Italy and Yugoslavia Split Trieste
What Happened
The Free Territory of Trieste, created after World War II, was divided between Italy and Yugoslavia. Zone A, including the city of Trieste, went to Italy, while Zone B went to Yugoslavia. This solved one of the last major territorial disputes from World War II in Europe.
Impact on Citizenship
The 1954 Memorandum of Understanding divided Trieste and its surrounding territory between Italy and Yugoslavia. People in the Italian-administered Zone A automatically kept their Italian citizenship. Those in the Yugoslav-administered Zone B had one year to opt for Italian citizenship. For citizenship claims today, your ancestor must have either lived in Zone A or formally chosen Italian citizenship while in Zone B.
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