NS-Täter in Italien 1943-1945

On 19 August 1944, members of the 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division ‘Reichsführer-SS’ murdered 159 people in Bardine di San Terenzo and Valla. Two days earlier, 16 SS members had been killed in a partisan attack. In reprisal, the SS field police shot 53 men at Bardine Bridge. They had been arrested on 12 August near Sant’Anna di Stazzema and held as hostages. Later, men of SS Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 16 gathered civilians who had fled into the hills, mainly women and children, at Valla farm and killed them with machine guns.

Judicial reckoning
The massacres featured in the trials of Max Simon and Walter Reder. Simon was sentenced to death in 1947 but released in 1954 after reductions of his sentence. Reder was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1951 and remained in prison until 1985. New investigations began in La Spezia in 2003. The subsequent trial ended in Rome in 2009 with nine life sentences in absentia; the judgments were upheld in 2011.

Le stragi
Il 19 agosto 1944, la 16. SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Division «Reichsführer-SS» uccise 159 persone a Bardine di San Terenzo e Valla. Due giorni prima, un attacco partigiano aveva causato 16 morti tra le SS. Per rappresaglia, la Feldgendarmerie delle SS fucilò 53 uomini presso il ponte di Bardine. Erano stati arrestati il 12 agosto nella zona di Sant’Anna di Stazzema e tenuti in ostaggio. Più tardi, la SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 16 radunò al podere Valla civili fuggiti sulle colline, soprattutto donne e bambini, e li uccise con le mitragliatrici.

Il percorso giudiziario
Le stragi furono oggetto dei processi contro Max Simon e Walter Reder. Simon fu condannato a morte nel 1947, ma venne liberato nel 1954 dopo riduzioni di pena. Reder fu condannato all’ergastolo nel 1951 e rimase in carcere fino al 1985. Nuove indagini iniziarono a La Spezia nel 2003. Il processo si concluse a Roma nel 2009 con nove ergastoli in contumacia; le sentenze furono confermate nel 2011.

The massacre:

Between 8 and 12 August 1944, German troops murdered hundreds of people in Sant’Anna di Stazzema and the surrounding area. The names of 394 victims have been identified. On 12 August, Waffen-SS and Wehrmacht units encircled the village. Soldiers gathered the population at several killing sites and murdered mainly women, children and older people. Houses and bodies were burned. The main force carrying out the killings was the 2nd Battalion of SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 35. The operation had been systematically planned and was described as ‘anti-bandit warfare’.

Judicial reckoning:

The files of the Italian military judiciary remained concealed in an archive until 1994. In 2005, the Military Court of La Spezia sentenced ten former SS members in absentia to life imprisonment; the judgments were upheld in 2006 and 2007. Germany did not execute the arrest warrants. A 2013 historical expert report criticised errors, unused sources and the incomplete reconstruction of the crime.

La strage:

Tra l’8 e il 12 agosto 1944, le truppe tedesche uccisero centinaia di persone a Sant’Anna di Stazzema e nei dintorni. Le vittime identificate sono 394. Il 12 agosto, reparti delle Waffen-SS e della Wehrmacht circondarono il paese. I soldati radunarono la popolazione in diversi luoghi della strage e uccisero soprattutto donne, bambini e anziani. Case e corpi furono incendiati. Il nucleo principale dei reparti responsabili delle stragi era costituito dal II battaglione del SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 35. L’azione era stata preparata in modo sistematico e venne definita un’operazione di «lotta alle bande».

Il percorso giudiziario:

I fascicoli della giustizia militare italiana rimasero nascosti fino al 1994 nel cosiddetto «armadio della vergogna». Nel 2005, il Tribunale militare di La Spezia condannò all’ergastolo in contumacia dieci ex appartenenti alle SS; le sentenze furono confermate nel 2006 e nel 2007. La Germania non eseguì i mandati d’arresto. Nel 2012, la procura di Stoccarda archiviò le indagini senza formulare accuse. Una perizia storica del 2013 criticò errori, fonti non utilizzate e la ricostruzione incompleta del crimine.

