Disclaimer for the Historical Documentary Exhibition “Fascist Concentration Camps in Abruzzo from 1940 to 1943”
Please note that the translation of the exhibition materials from Italian into English is intended to be as accurate as possible. However, it is a free translation, and while efforts have been made to faithfully preserve the original Italian content, there may be errors or expressions that are not entirely precise from a historiographical perspective when expressed in English, as they are inherent to Italian historiography. This translation aims to make the content of the exhibition accessible and understandable to visitors who do not speak Italian. As such, any discrepancies between the translated and original texts are unintentional and should be considered in the context of linguistic and cultural translation challenges.
English translation
1. “What is a Concentration Camp?”
In an entry penned in his diary in the autumn of 1933, shortly after the arrival of the first prisoners at Dachau, Victor Klemperer, a Jewish professor of philology from Dresden and a keen observer of the Nazi dictatorship, posited a prescient observation regarding the lexical and conceptual challenges that would pervade historiography on totalitarian “concentrationary universes.” He stated, “I believe that, in the future, whenever the words ‘concentration camp’ are uttered, one will think only of Hitler’s Germany.” This reflection underscores a significant issue: the public, and at times instrumental, use of the term lager as a universal synonym for “concentration camp.” Influenced by a wealth of memorial, journalistic, literary, and cinematic productions, this usage has forged a shared collective imagery of this representation, namely, the lager. It is crucial to conceptually distinguish the Nazi concentrationary system, or lager, from the Vernichtungslager (extermination camp), the Soviet Gulag, and the fascist concentration camp, to avoid the methodological error of describing the “camp-form” merely as a physical structure without considering its historical, political, and cultural context.
According to Joël Kotek and Pierre Rigoulot, authors of “The Century of the Camps,” there exist three distinct types of camps:
a) Internment camps: temporary confinement of individuals deemed suspicious or dangerous. Their function is preventative, not productive, and as such, forced labor is not typically imposed.
b) Concentration camps: the central category of the totalitarian concentrationary phenomenon, whether they be Nazi KZ or Soviet Gulags. What distinguishes this type of camp is the logic of dehumanization, reeducation, forced labor, and annihilation. These are designed to endure over time.
c) Extermination camps or immediate death centers: These refer to the extermination camps established by the Nazi SS in occupied Polish territories, to execute the physical elimination of European Jews through an industrialized process using gas chambers. These were facilities designed solely for the extermination of human lives.
The defining aspect of a “camp” is the condition of civilians “concentrated” – that is, gathered in a closed location – by administrative, civil, or military decision.
2. Civil Internment in Fascist Italy During World War II
The institution of civil internment under the monarchist-fascist regime was introduced in 1938, regulated by wartime legislation, and, without the possibility of appeal, was subject to the decision of the Ministry of the Interior. Moreover, during World War II, up until September 8, 1943, it was also utilized as a measure of preventive detention for reasons of public security.
Despite this practice already being established as an administrative norm in times of war, it proved to be a powerful tool for the fascist regime to also implement its policies of political dissent repression, racial persecution, and not solely for the internment of civilian subjects of enemy nations at war with Italy.
The 1938 war legislation represents the culmination of a preparatory process that began in the 1930s and 1940s, which stipulated among other things that:
a) b) The Minister of the Interior, by decree, could order the internment of enemy nationals capable of bearing arms or otherwise engaging in activities harmful to the State. (Royal Decree of July 8, 1938, no. 1415)
Additionally, the Ministry could require citizens of an enemy power to reside in a specified location.
The “Regulations for Concentration Camps and Internment Locations,” dated June 8, 1940, were transmitted to the prefects as mere administrative provisions. Their essential guidelines were incorporated into the Decree Law of September 4, 1940, which provided a legal basis for all various provisions concerning internment.
A “draft decree-law on the discipline of internees” was only prepared towards the end of August 1943 and was not completed due to the wartime conditions that saw monarchist-fascist Italy surrender to the Allies on September 8, 1943.
3. Two Forms of Internment: Concentration Camp and Free Internment Location
“Dangerous elements,” “undesirable foreigners,” Jews, Romani and Sinti “Gypsies,”* anti-fascists, and “former Yugoslavs,” who were arbitrarily and administratively persecuted by the fascist state, were interned in a confinement space termed “concentration camp” by the Ministry of the Interior. This term refers to a delineated area of segregation composed of pre-existing structures (public or private buildings, abandoned factories, warehouses, convents, monasteries, etc.) or newly constructed facilities (land with barracks, tents, etc.), where various categories of civilians repressed by the regime were “concentrated” (internment function).
Official documents distinguish two types of internment:
a) b) in proper concentration camps;
in free internment locations.
These are almost always single-gender camps, either male or female, and rarely mixed. Supervision was provided by the Carabinieri or public safety officers and occasionally by the fascist militia.
The management of the camp was entrusted to Public Security officials, but also to Podestà, often alternated by prefectural commissioners.
Free internment locations (i.e., free from camps) are the municipalities of forced residence for the internees—a kind of “compulsory domicile”—where they could also reunite with their family unit.
It is evident that the condition of an “internee” in a fascist concentration camp is more unfavorable and harsh compared to the other: promiscuity, reduced freedom of movement, strict regulations, separation from the family unit, surveillance, punishments, work prohibitions, restricted communication, etc.
The living conditions of the internees varied depending on the location of the camps, the attitude of the directors and guards, and the relationships with the local population. Generally, there was an increasing scarcity of food, widespread precariousness of accommodations, overcrowding, and limited freedom
*The term “Gypsies” has always been used pejoratively by host societies and is not appropriate for referring to different ethnic groups.
