The Internment

The internment of Italian military 

There were about 650 000 Italians who died in the national territory, in Slovenia, Croatia, Albania, Greece, Corsica, Provence and the Ionian and Aegean islands.The large majority declined to join the Republic of Salò, they not bend or not flattery to threats. More than 60,000 have not returned to Italy: violence, criminal and absurd executions, disease, malnutrition, health, hygienic conditions and air strikes were the main causes. Also 7 generals were killed during a transfermarch from the camp Schokkcn. The officers were separated from the non-commissioned officers and troops in various camps.

The camps were surrounded by a ditch with barbed wire, an iron fence, controlled by armed men in towers and continuous patrols on the roads. The daily meals were: in the morning a bowl of hot water and a lime leaf, 20g sugar 20g margarine and syrup; at twelve clock the main meal, another bowl of hot water with potatoes and fodder beet and 200g brown bread: on Sundays there was porridge with potatoes and some meat. The potato peel and dried lime leaves formed the basis for hand-rolled cigarettes. In many camps was created a creative and cultural activity (theater performances, small concerts, seminars on the university level, setting up a newspaper).

The Italian soldiers  were robbed by the naming of 'military internees "instead the correct" prisoners of war" the support and assistance of the International Red Cross.

From the 20th of July 1944 they were considered "civilian workers" but the conditions were almost unchanged. A large number of officers lay against the work, to show their dignity and honor.

Their various regimental and Seaunitedflags they hid in the camps to keep them: some of these flags are now in the Vittoriano.

The unknown internee was awarded the gold medal of the military.

Soldiers from every rank, every branch of service and class, were arrested in different territories and under different circumstances, locked in various camps, without any connection to each other, rich and poor citizens, laborers, farmers, workers, professionals, intellectuals, illiterate, people from the north, south, center and the islands of the country, has been spoken the NO. This seems the most important aspect of the little-known side to be.

The Italian soldiers were captured in the first moment as "prisoners of war but already known on September 20, after personal instruction from Hitler, they were as considered" Italian military internees ". Hitler issued this command with a purely formal and hypocritical consideration to the in the meantime created Fascist Republic of Salò (actually a Versallenstaat the Third Reich), which should be connected with Germany. The Fascist Republic of Salò was seen as a continuation of the Italian state and therefore it was unacceptable to the Nazi regime, the military of an allied state to be called prisoners of war. In reality, Hitler wanted to escape with the aid its main objective, entitle the Italian military from the assistance of the International Red Cross, which was confirmed by the Geneva Convention in July 1929 from Germany. 

In this way, the Nazis took the liberty of the IMI to "use" them like they want and so they carried them into the forced labor of the industry, especially those for arms production, in which the demand for labor was particularly high. The predominant majority of the internees were violently forced to work with exhausting work hours of 10-12 hours per day. They were used mainly in industrial facilities, which were the main target of the Allied air attacks. The sanitary conditions and the food was just enough to survive.

Most of the officers (including 135 generals and admirals), which are not addressed to the Republic of Salò stayed the entire 20 months in prison in camps with psychologically catastrophic living conditions. Continuous appeals, surprising and of long duration, in all weather conditions, day and night and under high pressure, should persuade the officers to the accession of the Republic of Salò or connection to the military formation of the SS. The same pressure and the same threats.