Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject German Studies - Modern German Literature, grade: 1,8, University College Dublin (German Studies), course: Strategies of ethnic survival: South Tyrol / Alto Adige in the 20th Century, language: English, abstract: The aim of this essay shall be to have a closer look at South Tyrol before and during World War II - through the eyes of the South Tyroleans. The poem 'Herbst ist ́s' of the 1930s, written anonymously and hidden in Bozen ́s Country Archive for almost 60 years, shall take centre stage in the following analysis. I will try to show the impact which Hitler's and Mussolini's policies had on people's everyday lives and how this led to a division of the entire society.