4. Location of Fascist Concentration Camps in the Italian Peninsula: The Case of Abruzzo
Among all the Italian regions, Abruzzo hosted the largest number of concentration camps and so-called 'free internment' sites on the Italian peninsula during the period of fascist-monarchist rule in wartime. This finding is supported by Capogreco's comprehensive survey, which identified a total of 48 camps across Italy, with 15 located in Abruzzo.
Casoli (CH): This camp, predominantly for Jews from Austria, Germany, Poland, and Hungary, and later for "ex-Yugoslavs" primarily Slovenians and Croats, was operational from 9 July 1940 to February 1944, with a capacity of 80 places.
Chieti: Hosting British and French citizens alongside "foreign Jews," this camp operated from June 1940 to November 1940 with 200 places. It closed due to the inability of Chieti municipality, the owner of the building ("Principessa di Piemonte" nursery school), to relocate the school children. Internees were transferred to Montechiarugolo, Casoli, and Manfredonia.
Città Sant'Angelo (PE): This camp for Slavic communists was active from June 1941 to April 1944,
accommodating 150 people, and was municipally owned.
Civitella del Tronto (TE): Initially a camp for stateless and various European Jews, and later for Libyan Jews of English nationality, this facility was set up across three premises, including the municipally owned "Filippo Alessandrini" hospice and the Franciscan convent of Santa Maria dei Lumi. It was active from July 1940 to May 1944, with a capacity of 230 places.
Corropoli (TE): Originally for Slavic irredentists and Italian communists, then for British nationals, this camp was located in the monastery of the Celestine Friars, known as Badia, from January 1941 to May 1944, housing 150 people.
Isola del Gran Sasso (TE): Near the basilica of San Gabriele, this camp for German Jews and Chinese
citizens operated from June 1940 to June 1944, with a capacity of 135 places.
Istonio Marina (Vasto - CH): Used for Italians considered dangerous and later for Slavs, active from June 1940 to September 1943, with a capacity of 170 places.
Lama dei Peligni (CH): Serving various nationalities including Jews, stateless individuals, and Italians, this transit camp was active from June 1940 to September 1943, with a capacity of 60 places.
Lanciano (CH): A women's camp for "foreign Jews," and from February 1942, for Slavic nationalists and communists, operating at Villa Sorge from June 1940 to October 1943, with a capacity of 55 places.
Nereto (TE): Serving German and Polish Jews and later Slavs, this camp was operational from July 1940 to February 1944, accommodating 160 people.
Notaresco (TE): Hosting Jews of various nationalities (German, Russian, Polish, Italian, Czechoslovakian, Hungarian) and stateless individuals, active from June 1940 to June 1944, with a capacity of 100 places.
Tollo (CH): Dedicated to Yugoslav communists, operational from October 1941 to October 1943, with a capacity of 90 places.
Tortoreto Alto and Tortoreto Stazione "Alba Adriatica" (TE): Under one administration, these camps for German and Polish Jews were active from June 1940 to September 1943, with a capacity of 150 places.
Tossicia (TE): Initially for Chinese, then for Roma and Sinti* "Gypsies" from June 1940 to September 1943. After the prisoners' escape, evacuees from Naples were housed here. Capacity of 115 places.
*The term "Gypsies" has historically been used pejoratively by host societies and is not suitable for describing the various ethnic groups it purports to represent.
5. The Fascist Concentration Camp of Casoli (CH)
The “Casoli Concentration Camp” (CH) experienced two distinct periods of internment due to different categories of civilian internees. The initial phase, referred to as the “Jewish” period, commenced on July 9, 1940, with the arrival of the first group of 51 “foreign Jews” from Trieste and lasted until May 5/6, 1942, when a group of political internees—anti-fascists and “former Yugoslavs”—were transferred from the Corropoli (TE) concentration camp. All the Jews at the Casoli camp were immediately transferred to the Campagna camp (SA). This second phase persisted until February 2, 1944, a date documented as still having 18 “Slavic” internees present. Between 1940 and 1944, a total of 218 internees passed through the Casoli camp: 108 foreign Jews, primarily Austrians, Germans, Poles, and Hungarians, and 110 political internees “former Yugoslavs,” mostly Croatians, Slovenians, and some Italian allochthones.
A significant yet unpublished testimony in Italian is that of a Slovenian “former internee” posthumously published. Fortunat Mikuletič, a skilled lawyer, appears to have adeptly positioned himself as an “assistant” to the camp director for managing documents between the municipality and higher authorities. Not only did this role allow him to avoid the “enforced idleness,” but it also earned him access to a typewriter to draft this sort of instant report. The book, published posthumously in 1974 under the title “Internatitis,” is illustrated with sketches and paintings by his friend and fellow internee Ljubo Ravnikar, depicting daily life scenes from the camp and portraits of the internees.
6. Some Documents from the Fascist Concentration Camp of Casoli (CH)
Here, several of the over 4,500 original documents from the period are reproduced, contained within the personal files of the internees. These documents offer insights into the movements, social environment, everyday life, movable assets, postal correspondence between the internees and their family/friends, the police headquarters’ prompts to the camp management, disciplinary and internment measures against the internees, medical assistance, and health conditions of the internees, as well as the bureaucracy, administration, and accounting of the fascist concentration camp of Casoli.
