main heating source of the house, the tiled oven.
Sudetenland A part of Czechoslovakia that was concerned a Sudeten German settlement. Germany occupied it in 1938/39
the SA (Sturmabteilung) the Nazi assault division
Tracht traditional dress, man or woman but can sometimes refer to only the man’s suit
VKS (Volkskämpferischering Südtirol) the nationalist group that fought to get South Tyrol back into German hands
Vorsäß literal meaning, “before the pasture”. There are three stages when taking livestock up to the alpine pastures. Before the snow melts at the very top, farmers took their animals to the Vorsäß to lower pastures, then to the higher fields, then back down to the lower pastures before bringing them home to the valley for the winter.
Walscher derogatory name for Italians, like dagos was used in the U.S.
If you have any additions you would like me to add, let me know! inktreks@cec-world.at
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