The “South Tyrolean Conflict” can be traced back to the occupation of South Tyrol by Italy after World War I, in November of 1918, and to the Fascist seizure of power in Italy in 1922. The measures taken by the Fascist government under Benito Mussolini to “Italianize” South Tyrol and to marginalize the native populace by promoting the mass immigration of Italian citizens as well as the “option” hammered out by Hitler and Mussolini put the German-speaking population of South Tyrol under severe pressure.

After World War II, Italy continued its policy of marginalizing the native populace. This led, in 1957, to the gathering of South Tyroleans at the Sigmundskron Castle and to the formation of the “South Tyrolean Liberation Committee” (BAS).