7. The Fascist Concentration Camp of Lanciano (CH)
The concentration camp of Villa Sorge in Lanciano (CH), located on the outskirts of the city, began operations on June 27, 1940, as a women’s camp. It eventually housed up to 77 female internees. From February 12, 1942, the camp was used for communists and Slavic nationalists. The sanitary conditions in the camp were extremely precarious, lacking showers or bathtubs, with toilets often out of order due to breakdowns or lack of water. Life in the camp was very troubled, as evidenced by the hunger strike on April 4, 1942, and numerous arrests that continued until September 8, 1943, when the camp was closed. Among the internees was Carlo Schönheim, a key figure in the Lanciano uprising, which earned the city a gold medal for military valor.
Internment in Lanciano (CH)
The city was not only the location of the Villa Sorge concentration camp but also a site of “free internment” and political confinement. To date, 42 residences have been documented as accommodations for various categories of deportees.
Maria Ludwika Moldauer
Born in Vienna on September 22, 1914, to Jewish parents of Polish origins, she graduated in Literature from Florence. Arrested in Catania, she arrived at Villa Sorge on July 4, 1940. She is the author of The Internee Number 6, a text that vividly recounts life in a fascist concentration camp. It was published in Rome in October 1944 under the name Maria Eisenstein, having married Samuel Aizenstein, a fellow Jewish internee.
Youth, youth,
This camp is a mess…
No light,
Only bunks,
This lodging does not suit us.
But for Benito and for Adolf,
Poor us, here we are…
8. Some Documents from the Fascist Concentration Camp of Lanciano (CH)
Here, documents are reproduced that, through photographs, letters from the internees or their families, administrative orders, and inquiries, reveal the bureaucratic and administrative aspects of internment in Lanciano, simultaneously restoring the faces and voices of some of the deportees.
9. The Nagler Family: From Fascist Internment in Abruzzo to Extermination at Auschwitz
The Nagler family fled from Habsburg Galicia, now Western Ukraine, from the city of Ivano-Frankivs’k (in Ukrainian; Stanislav in Yiddish; Stanisławów in Polish). They arrived in Trieste in 1920, where they opened a hardware store at Via San Nicolò 12. Following the declaration of war, the father, Salo, and the son, Jakob-Giacomo, affectionately known as “Kubi,” were interned in the concentration camp of Casoli (CH) and the Calabrian concentration camp of Ferramonti di Tarsia (CS), respectively. The mother, Eige Fitzer, remained alone in Trieste until she was permitted to join her husband and son in Castel Frentano in December 1941. Here, they were rounded up by the Germans on November 3, 1943, transferred on Convoy No. 6, which departed from Milan on January 30, 1944, and were exterminated upon arrival at Auschwitz on February 6, 1944.
“Kubi” Nagler and his fiancée Rita Rosani (née Rosenzweig) took photographs of each other beside the main entrance of the Trieste courthouse (in 1938, likely in summer; visit to the courthouse for the Jewish census). Rita was killed by a sub-lieutenant of the “B. Mussolini” Youth Legion of the National Republican Guard, who had just turned nineteen. The twenty-three-year-old Rita had been wounded in combat, and the young officer finished her off with a gunshot to her left eye. In the Assize Court, in August 1946, the parish priest, called to administer the last rites to fallen partisans, testified that he had heard a fascist militiaman ask the young officer, “And now, what will you do, Sir Lieutenant, having killed a woman?” To which he replied, “She was not a woman, she was a bandit.” He was acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
10. The Internment of Children in Lanciano (CH) Between 1940 and 1943
During this period, several children were born to interned families, enduring the same dangers and deprivations as their fathers. In Lanciano, in 1942, three children were born: On February 4, Tito was born to Samuel Grauer, a carpenter, and Rosa Jordan, both Polish Jews; on February 14, Daisy was born to the Jewish couple Leon Dente, a company executive, and Iole Moscato; on May 27, Katiuscia was born to Risto Jelacin, an accountant, and Damian Baebler, a pediatrician, both members of the Yugoslav resistance. Daisy’s family was saved in Atessa (CH) by Giugiù De Marco, who had been the teacher of Daisy’s brother Sergio in Villa Santa Maria. Later, Giugiù and her parents, Alfredo De Marco and Giuseppina Rucci, would be recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem.
Katiuscia’s family managed to cross the front and return to Ljubljana only in May 1945, after her mother served as the chief medical officer of the Yugoslav army. Tito, along with his parents and brother Marco, was arrested in Lanciano in November ’43 and deported to Auschwitz on Convoy No. 6, which departed from Milan on January 30, 1944, and arrived at its destination on February 6, the same day he and little Marco were killed.
In permanent memory of the Grauer family, four stumbling stones have been placed in Lanciano.
11. The Watercolors and Sketches of Ljubo Ravnikar Interned at the Casoli Concentration Camp (CH)
Ljubo Ravnikar, an academic painter, was among the first Slovenian artists arrested by the fascists in June 1941 and initially interned at the Corropoli concentration camp (TE) before being transferred to Casoli (CH) on May 5, 1942. During these years, he documented his experience with drawings and watercolors of significant emotional impact, which Ravnikar himself considered among the pinnacles of his artistic output. After his liberation, Ravnikar returned home and, in 1946, moved to Kranj, where he secured a professorship in drawing and art history.
