The following master's thesis ananalyses Italian colonialism, from its humble beginnings, up to the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, the conquest of Ethiopia and the subsequent establishment of Italian East Africa in 1936. It specifically focuses on the role of Slovenes in Italian colonialism, their role in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and their subsequent role in construction and maintenance of the Italian colonial empire in the Horn of Africa. The vast majority of Slovenes living under fascist Italy in 1922-1943, were not sympathetic to its policies. Nevertheless, they had to serve their national service in its armed forces, often deployed to colonies.The main theme of this thesis is thus the peculiar and contradictory position of Slovenian soldiers and workers, who on one side were willingly or not representatives of Italian authority in its colonies, while on the other side they themselves were oppressed by Italian regime.
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