The double deportation
From Molat concentration camp to Germany
From the beginning of June 1942 hundreds of civilians from different parts of Dalmatia were interned in a concentration camp at Molat. They often arrived at Molat after having been detained elsewhere, such as in local prisons, camps like Zlarin or the hangar at Vodice1. In other cases, those civilians who had been rounded up along the Dalmatian coast were transported directly to the camp at Molat aboard a steamer specially designed for this purpose - the Topola, which locals called the "Crna Marica"2.
Conditions in Molat were extremely harsh. In the first months the camp consisted only of tents, which provided the internees with inadequate shelter from rain and bad weather. Later several barracks were built, in each of which 200 people were amassed together. Witnesses recall that ill-treatment and severe forms of corporal punishment were meted out by the Italian guards. In addition to food shortages, what is remembered most is the lack of water, rationed to half a litre a day for each internee3.
Above all this camp is remembered for the exceptional hardships suffered by everybody. According to various witnesses, for about 40 days during the months of February and March 1943 the camp authorities blocked the arrival of food packages, sent by family and friends, which basically permitted the internees to survive. That period is remembered with anguish by former prisoners, who point out that people were dying from hunger on a daily basis4.
The summer of 1943 saw the first executions of relatives of the partisans - considered to be "hostages" - in retaliation for guerrilla actions carried out by the resistance movement5. "Our life was always hanging by a thread, '' a witness remembered. ''The sensation aroused by the arrival of the motor boat that came to take the hostages away to be shot was terrible. Not a sound was heard from among the 2,000 or so people who were in the camp: all saw the boat as the means by which they would be led to their own deaths: when the motor boat had taken away the designated victims life slowly returned to normal for those remaining in the camp, only for them to relive the same experience a few days later, when the motor boat would be back for further victims6''.
The 300 internees deported from Molat to Fertilia reached Sardinia in two batches: the first, composed of 75 civilians, arrived on 21 January 1943; the second, comprising 275 prisoners, left Molat between 8 and 9 March arriving in Fertilia on the 23rd of the same month7. Here they were forced to work for the "Ente Sardo di Colonizzazione" - the Sardinian Colonisation Corporation -, employed in road building and agricultural work linked to reclamation schemes.
The internees were housed in military warehouses which were used as internment camps. The group was split between two large barracks8. Living and working conditions were not good. In the absence of sleeping accommodation the prisoners were forced to lie on concrete floors. The food was very poor, consisting of a little bread, water and some beans9. The internees, whose physical conditions had deteriorated during their previous imprisonment at Molat, complained about the violence employed by some of the guards who, for example, did not hesitate to whip them when they were late getting up in the morning.
One witness recalled that the internees were required to 'hoe the vineyards, cut the grass, clean out the canals infected by the malarial bacillus, unload and hide munitions and naphtha'. They were made to work in fields located near the airport and other military establishments that were often the targets of Allied bombing raids. In addition to risking their lives during the air raids, whilst being employed on these jobs - especially with the arrival of summer - the internees fell ill with malaria, for which there was no medicine or health care in the camp10.
Internees who refused to work, either because they were ill or weak due to poor nutrition, were left without or with little food11. Up to a certain point it was possible for those interned in the camp to receive money from home – though food packages were forbidden - and this fuelled smuggling activity. Food was sold in the camp at extremely high prices by security personnel12. According to some witnesses there were also cases of sexual abuse of some young internees by the supervisory staff13.
The 300 civilian internees from Dalmatia stayed in the camp at Fertilia until July 1943 when, following the Allied landings in Sicily, the Italians decided to send all those prisoners still present in Sardinia to the mainland. Before this transfer took place the Headquarters of the Armed Forces in Sardinia protested to the "Ente Sardo di Colonizzazione about the deplorable conditions [of the internees] which were such as to create a most unfavourable impression. They are almost naked, barefooted, some wearing nothing but a pair of shorts made from straw mattress covers"14.
Thus it was that on 26 July 1943, the day after the arrest of Benito Mussolini, the political deportees were made to leave the camp at Fertilia for the concentration camp at Renicci di Anghiari in the Province of Arezzo.