12. The Fascist Concentration Camp of Corropoli (TE)
The Corropoli concentration camp (TE), with a capacity of 150 places, was located in the Abbey of the Celestine Fathers in the Colli district. After some adaptation work, the first internees, who were Slavic irredentists and previously confined Italian communists, arrived at the beginning of 1941. On May 4, 1942, the camp was evacuated, and the 132 internees, mostly Yugoslavs, were relocated—82 to the Casoli camp (CH) and 50 to the Città Sant’Angelo camp (PE). In June 1942, “former officers” from Greece and “enemy subjects” from Britain arrived and were immediately transferred to the camp in Busseto, in the province of Parma. Subsequently, Indian and British internees arrived. In June 1943, a project to enclose the camp with barbed wire was approved, with surveillance entrusted to 22 Carabinieri. Meanwhile, “former Yugoslav” internees from the Tollo (CH) camp and the Lipari (ME) colony arrived, totaling 165 individuals. Following September 8, 1943, a partisan formation led by Commander Armando Ammazzalorso managed to free 36 Yugoslav internees, including the former lieutenant Svetozar Ciukovič, who played a decisive role in the battle of Bosco Martese (TE) against the Nazi-fascists on September 25, 1943. The camp remained active under the Italian Social Republic and was definitively closed at the end of May 1944.
13. The Chinese Internees in the Basilica of S. Gabriele at Isola del Gran Sasso (TE)
The concentration camp at Isola del Gran Sasso (TE) comprised two buildings: a large hall near the Basilica of S. Gabriele, constructed by the Passionist Fathers of the Sanctuary to accommodate pilgrims, and a recently built former hotel (S. Gabriele), owned by the Santilli family. Initially designed for 180 places, the camp was later reduced to 135. The camp management was entrusted to the town’s Podestà, assisted by the municipal secretary and a doctor. Active from June 13, 1940, by September, the two buildings housed 93 internees, mostly German Jews. On May 5, 1942, the Ministry of the Interior ordered the transfer of the Jews from Isola del Gran Sasso to the Ferramonti camp (CS) and of the Chinese from the Tossicia camp (TE) to Isola del Gran Sasso. The Chinese, due to the Axis alliance with Japan, had been interned by the fascist regime as “dangerous enemy nationals during wartime contingencies.” In the following months, with 147 individuals, the camp was overcrowded. In the autumn of 1943, some of the Chinese were transferred to other facilities, while others were taken by the Germans and used for labor, likely for constructing fortifications along the Gustav Line. The camp remained empty for several weeks before 62 Chinese were again confined there. On May 29, 1944, as they were being transferred to the Servigliano camp (AP), their convoy was strafed near Ascoli Piceno. Only 36 reached their destination; 6 died from the aerial attack, and 20 were injured. The survivors were later liberated by the Allies in the following June.
14. Fascist Concentration Camps in Molise
In Molise in 1940, five concentration camps were established.
Agnone (IS), former convent of San Bernardino da Siena owned by the Diocese of Trivento - a male camp. At its opening in July 1940, it primarily housed Jews who were transferred to Isernia a year later, making room for Romani and Sinti previously detained in the Pentro capital and turning it into a mixed camp for “Gypsies”*, active until September 1943. The camp was managed by a public safety commissioner. It was equipped with 7 large and 9 smaller rooms, a bathroom with shower facilities, a dining hall, and a large courtyard, with a capacity of 150 places. It also housed British and Czechoslovakian internees. The camp remained active until September 8, 1943.
Bojano (CB), former tobacco factory of the SAIM company - a male camp. Opened in September 1940, it consisted of 4 sheds, three for internees and another used as a kitchen, dining hall, and other administrative services. Directed by a public safety commissioner. The sheds were enclosed by wire mesh and equipped with barred windows. It was closed in July 1941 due to significant water infiltrations and poor structural conditions, with a capacity for “250 normal internees, or 300 Gypsies.” It housed “Gypsies”, Jews, and Chinese.
Casacalenda (CB), former boarding school owned by the Caradonio-Di Blasio Foundation - a female camp. Directed by a public safety commissioner. Equipped with about thirty rooms for a capacity of 250 places. It housed Jewish, British, and “former Yugoslav” women. The camp was evacuated after September 8, 1943.
Isernia, former convent of Santa Maria delle Monache, known as Antico Distretto, belonging to the Province of Campobasso - a male camp. Opened in July 1940, equipped with 8 dormitories to which a large hall was added in 1941, previously used as a cinema, where Jews transferred from Agnone were accommodated. It housed “former Yugoslavs”, French, Germans, Romanians, English, Poles, Hungarians, Albanians, and Syrians. It remained active until the city was bombed on September 10, 1943, with a capacity of 120 places.
*The term “Gypsies” has historically been used pejoratively by host societies and is not appropriate for referring to different ethnic groups.
15. Fascist Concentration Camps in Molise
Vinchiaturo (CB), a private building owned by Dr. Domenico Nonno - a female camp. Directed by the local mayor and assisted by a civilian director. Many of the foreign women, including Russians, Poles, Hungarians, and “former Yugoslavs,” were labeled as “prostitutes.” Opened in July 1940, the facility consisted of 15 rooms, lacked bathrooms but had only two latrines and two sinks, with a capacity for 60 places. The camp remained active until September 8, 1943.
Other municipalities were involved in the “free internment” of Jews: Baranello, Cantalupo nel Sannio, Castropignano, Larino, Macchiagodena, Montagano, Monteroduni, Petrella Tifernina, San Giuliano del Sannio, and Sepino. The presence of “citizens of Jewish race” in Molise is documented in the State Archive of Campobasso with a collection that includes 125 men and 135 women.
Life in the concentration camps was particularly harsh as the internees had committed no crimes, and the deprivation of liberty was a fundamental element of their distress. The difficult situation of the internees was caused by several critical factors, including forced promiscuity, the absence of work and recreational activities leading to idleness, as well as the scarcity of low-quality and insufficient food. The facilities identified and adapted for use as camps were rented by the Ministry of the Interior and often lacked the necessary infrastructure for communal living: small rooms, absence of adequate bathrooms, cold premises due to lack of heating. When the camps were evacuated after the declaration of the armistice, there were still 98 Jewish internees in the region who survived. During the internment in Baranello, two women died, one from illness (Elsa Epstein) and one from suicide (Elena Alten) while Wolfstein Ruth Philippine, having left the town, “voluntarily joined the German troops.”