Why a Court Hearing Was Held in a Movie Theater

Nearly 60 Years After the Massacre

During a massacre that lasted several days at Monte Sole in late September 1944, German troops murdered a total of 770 Italians, most of whom were civilians. Many of those responsible were never held accountable and were able to live undisturbed in Germany and Austria. Nearly 60 years later—in the early 2000s—media and political interest in coming to terms with the massacre suddenly surged.
On April 11, 2002, ARD aired a television program on the events and the perpetrators; on April 17, 2002, German Federal President Johannes Rau attended a memorial event in Italy. It was the first visit by such a high-ranking representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to the sites of the massacre. His visit garnered international attention.

The Investigations

The Italian and German judicial authorities intensified their investigations. During the proceedings in Germany, numerous former SS members were questioned. However, the evidence gathered was sparse and deemed insufficient to bring charges. The case was dismissed on April 27, 2009, after six years.
In Italy, the investigations had a better chance of success, but they also proved difficult. In 2005, the statute of limitations was about to expire, so various ongoing cases were consolidated. In February 2006, the trial against 17 defendants finally began in La Spezia.

The La Spezia Trial

Due to the large number of spectators, the trial was held in a movie theater. Among those present were numerous relatives of the victims, who had formed a committee, journalists, civil plaintiffs, and the defendants’ attorneys. The hearings continued into the summer, then were postponed due to a lawyers’ strike.
Almost a year after the trial began—on January 13, 2007—the court handed down ten life sentences in absentia and seven acquittals.
However, the Court of Appeals in Rome acquitted one of the convicted defendants due to lack of evidence. Another defendant, who had been acquitted in La Spezia, was convicted on appeal.
However, not a single convicted defendant was extradited or imprisoned. Nor have the victims’ relatives received any compensation to date.

Soldiers of a Luftwaffe unit on the march in early July 1944 — a seemingly ordinary scene that reveals only part of what happened during Operation “Wallenstein”. Discover the full story in our online exhibition.

Soldati di una unità della Luftwaffe in marcia in Lunigiana all’inizio di luglio 1944: una scena apparentemente ordinaria, che mostra solo una parte di ciò che accadde durante l’operazione «Wallenstein». Scoprite la storia completa nella nostra mostra online.

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The massacre

On 14 July 1944, soldiers of Grenadier Regiment 274 attacked a hideout at Pietramala, near San Polo in the municipality of Arezzo. Both partisans and civilians were present. During the attack and the return march, 17 people were killed, including women and children. A further 48 men were separated from the others, taken to Villa Mancini, ill-treated during interrogations, then shot and buried in the garden of Villa Gigliosi. In all, 65 people were killed. The Wehrmacht unit was under the command of the 305th Infantry Division.

Legal reckoning

The British Special Investigation Branch investigated the massacre from September 1944 and collected evidence and witness statements. Prosecutors in Gießen investigated Wolf Ewert, Klaus Konrad and other members of the regiment from 1967 to 1972; the case was closed. Proceedings in La Spezia against Klaus Konrad and Herbert Hantschk took place from 2003 to 2007. Konrad died before judgement in 2006; Hantschk was acquitted in 2007 because the court found that he had not taken part in the crime.

– ITALIANO –

Il 14 luglio 1944 soldati del Grenadier-Regiment 274 attaccarono un gruppo di case a Pietramala, vicino a San Polo, nel comune di Arezzo. Vi si trovavano partigiani e civili. Durante l’attacco e il tragitto di ritorno furono uccise 17 persone, tra cui donne e bambini. Altri 48 uomini furono separati dal gruppo, portati alla Villa Mancini, torturati, poi fucilati e sepolti nel giardino della Villa Gigliosi. In tutto furono uccise 65 persone. L’unità della Wehrmacht era sotto il comando della 305ª Divisione di fanteria.

