tria. With the Treaty of Trianon, on the other hand, Kingdom of Yugoslavia was awarded the Slovene-inhabited Prekmurje region, formerly part of Austro-Hungary, as well.
Slovenes whose territory fell under the rule of neighboring states Italy, Austria and Hungary, were subjected to policies of forced assimilation, and in case of Fascist Italy, violent Fascist Italianization.
Fascist Italianization of Littoral Slovenes and resistance
The Slovenes living under territories annexed to Italy in 1920 (Slovenian Littoral) lacked any minority protection under international or domestic law. Clashes between the local Slovene population on one side and the Italian authorities and Fascist squads on the other started already in 1920, culminating with the burning of the Narodni dom, the Slovenian National Hall of Trieste. After the Fascist takeover in 1922, a policy of violent Fascist Italianization followed, seeking to eradicate the Slovene middle class and the intelligentsia. Education in Slovene was abolished in 1923, Slovene surnames and personal names were Italianized between 1926 and 1932. By 1927, all Slovene associations were banned and all public use of Slovene was prohibited. Police violence was carried out against opponents of the Fascist regime. By the mid 1930s, around 70.000 Slovenes had fled the region, mostly to Yugoslavia and South America.
After the complete destruction of all Slovene minority organizations in Italy, the militant anti-fascist organizations TIGR was formed in 1927 in order to fight Fascist violence. Acts of anti-Fascist guerrilla continued throughout the late 1920s and 1930s.
World War II and aftermath
On 6 April 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis Powers. Slovenia was divided among the occupying powers: Fascist Italy occupied southern Slovenia and Ljubljana, Nazi Germany got northern and eastern Slovenia, while Horthy's Hungary was awarded the Prekmurje region. Some villages in Lower