The fate of other Jews who were outside Molise because they were transferred was not as fortunate: two died in detention (Karl Blau and Federica Neumann), and one was shot by the Germans (Josef Israel Timan).
Twenty Jewish internees transferred from Molise found themselves after September 8, 1943, in the part of Italy governed by the Italian Social Republic and the Germans. They were deported to Auschwitz, and only one survived: Adler Albert (Agnone), Adler Anita* (Vinchiaturo and Sepino), Agatstein Czame Malke (Vinchiaturo), Agatstein Perl (Casacalenda), Bertiner Berta (Casacalenda), Bielschowsky Hans (Agnone), Brasch Heinrich (Agnone), Bretschneider Maddalena (Vinchiaturo), Fiedler Joseph (Agnone), Franco Sara (Casacalenda), Kammer Karl Israel (Isernia), Kramm Emil (Agnone), Liebgold Giovanna (Casacalenda and Petrella Tifernina), Loewy Riccardo (Petrella Tifernina), Goldstein Nesterlherte Schneid Amalia (Vinchiaturo), Schwarz Lisolotte (Vinchiaturo), Sobalska Rachele (Vinchiaturo), Veneziani Ubaldo (Sepino), Wolff Martino (Agnone and Isernia), Wolfstein Ruth Philippine (Casacalenda and Baranello).
16. The Internment of Romani and Sinti
In Molise, in addition to Jews, other undesired groups were interned, including Romani and Sinti. Specifically, two camps were involved: Agnone (IS) and Bojano (CB), but there was also a minimal presence recorded in the other three Molise camps. In Abruzzo, only the Tossicia (TE) camp recorded their presence.
The anti-Romani sentiment of the fascist regime began in 1926 with a circular sent to the prefects of the Kingdom, which called for preventing the movement of vagrants, their repulsion at the border, and the expulsion of foreign nomadic groups present, even those with valid passports. The intent was to purge the national territory of subjects considered dangerous to public security by the regime.
In January 1938, the head of police Arturo Bocchini ordered the census and classification of all Romani and Sinti residing in Istria, and subsequently, from February to May of the same year, entire families were transported and confined to the countryside of Sardinia. The same was done for the Romani populations of Trentino. The racial legislation of 1938 does not mention “Gypsies”*, but subsequently, in September 1940, with the opening of the concentration camps, their internment was ordered.
In January 1941, a total of 189 individuals were counted in the Molise camps, including 94 minors, while for the Tossicia camp there were 66, including 33 minors.
The Samudaripen, in the Romani language, meaning “all killed,” led to the deaths of a number of people in Nazi extermination camps that most scholars identify between 200,000 and 500,000.
*The term “Gypsies” has historically been used pejoratively by host societies and is not appropriate for referring to different ethnic groups.
17. The Sorting Camp of Lama dei Peligni (CH)
The “sorting” camp in Lama dei Peligni, located within the town, was housed in the home of the widow Camilla Borrelli and had a capacity of 60 places. The town’s mayor, with the assistance of the municipal secretary and the town guard, managed the camp. Surveillance was provided by a non-commissioned officer and six Carabinieri. Medical services were initially provided by Dr. Vincenzo Pierantoni until January 10, 1941, and subsequently by Dr. Giuseppe Baglioni. Active from June 13, 1940, the camp initially accommodated enemy nationals and later stateless persons and foreign Jews. After a few weeks of stay, internees were often transferred to other camps. In 1942, the camp reached its maximum capacity with 71 internees present. Internees took their meals at local inns, which allowed them some freedom of movement and the opportunity to interact with the local population. However, living conditions were challenging due to overcrowding, cold winter temperatures, and a lack of running water. The camp remained fully occupied until its closure after September 8, 1943.
The Fascist Concentration Camp in the “Principessa di Piemonte” Nursery School in Chieti
The Chieti camp was set up in the “Principessa di Piemonte” nursery school and was the only one to be opened in the center of a provincial capital after the children had been moved to the S. Maddalena Institute. Owned by the municipality, it had previously been used for civilian mobilization during the Ethiopian War. The facility, with a maximum capacity of 200 places, was directed by Deputy Commissioner of Public Security, Mario La Monica. A permanent surveillance post was also established inside, staffed by a non-commissioned officer and six royal Carabinieri. The camp was ready to receive its first internees from June 13, 1940, and the first arrivals were recorded in the following days. By July 14, there were 13 internees in the camp, and two months later it housed 29 internees, mostly British and French. In October 1940, the Mayor of Chieti requested the Prefect to return the nursery building, as no alternative accommodations for the kindergarten children had been found, who had initially been transferred to the S. Maddalena Institute. The request was forwarded to the Ministry of the Interior, which on November 5, 1940, ordered the closure of the camp. On November 10, the remaining internees were transferred to other camps according to their categories: 9 British nationals and 8 French nationals to Montechiarugolo (PR); 6 foreign Jews to Casoli and one “dangerous” Italian to Manfredonia (FG). The lease agreements were terminated, and the Casermaggi Company of Rome was returned the equipment supplied to the camp.
