Der Fall des Partisanen Pircher

A detailed introduction by the two South Tyrolean historians Carlo Romeo and Leopold Steurer leads into the new edition of the defense document regarding the Pircher case, which Giambattista Lazagna wrote in late 1974 while imprisoned in Fossano. During World War II, Hans Pircher from Vinschgau deserted from the Wehrmacht and took on courier duties for the Allies stationed in Switzerland, the Egarter group in the Burggrafenamt, and the partisans of the Passeiertal. In the contradictory climate of the immediate post-war period, the latter were accused of actions that should have fallen under the amnesty laws intended for the liberation struggle. After an initial acquittal, Pircher was sentenced to long-term imprisonment in the appeals process (without his knowledge and in his absence). Years later, after being arrested by chance and transferred from one prison to another, he encountered an extraordinary fellow inmate, the so-called "lawyer of the poor," Roberto Miroglio. During the investigations into Pircher's case, Miroglio reached out to the also imprisoned Giambattista Lazagna. Lazagna then wrote the present text, highlighting not only the technical aspects of the defense but also this judicial scandal on historical, political, and civil levels, and initiated a broad campaign for public mobilization that ultimately led to Pircher's pardon and release.