The First World War of the Italian-Gaucho Olyntho Sanmartin

Abstract

In this article we reflect on the issue of the repatriation of Italian-Brazilian volunteers and reservists who enlisted in the Italian army during World War I. When Italy entered the conflict on May 1915, about 12,000 Italians and descendants living in Brazil returned to fight at the front. From the beginning, a significant number of young volunteers presented themselves at the consulates of the main centers of Italian immigration with the intention to defend the distant homeland. In particular, we will analyze the war memories of Olyntho Sanmartin, an Italian-Gaucho who falsified his date of birth in order to be able to enlist, but later bitterly regretted his choice, when it was too late. A micro-analysis on a reduced scale of this type, along with general data and context, is helpful to get to broader conclusions and reflections on the dynamics that determined the choice to repatriate and on the question of the identity of individuals in communities not yet fully integrated into the host society.

Keywords: Italian immigration, World War I, Italian-Brazilian volunteers.