Renicci
The camp at Renicci - opened in 1942 - was run by the military of the Italian Second Army. In July 1943 3,888 civilians were being held there, most of whom had arrived at Renicci from other camps (Rab, Gonars, Chiesanuova, etc.)
Although the internees in Renicci continued to suffer from hunger, most of the testimonies describe the conditions of life in the new camp as being better than those experienced previously in the camps at Molat and Fertilia: to start with, internees slept on real beds, while the work was not mandatory, but on a voluntary basis. Furthermore, the treatment meted out by the camp guards was less harsh, and less abuse was reported15.
After the arrest of Mussolini on 25 July 1943, and during the 45 days of the Badoglio government, the internees at Renicci repeatedly asked to be released from the camp. Their requests were always turned down – upon receipt of higher orders - by the camp commandant, Colonel Pistone. Even after 8 September - the day on which the armistice signed by Italy was announced - the commandant refused to open the gates. On 9 September, in order to put down a demonstration inside the camp, the military fired on the internees, wounding four of them.
On 14 September, having seen a German patrol in action, the Italian military abandoned Renicci and most of of the internees were finally able to escape. After days on the run several of them managed to join local partisan formations. After having crossed the front and reached Italian territory under Allied control, some returned by sea to Yugoslavia and joined Tito's partisans16.
However, not all Renicci's former inmates reached safety. In the days which followed, in the vicinity of Anghiari the German troops managed to round up about 700 escapees17, hold them prisoner once again inside the concentration camp and arrange for them to be transported to Germany on 23 September in goods wagons.
"After the capitulation of Italy, to be precise on 14 September 1943, it became known that the Germans were arriving at the camp and so we internees fled in all directions,'' a witness said when describing the difficulties faced in those days.''In fact the Italian soldiers had deserted the place before we did, so when we saw them leave we too started to run away as they had done [...] A group of 120 people headed for Ancona, but some Italian civilians told us that we would find it difficult to move in such a large group and said we should split up into smaller ones, which we did. I found myself in a group with 12 other comrades, 6 from Zaton and 6 Slovenes. After a 46-day-long pilgrimage we were picked up by the Germans and taken to Trieste18.''
Other testimonies underline the role played by the Italian forces even after the armistice. "I was ill and after two or three days wandering around outside the camp I was picked up by the Fascists and the Carabinieri and taken back to the camp at Renicci. I remained in that camp for 15 days, after which the Fascists and the Carabinieri handed me over to the Germans19.''
The transfer to Germany
At the moment the organisational procedures adopted during the deportation to Germany of those Renicci internees arrested by the Germans are not clear. According to the testimony of Stojan Trošt20 there were 700 'double deportees' from Renicci, most of them destined for Buchenwald concentration camp21. By cross- referencing different sources held in our internees' database we have identified the movements of around 400 people deported from Renicci, of whom around thirty came from the camp at Fertilia.
Numerous deaths occurred during the first months following the deportation, undoubtedly due to precarious conditions of health resulting from previous internments at Molat and Fertilia. Among the dead are: Mirko Bilić, born in Betting (Croatia) on 27 October 1922, who died in Buchenwald on 8 January 1944; Jovan Ercegović, born in Rogosnica (Sibenik) on 18 May 1923, who died in Dora on 31 January 1944; Josip Friganović, born in Sibenik on 12 March 1925, who died in Dora on 21 March 1944; Klement Jakovčev, born Bettina on 27 August 1902, who died in Dora on 30 November 1943; Niko Lokas, born in Raslina (Sibenik) on 26 January 1922, who died in Dora on 30 January 1944; Ante Maraca, born in Tisno (Stretto) on 1 June 1923, who died in Dora on 19 December 1943; Jerko Marinov, born in Primosten (Capocesto) on 30 September 1904, who died in Dora on 1 January 1944; Ante Tomas born in Betina (Croatia) on 21 May 1907, who died in Dora on 10 January 1944; and Mate Zivkovic, born in Raslina, Sibenik, on 22 September 1906, who died in Laura on 27 January 1944.