18. The Fascist Concentration Camp in Civitella del Tronto (TE)
The concentration camp at Civitella del Tronto consisted of three buildings: the “Filippo Alessandrini” Hospice (formerly the Capuchin convent), the residence of Mrs. Vinca Migliorati, and the Franciscan Convent of St. Maria dei Lumi, which could accommodate up to 230 internees. The management of the camp was initially entrusted to Vice Commissioner Mario Gagliardi, replaced in 1940 by Commissioner Giovanni Cardinale and subsequently by Cav. Giuseppe Franco. Initially, four Carabinieri and a non-commissioned officer from the local police station oversaw the camp’s security, while Dr. Manlio Scesi provided medical assistance. In September 1940, the first internees arrived, all Jews, stateless persons, and of various nationalities. In January 1942, 107 Jewish internees of British nationality from Libya were assigned to the camp. The “heads of families” complained about the poor living conditions and requested freedom of outdoor movement. Meanwhile, local authorities complained about the growing influence of the internees on the city. Despite the complaints, the Prefecture of Teramo confirmed that the internees had no privileges and were only allowed to leave during specified hours.
The camp operated throughout 1941 and 1942. The internees from Civitella were deported to various concentration camps in Germany and met different fates. On April 18, 1944, the 23 foreign Jews interned at Santa Maria dei Lumi were first deported to Fossoli di Carpi and then to Auschwitz, where they were all killed. The following May 4, the same fate befell the families of Anglo-Libyan Jews. These individuals, 134 in total, were deported to Bergen-Belsen camp and almost all survived because the Germans exchanged them for their soldiers held prisoner by the British. The camp was definitively closed on May 22, 1944.
19. The Fascist Concentration Camps of Tortoreto Alto and Tortoreto Stazione (TE)
The concentration camp in Tortoreto was set up in two buildings located seven kilometers apart. The first building, Villa Tonelli, was in Tortoreto Stazione (today Alba Adriatica), while the second, an old building owned by Nicola De Fabritiis, was located in Tortoreto Alto. The camp was under unified management, but overseeing it was challenging due to the distance between the two buildings. In 1940, Deputy Commissioner Vito Lillo was sent by the Ministry of the Interior to manage the camp, and he was replaced in 1941 by Deputy Commissioner Pietro Castro. Security was provided by a sergeant and four Carabinieri for the Tortoreto Stazione building and two public security officers for the Tortoreto Alto site. Medical assistance was provided by Dr. Nicola De Santis for Villa Tonelli and Dr. Ercole Tolò for the De Fabritiis building. In July 1940, the first 8 internees arrived at the camp, all Jews of various nationalities. By September of the same year, the camp housed 103 internees, many of whom were German Jews. In 1942, under the direction of Deputy Commissioner Umberto Nardi, the camp was overcrowded with 111 internees. By February 1943, the number of occupants decreased to 97. In March 1943, the internees were transferred to other facilities. The Tortoreto Stazione camp, considered “not secure,” was closed, while the Tortoreto Alto facility continued to be used for the internment of Italians who had committed food rationing violations.
…I arrived at a road where there was a sign: “Tortoreto Stazione,” and from there I saw my walking place. I recognized it very well but did not approach it. I did not want to, just as I do not want to revisit Romania: these are places that belong not to geography but to time. And the memory of these places of sadness, suffering, but above all great emotions, is spoiled by revisiting them. Some things are better left in peace…
Testimony from Saul Steinberg in his autobiography: Reflections and Shadows, Adelphi, 2001, p. 36.
Steinberg moved from Romania to Italy in the 1930s. During the war, as a foreign Jew, he was interned at Tortoreto Stazione camp for several months before managing to reach the United States in June 1941. In the USA, he dedicated himself to artistic research and work for the periodical The New Yorker, consolidating his reputation as a cartoonist. Today, he is considered one of the greatest illustrators and designers of the twentieth century.
Walter August Frankl, a Vienna-born architect, was one of the Jewish internees at the Tortoreto camp. Born on July 26, 1902, to Gabriel and Elsa, he is the older brother of Viktor Frankl (1905-1997), a renowned neurologist and psychiatrist and one of the founders of logotherapy. During his internment, Frankl indulged in drawing, taking pleasure in depicting the villa where he was interned. One of his drawings was later used to create a satirical note with which the internees commented on the increase in their daily ration from 6.5 to 8 lire. This meager sum barely allowed them to organize a common fund for exchanging food such as bread and onions. Subsequently, Frankl was transferred to a “free internment” regime in Castelnuovo Garfagnana, in the province of Lucca. Initially, he stayed at the Pensione Capitani on via Farini, before moving to via delle Fontane, in the Il Crocifisso neighborhood, at the Fioravanti house. The living conditions in Castelnuovo were similar to those in Tortoreto, but the architect continued to dedicate himself to drawing, depicting views of Castelnuovo, its streets, the fortress, and houses. He sold these works to supplement the meager salary the regime assigned him. Then, at the end of 1943, along with other Jews interned in Castelnuovo, he was transferred to the concentration camp in Bagni di Lucca and from there, at the beginning of 1944, he was deported to the Konzentrationslager (KL) Auschwitz, where he died forced to labor in a mine.
