The Croatian city of Labin is positioned within the western a part of the nation, not too removed from the Adriatic Sea. (Right here’s a map.) It’s inhabitants peaked round 1991 at about 13,000 residents; right this moment, it’s hovering at round 10,000. That’s as a result of Labin is a coal mining city with no coal mine; there have been 4 working a couple of century in the past, however the final one, positioned in downtown Labin, closed in 1989. At this time, it’s a metropolis in decline.
However for a short second in 1921, it was a nation unto itself. Or, no less than, the coal miners there wished it to be.
After World Struggle I, Labin and different components of what’s now Croatia fell beneath the management of Italy. Fascism was on the rise, significantly in Italy, and in 1919, Benito Mussolini shaped the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento (“Italian Fasces of Fight”), a precursor to his Nationwide Fascist Social gathering. Supporters of Mussolini forcibly took management of assorted government-adjacent organizations. Of particular relevance to right this moment’s story, that included the places of work of a mining commerce union whose members labored at a mine in Labin. Mussolini’s males had, successfully, taken management and possession of the mine as effectively. The miners there weren’t followers of Italian rule to start with, they usually undoubtedly didn’t just like the fascists telling them what to do. In early March, 1921, that each one got here to a head.
In Christianity, February 2 is a little-known vacation referred to as “Candlemas,” marking forty days from Christmas. (In some areas, it’s celebrated by lastly taking down your Christmas decorations.)The miners, as was their normal observe, took the time without work that yr to have a good time — however their new fascist overlords hadn’t authorised the time without work. When their end-of-month payday got here, they have been anticipating a bonus, however that bonus was conspicuously absent. The homeowners determined that the miners weren’t due the additional pay as a result of that they had taken an unapproved vacation. And on March 1, when union chief Giovanni Pipano complained, he was attacked by the Italian fascists and badly overwhelmed.
The miners didn’t give in to the violence. As an alternative, on March 2 or 3, they “took management over the mine and arranged armed models referred to as the Purple Guards,” based on Balkan Perception. They have been prepared for a struggle, and a struggle would come — however not earlier than the miners determined to type their very own nation.
On March 7, the miners and native peasants who allied with them declared Labin to be a free city-state referred to as the “Labin Republic.” They adopted the flag above and, per LibCom, “they shaped a central committee as a decision-making physique, with mass assemblies for dialogue and full equality between the totally different nationalities of employee. They formulated and introduced calls for to their employer, Societa Arsia, together with demanding a pay improve.” Inside a couple of weeks, they resumed mining, with the intent of preserving no matter they mined of themselves.
The mine homeowners, at first, have been keen to barter with the miners, however negotiations didn’t get far and their endurance was quick. In early April, the Italian authorities stepped in, supporting the mining firm. Italy despatched round 1,000 troopers to the mine — simply sufficient to overwhelm to frivolously armed members of the fledgling micronation. By April 8, the Labin Republic ceased to exist and the unique homeowners took again management of the mine.
Two miners died within the assault and greater than 50 have been arrested, however the arrested ones weren’t incarcerated for lengthy — based on Working Class Historical past, “as a result of the miners refused to testify in opposition to each other, and due to their assist from the native inhabitants, none have been convicted.”
At this time, the Labin Republic is widely known by Croatia. In 2021, on the centennial of the Republic’s founding and dissolution, the Croatian authorities reworked the world right into a multimedia exhibit concerning the occasions above, calling it the world’s first anti-fascist rebellion, albeit an in the end unsuccessful one.
Bonus reality: February 2nd isn’t simply Candlemas — it’s additionally Groundhog Day. And the 2 could also be associated. Per Wikipedia’s editors, the normal Candlemas celebration in Hungary is similar to what we do in america for the groundhogs: “Folklore has it that on at the present time, bears come out of their dens and in the event that they see their shadows (as a result of it’s sunny), they get frightened of it and return to sleep, which is believed to imply that it is going to be chilly once more. If, alternatively, there isn’t any shadow, they keep outdoors, realizing that that is the final try of winter and that the chilly climate will quickly ease.”
From the Archives: How Lengthy is Groundhog Day?: What number of days does Invoice Murray’s character expertise throughout the film? Much more than you’d suppose.
