Servigliano prison camp

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Servigliano prison camp
prison camp
Italy provincial location map 2015.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Servigliano prison camp within Italy
Coordinates 43°13′N13°30′E / 43.217°N 13.500°E / 43.217; 13.500 Coordinates: 43°13′N13°30′E / 43.217°N 13.500°E / 43.217; 13.500
Location Servigliano
Operated by Italy
Operational October 1940
Inmates Prisoners of war
Liberated by September 1943

Servigliano prison camp began as a POW camp for Austrian soldiers of World War I. Following Italy's entry to World War II, the fascist government used it as a concentration camp for civilian and military prisoners between October 1940 to September 1943. The Italian Social Republic later converted it into a deportation camp for Jews between October 1943 and June 1944.

World War I 1914–1918 global war originating in Europe

World War I, also known as the First World War or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. Contemporaneously described as "the war to end all wars", it led to the mobilisation of more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, making it one of the largest wars in history. It is also one of the deadliest conflicts in history, with an estimated nine million combatants and seven million civilian deaths as a direct result of the war, while resulting genocides and the 1918 influenza pandemic caused another 50 to 100 million deaths worldwide.

Military history of Italy during World War II

The participation of Italy in the Second World War was characterized by a complex framework of ideology, politics, and diplomacy, while its military actions were often heavily influenced by external factors. Italy joined the war as one of the Axis Powers in 1940, as the French surrendered, with a plan to concentrate Italian forces on a major offensive against the British Empire in Africa and the Middle East, while hoping for the collapse of the UK in the European theatre. The Italians bombed Mandatory Palestine, invaded Egypt and occupied British Somaliland with initial success. However, German and Japanese actions in 1941 led to the entry of the US and the USSR in the War, thus ruining the Italian plan and postponing indefinitely the objective of forcing Britain to agree to a negotiated peace settlement.

World War II 1939–1945 global war

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

Contents

After World War II the camp was converted into a refugee camp for people coming from Istria, Libya and Ethiopia. It ceased to operate in 1955 and in 1970 it was finally dismantled.

Istria

Istria, formerly Histria (Latin), Ίστρια, is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Kvarner Gulf. It is shared by three countries: Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy. Croatia encapsulates most of the Istrian peninsula with its Istria County.

Libya Country in north Africa

Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa, bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad to the south, Niger to the southwest, Algeria to the west, and Tunisia to the northwest. The sovereign state is made of three historical regions: Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica. With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometres (700,000 sq mi), Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa, and is the 16th largest country in the world. Libya has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any country in the world. The largest city and capital, Tripoli, is located in western Libya and contains over one million of Libya's six million people. The second-largest city is Benghazi, which is located in eastern Libya.

Ethiopia country in East Africa

Ethiopia, Oromo: Itiyoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Hebrew: אתיופיה -officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country in the northeastern part of Africa, popularly known as the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With over 102 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world and the second-most populous nation on the African continent that covers a total area of 1,100,000 square kilometres (420,000 sq mi). Its capital and largest city is Addis Ababa, which lies a few miles west of the East African Rift that splits the country into the Nubian Plate and the Somali Plate.

History

WW I

During the First World War, the camp was built on the outskirts of Servigliano, along the rail road. It consisted of forty wood and stone huts, surrounded by a high wall, outside of which stood the houses for the guards. From August 1916 to December 1919 several thousand Austrian prisoners were housed there.

After the war, with the repatriation of prisoners, the camp was closed. In 1935 the camp was dismantled and sold to the city for the construction of a sports field while part of it was used as a weapons depot.

WW II

With the outbreak of the Second World War the barracks that still existed were reactivated in October 1940 as a concentration camp for about 20-25 Jewish refugees and foreigners. From 5 January 1941 it started being used as a camp for prisoners of war, beginning with approximately 3000 Greeks and since February 1942 about 2000 more, this time British and American nationals.

On 14 September 1943 (a few days after the armistice), the prisoners fled due to the imminent arrival of German troops through a hole in the wall and scattered in the surrounding countryside. Between 3 and 5 October the camp was occupied and looted by German troops.

On 30 October 1943 the camp was reactivated by the fascist authorities to house prisoners from the area. In late November, the government of the Italian Social Republic established a network of concentration camps for Jews caught in raids. Servigliano was chosen as a place of detention for the surrounding provinces of Ascoli Piceno and Frosinone. The camp management continued to be headed by Italian police personnel under the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior. February 1944 saw the arrival of approximately 300 Maltese nationals from Tripoli.

Province of Ascoli Piceno Province of Italy

The province of Ascoli Piceno is a province in the Marche region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Ascoli Piceno, and the province is bordered by the Adriatic Sea to the east, the province of Macerata to the north, and it faces the regions of Umbria and Abruzzo (Abruzzi) to the south. There are 33 comuni in the province, see Comunes of the Province of Ascoli Piceno.

Province of Frosinone Province of Italy

The Province of Frosinone is a province in the Lazio region of Italy, with 91 comuni. Its capital is the city of Frosinone. It has an area of 3,247 square kilometres (1,254 sq mi) and a total population of 493,605 (2016).

The Ministry of the Interior is a government agency of Italy, headquartered in Rome. It is cabinet-level ministry of the Italian Republic. As of 1 June 2018, Matteo Salvini is the minister.

On the night of 24 March 1944 a group of partisans broke into the camp to free Jewish prisoners. On 3 May, taking advantage of the bombardment of the camp and the news of the imminent arrival of the Germans, almost all the Jews present fled the camp. The Germans arrived the next morning and they were able to capture and deport a group of 34 people while 30 others were rescued and hidden by local families.

Faced with the difficulty of finding food and housing, some Jews who had previously escaped returned to the camp. On 29 May 1944 another group of 60 Jews arrived from the Corropoli internment camp. During the night of 7-8 June a group of partisans broke into the camp calling for its immediate and complete evacuation. On 14 June the German troops started their retreat. On 16 June German soldiers killed a Jewish refugee, who had been discovered hidden in a cottage not far from the village. On 19 June 1944 Servigliano was freed.

Corropoli internment camp

Corropoli internment camp, in the province of Teramo, was one of several internment camps set up by the fascist government following the entry of Italy into World War II, to sit foreigners and anti-fascists. It operated from January 1941 to May 1944, with a maximum capacity of 150 people. Irredentist Slavic and Italian communists were interned and after September 8, 1943 it also served as a concentration camp for Jews.

Post-war

After the liberation, on 22 June the camp was reoccupied by the Maltese prisoners from Tripoli. On 17 July 1944 they were embarked for Tripoli. As a refugee retention centre, the camp remained active from September 1945 until 1955. Between 40,000 and 50,000 refugees from Istria, Libya and Ethiopia went through this camp.

Today

After 1955 the area was completely abandoned. During the 1970s, the barracks, now dilapidated, were demolished and a sports centre was built. Some ruins remain, such as a perimeter wall and some of the houses where guards used to stay.

Two commemorative plaques were placed near the former site: the first was laid by the British and American prisoners who escaped from the camp after 8 September 1943; the second in memory of the deportees and those who were saved thanks to the help offered to them by local families.

See also

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References

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