On the eve of the First World War, Trieste is at the peak of its economic and social development. The national mosaic of the town population is reflected in the threefold educational system (German, Italian and Slovenian). Focusing on secondary schools, this article aims at offering a picture of everyday life in wartime Trieste, using sources such as school registers and yearbooks. The result is somewhat surprising: on the one hand, a deep divide seems to separate the schools of the three national communities, and Italian schools in particular see themselves as a stronghold of Italian culture and national identity; on the other hand, there is much in common in terms of programmes, educational methods and cultural background. After the outbreak of the war, control and repression by the Austrian authorities become stricter, but at the same time a massive assistance work begins, in which all the schools are involved, regardless of their nationality. Another major feature of the war years is the large number of secondary school pupils enrolled in the Austrian Army: their dramatic and often tragic experience will be totally forgotten in postwar years, after Trieste’s passage to Italy.