20. The Fascist Concentration Camp of Nereto (TE)
The concentration camp in Nereto was established in June 1940. Initially, it comprised two buildings: Silvio Santoni’s house on Viale Vittorio Veneto and the second floor of a building owned by Carmine Lupini on Vicolo Scarfoglio. In the following September, a third building owned by the agricultural consortium, known as the “bacological palace” on Viale Roma, was added. In total, there were 160 available places. The camp management was initially entrusted to Mario Marzi, secretary of the local section of the Fascist Institute of Culture, and later to Mayor Pasquale di Pietro. For the surveillance of internees housed in the first two buildings, two permanent Carabinieri posts were established, while a municipal guard was assigned to those in the “bacological palace.” Living conditions varied depending on the building: the “Santoni” house was more livable, while the other two were dilapidated and lacked heating. The absence of a common kitchen and showers until the end of 1942 also contributed to the uncomfortable living situation in the camp. Throughout its operation, the camp detained internees of various categories: “antifascists,” “enemy nationals,” “former Yugoslavs,” and several “foreign Jews,” mostly of German nationality. By October 1942, the camp was overcrowded with about 200 individuals. After several transfers and the handover of management to Francesco Alongi, the director of the nearby Corropoli camp, in August 1943, there remained 158 internees in the camp, comprising Jews and former Yugoslavs. After September 8, twelve Yugoslav internees escaped with five stolen muskets, but were soon recaptured. In the following December, the Germans occupied the headquarters of the agricultural consortium and demanded the surrender of all internees. The new director, Public Security Commissioner Attilio Capurro, on December 21, deceitfully summoned the internees to “Casa Lupini” and had them arrested by 12 militia members of the National Republican Guard. The next day, 50 of them were taken by the Germans near Giulianova where they were employed in road reactivation and the construction of camouflage structures. After a month, they were returned to the camp, where 19 had remained, probably due to being unfit for work. On February 1, the facility was closed, and the 69 remaining internees were transferred to the Corropoli camp.
The Fascist Concentration of Notaresco (TE)
The Notaresco concentration camp, located in the province of Teramo, consisted of two buildings: the Marquis De Vincenzi - Mazzarosa building at Via Borgo no. 14, with 90 places, and the house of Eligio Liberi (heirs Caruso) at Via Giardino no. 14, with 41 places. The management of the camp was initially entrusted to Provisional Commissioner Cesare Forcella, later replaced by Davide De Nigris. A permanent post of royal Carabinieri was established to ensure surveillance. Health care was provided by Dr. Ulisse Pirocchi. In its early period, the camp almost exclusively housed Jews of various nationalities, with a peak of 96 internees in 1940. Over the following years, after various transfers and new arrivals, the number of occupants fluctuated from 36 in mid-1941 to just two remaining internees in May 1942. In the subsequent months, the facility’s population increased again, reaching 90 occupants with the deportation primarily of Istrian, Dalmatian, and Slovenian individuals accused of being partisans or “partisan sympathizers,” and engaging in anti-national and “irredentist” activities in favor of Slovenia. With their arrival, the internment regime became harsher, and the prescribed regulations were applied with greater rigor. In 1942, the general medical inspector reported to the Ministry of the Interior that the camp lacked an infirmary and that the internees ate in local trattorias. Additionally, there was a call for the re-administration of typhoid vaccinations to prevent potential epidemics. Due to the construction of sanitary facilities during the same year, the number of available places in the camp was reduced to 96. In the spring of 1943, 32 internees were given the opportunity to perform agricultural work for local farmers. After September 8, some managed to escape while others were later authorized to repatriate. By January 1944, the number of occupants had decreased to five internees, and then to two who, engaged in agricultural work, remained in Notaresco as “free internees.”
21. The Fascist Concentration Camp of Tollo (CH)
The concentration camp in Tollo was established in November 1941, but the Ministry of the Interior initially did not rent it due to the extensive modifications required. Only in October 1941, given the necessity to intern Yugoslav civilians, Dr. Bruno Mastrovich, representing the Prefecture of Chieti, signed a lease agreement with Giuseppe Casiraghi, representative of Giuseppe Foppa Pedretti, an industrialist residing in Milan and the owner of the building. After the necessary modifications, the camp could accommodate about 90 internees on the second floor of the building while the ground floor was equipped with a kitchen-dining hall, sanitary facilities, a common area, and an office for the guard corps. The management was entrusted to Mayor Domenico Antonio Fusella, assisted by the deputy municipal secretary, with Dr. Adelchi Persiani as the physician. Surveillance was conducted by three Carabinieri. To ensure optimal security, three watchtowers were constructed around the building and one inside it. On February 23, 1942, the first 42 deportees from Yugoslavia, considered “politically dangerous communists,” arrived. After previously being sorted through concentration camps in Montenegro and Albania, they arrived at Tollo in dire hygienic conditions. This situation did not improve in the following weeks due to a lack of clothing for the internees. By March 1942, the camp housed 57 internees, and by the summer of the same year, it reached a population of 98, with 8 additional internees. In February 1943, the prefect of Chieti reported to the Ministry of the Interior that the Tollo camp offered little security assurance and proposed the camp’s closure or structural modifications for the surveillance of internees. Subsequently, the Ministry decided to transfer the internees to Corropoli and Bagno a Ripoli (FI), and to use the camp for the internment of women responsible for food ration violations. Unable to find a female director until October 1943, only a few men accused of committing rationing crimes were detained there.
