Under the Paris Agreement of 1946 (also known as the Gruber –
Degasperi Agreement) and the South Tyrol Package of 1969,
Austria is mandated with exercising a protective function vis-à-
vis Italy for the Austrian and Ladin minorities in South Tyrol.
The goal is to secure the continued ethnic, cultural, social and
economic existence of the German and Ladin-speaking population
of South Tyrol. Besides, much importance is attached to the
peaceful co-habitation of the different linguistic groups in the
Province of Bolzano. After the First World War, South Tyrol,
which as an integral part of Tyrol had belonged to Austria for
centuries, was ceded to Italy under the Treaty of Saint-Germain
(1919). The years between the two World Wars were then
characterised by the oppression of the German-speaking
population, who were deprived of their rights under the Fascist
regime. After all efforts aimed at re-integrating this area had
remained unsuccessful, Austria tried to achieve the highest
possible degree of autonomy for South