Lo SIB 78 indagò sulla strage dal settembre 1944 e raccolse prove e testimonianze. La procura di Gießen indagò su Wolf Ewert, Klaus Konrad e altri appartenenti al reggimento dal 1967 al 1972; il procedimento fu archiviato. A La Spezia, dal 2003 al 2007, si svolse un procedimento penale contro Klaus Konrad e Herbert Hantschk. Konrad morì prima della sentenza nel 2006; Hantschk fu assolto nel 2007 perché il tribunale stabilì che non aveva commesso il fatto.

Fotografien wirken oft unmittelbar. Gerade deshalb brauchen sie Kontext.

Unsere neue Online-Ausstellung zu Operation „Wallenstein“ arbeitet mit Fotografien deutscher Propagandakompanien. Sie entstanden im Sommer 1944 während einer großangelegten deutschen Operation gegen die Resistenza im nördlichen Apennin.

Die Bilder zeigen militärische Bewegungen, Kontrollsituationen, Zerstörungen und Begegnungen zwischen deutschen Soldaten und der italienischen Zivilbevölkerung. Doch sie sind keine neutralen Dokumente. Sie zeigen auch, was deutsche Militär- und Propagandastellen sichtbar machen, ordnen und legitimieren wollten.

Viele Formen von Gewalt bleiben außerhalb des Bildausschnitts: Zwang, Angst, Opferperspektiven, lokale Erfahrungen und die Folgen für die betroffenen Gemeinden.

Deshalb zeigen wir diese Fotografien mit Kontext: Entstehung, Zweck, Bildsprache, Überlieferung und historische Einordnung.

Zur Ausstellung:

https://www.ns-taeter-italien.org/de/online-ausstellungen/operation-wallenstein

– ENGLISH –
The massacres

On 4 July 1944, soldiers of the ‘Hermann Göring’ Division entered Meleto and Castelnuovo dei Sabbioni, villages in the municipality of Cavriglia near Arezzo. Under German occupation, the area was treated as a so-called ‘bandit region’. Women and children were forced to leave; the men were detained. In Meleto, after hours of waiting, they were taken to nearby farmyards and shot. In Castelnuovo, the shootings began in the main square. The soldiers murdered 173 men: 93 in Meleto, 74 in Castelnuovo dei Sabbioni, four in San Martino and two in Massa dei Sabbioni. The victims were between 15 and 88 years old.

Legal reckoning

The British Special Investigation Branch (SIB) began collecting evidence and witness statements in September 1944. However, those directly responsible remained largely unidentified, and no further investigation initially followed. After historical research, the military prosecutor’s office in La Spezia opened proceedings in May 1999 against a former non-commissioned officer. The case was closed because he had already died. Investigations by the Dortmund public prosecutor’s office ran from 2004 to 2012 and were closed without result.

– ITALIANO–

Le stragi

Il 4 luglio 1944 soldati della divisione “Hermann Göring” entrarono a Meleto e Castelnuovo dei Sabbioni, frazioni di Cavriglia presso Arezzo. Durante l’occupazione tedesca, la zona era considerata un cosiddetto “territorio di bande”. Donne e bambini furono allontanati; gli uomini trattenuti. A Meleto, dopo ore di attesa, furono portati nelle aie e fucilati; a Castelnuovo le uccisioni iniziarono in piazza. I soldati uccisero 173 uomini: 93 a Meleto, 74 a Castelnuovo, quattro a San Martino e due a Massa dei Sabbioni. Avevano tra 15 e 88 anni.

Il percorso giudiziario

Lo Special Investigation Branch (SIB) britannico iniziò a raccogliere prove e testimonianze nel settembre 1944. I responsabili diretti rimasero però in gran parte sconosciuti e non vi furono subito ulteriori indagini. Dopo ricerche storiche, nel maggio 1999 la procura militare di La Spezia aprì un procedimento contro un ex sottufficiale. Fu archiviato perché era già morto. Le indagini della procura di Dortmund durarono dal 2004 al 2012 e si chiusero senza esito.