The Fascist Concentration for “Dangerous” Italians in Istonio Marina (Vasto - CH)
The concentration camp in Istonio Marina, today known as Vasto, was one of the first to be established in Abruzzo. Activated on June 11, 1940, it was located in the hotel of attorney Oreste Ricci and in the villa of the Marchesani heirs in the seaside district, not far from the train station. The camp had a capacity of 170 internees and was initially directed by the retired Commissioner and local native Giuseppe Prezioso, later replaced by Deputy Commissioner of Public Security Giuseppe Geraci. The Istonio camp was primarily intended for Italian antifascists. Among those detained there were notable figures such as Mario Borsa, director of Corriere della Sera; Giulio Guido Mazali, the future director of Avanti; communist Eugenio Musolino; cartoonist Giuseppe Scalarini; and Raffaello Gioli, director of the magazine Domus, who was interned along with his son Paolo and would later be deported to Mauthausen. In January 1941, a subversive organization forming within the camp was discovered by the director himself; the promoters, Mauro Venegoni and Angelo Pampuri, were transferred to the Tremiti Islands colony. Living conditions in the camp were challenging due to the lack of space, missing fixtures in some rooms, scarce sanitary facilities, and the director’s arbitrary attitude towards the internees. The food distributed was often spoiled, causing discomfort to the less affluent. After July 25, 1943, the military authorities requested the closure of the camp due to fortification works for the defense of the territory. The Ministry of the Interior ordered the release of antifascists and some “allochthonous” individuals who were replaced by about one hundred “former Yugoslavs.” While the Yugoslavs classified as “particularly dangerous communists” were transferred to other facilities, the camp continued to operate until the end of September of the same year due to the lack of available spaces in other camps.
22. The Fascist Concentration in Città S. Angelo, the Only One in the Province of Pescara
In the province of Pescara, the only active camp was in Città S. Angelo. This facility was established by the Ministry of the Interior by repurposing an old factory previously used for tobacco processing, located in the heart of the historic center on Via Umberto I. Equipped with drinking water, electric lighting, bathrooms, and a 1,500 square meter garden, the facility became operational in June 1940 and could accommodate 150 people. Various Public Security Commissioners took turns directing the camp, while a sergeant and two Carabinieri, housed in a building not far from the camp, were in charge of surveillance. The structure remained empty until February 1941 when the first 13 internees, “former Yugoslavs” from Dalmatia, arrived. In the following months, the detainees were almost all Yugoslavs, partly transferred from the Corropoli camp. After their arrival, from December 1942, the previously allowed freedom for the internees to leave the camp was restricted to only two hours, and surveillance was increased. Following various protests against the new measures, some of the detainees, classified as “dangerous communists” and accused of being “agitators,” were punished by being sent to camps set up on the islands of Lipari and Ponza. After September 8, 1943, about 80 remaining internees managed to escape, while the facility continued to operate during the Italian Social Republic until April 1944.
23. The Fascist Concentration Camp in Tossicia (TE)
The concentration camp in Tossicia, located in the province of Teramo, initially comprised two buildings, one owned by the family of Giulio Fabi and the other by the family of Sauro Mirti. From August 1940, it housed several dozen foreign Jews. In January of the following year, the Jews were transferred to other facilities, and Tossicia became a camp exclusively for citizens of Chinese nationality. These individuals were interned as they were considered “dangerous enemies” since fascist Italy was allied with Imperial Japan. In November 1941, with an increase in the number of internees, the camp was expanded to 120 places using a third building owned by the Di Marco family. Directed by Mayor Nicola Palumbi, surveillance was entrusted to the local Carabinieri station. Given the lack of sanitary facilities, the absence of a water system, and no infirmary, the Tossicia camp was deemed unsuitable for internees by Red Cross inspectors. The conditions at the camp were so precarious that the internees, forced to live in cramped and unhealthy spaces, contracted various diseases. Perhaps also for these reasons, from June 1942, the authorities designated it for families of “Gypsies” rounded up in Slovenia, while the Chinese were sent to the nearby camp in Isola del Gran Sasso. Despite complaints about the camp’s conditions from the General Inspectors of the Ministry of the Interior, no actions were taken to improve livability. The “Gypsies,” many of whom were women and children, continued to live in miserable conditions and survived by begging by older women in neighboring towns. On the night of September 26, 1943, the 118 internees took advantage of bad weather to escape, according to some accounts also aided by the complicity of the Carabinieri commander who warned them that the Germans were soon to arrive. After their escape, the camp remained unused, and part of the barracks was used as housing for evacuees from Naples in December 1943.
Reference Bibliography
Carlo Spartaco Capogreco, I campi del duce. L’internamento civile nell’Italia fascista (1940-1943), Torino, Einaudi, 2004.
Costantino Di Sante (a cura di), I campi di concentramento in Italia. Dall’internamento alla deportazione (1940-1945), Milano, Franco Angeli, 2001.
Fortunat Mikuletič, Internatitis, Gorica, Goriška Mohorjeva družba, 1974.
Gianni Orecchioni, I sassi e le ombre. Storie di internamento e di confino nell’Italia fascista. Lanciano 1940-1943, Roma, Edizioni di Storia e Lette-
ratura, 2006.
Gina Antoniani Persichilli, Disposizioni normative e fonti archivistiche per lo studio dell’internamento in Italia (giugno 1940-luglio 1943), in “Ras-
segna degli Archivi di Stato”, Roma 1978.
Giuseppe Lorentini, L’ozio coatto. Storia sociale del campo di concentramento fascista di Casoli (1940-1944), Verona, Ombre corte, 2019.
Jöel Kotek, Pierre Rigoulot, Il secolo dei campi. Detenzione, concentramento e sterminio: la tragedia del Novecento, Milano, Mondadori, 2001.
Klaus Voigt, Il rifugio precario. Gli esuli in Italia dal 1933 al 1945, Vol. 2, Firenze, La Nuova Italia, 1996.
Livio Sirovich, «Non era un donna, era un bandito». Rita Rosani una ragazza in guerra, Verona, Cierre Edizioni, 2014
Maria Eisenstein, L’internata numero 6, Roma, De Luigi Editore, 1944.
Simonetta Carolini (a cura di), “Pericolosi nelle contingenze belliche”. Gli internati dal 1940 al 1943, Roma, ANPPIA, 1987.