From these testimonies and documents it emerges that those civilians who passed through Fertilia were also deported to other places in addition to Buchenwald and its sub-camps: to Flossenburg, Auschwitz, Bergen Belsen, Dachau and Lublin22. In particular, one internee speaks of Sachsenhausen concentration camp and of that at Hamburg (probably Neuengamme)23. Some found themselves in Moosburg, a prisoner of war camp known as Stalag VII-A, from where they were sent to clear the streets of the debris resulting from Allied air raids and remove it, especially in the city of Munich. The work was very hard and the food insufficient, but at least they were able to benefit from the advantages that the prisoner of war camps guaranteed, for example the arrival of food parcels organized by the American Red Cross. It goes without saying that these internees had greater chances of survival. The camp at Moosburg was liberated by American troops at the end of April 1945, and some of the internees who had been subjected to double Italian and German deportation managed to return to Yugoslavia between June and August 194524.
Andrea Giuseppini and Marco Abram (2018)
Statements made by Ante Ševerdija and Jakov Pesić, State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators] fonda 110, br. Fascike 424; Statement made by Dice Dean, State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 738).
A Black Maria was a police van in which convicted criminals were transferred to prison. Statement made by Joakim Kulušić et al., State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 488. After the occupation of Italy the steamer was requisitioned and re-named “Ammiraglio Viotti”.
Statement made by Joso Cvitan, State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 367.
Statement made by Ante Ševerdija, State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 424; Statement made by Joakim Kulušić et al., (State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 488.
Narcisa Lengel Krizman, “Koncentrancioni logori Talijanskog okupatora u Dalmaciju i Hrvatskom primorju (1941-1943)”, Povijesni prilozi, Vol.2 No.2, 1983, pp. 56-257.
Statement made by Jakov Pesić, State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 424; Statement made by Joso Cvitan, State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 367.
Statement made by Petar Bilušić, State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 424; Statement made by Ante Ježina, State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 488); Agenzia Laore, Fondo Ente sardo di colonizzazione, List of civil internees at Fertilia. First group; Agenzia Laore, Fondo Ente sardo di colonizzazione, List of civil internees at Fertilia. Second group.
Statement made by Petar Bilušić, State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 424.
Statement made by Joakim Kulušić et al. State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 488).
Statement made by Petar Bilušić, State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 424.
Statement made by Joakim Kulušić et al. (State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 488; Statement made by Petar Bilušić, State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 424.
Statement made by Petar Bilušić, State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 424.; Statement made by Joakim Kulušić et al.,State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 488.
Statement made by Petar Bilušić, State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 424.
Agenzia Laore, Fondo Ente sardo di colonizzazione, Civilians interned at Fertilia. Future transfers.
Statements made by Petar Bilušić and Ante Ševerdija, State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 424; Statement made by Joakim Kulušić et al., and statement made by Ljubo Gulam, (State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 488.
Statement made by Ante Ševerdija, State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 424.
The figure of 700 deportees - the only one currently available - ha been taken from Carlo Spartaco Capogreco, I campi del duce, Torino, 2004, p. 261. Our database contains just under 400 names of di 400 Yugoslav internees who were deported to Germany from the Renicci camp. Of these, about thirty had come from Fertilia. The means of transport used have yet to be confirmed.
Statement made by Petar Bilušić, State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 424.
Statement made by Ljubo Gulam, State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 488.
Cf. Carlo Spartaco Capogreco, Renicci. Un campo di concentramento in riva al Tevere, Milano, 2003.
Branko Petričević also testifies to their being 700 deportees. Petričević asserts that the deportees were initially sent to the camp at Nuremberg where they spent a period of 14 days before all were transferred to the camp at Flossenbürg. Cf. Topic Montenegrin deportees: from Ponza concentration camp to the camps in Germany.
International
Tracing Service ITS, Bad Arolsen, DE ITS 0.1 Archivnummer 39126004; DE
ITS 0.1 Archivnummer 23757790; DE ITS 0.1 Archivnummer 52582952; DE
ITS 1.1.5.3 Archivnummer 5692300, DE ITS 1.1.5.3 Archivnummer
6524539; DE ITS 1.1.5.3 Archivnummer 7129598.
Statement made by Ljubo Gulam, State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 488.
Statement made by Ivo Bokan et. al., and statement made by Ive Bilić, State Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača [National Commission for Investigations into Crimes Committed by the Occupying Forces and their Collaborators], br. fonda 110, br. Fascike 488.
The workers' re-education camps (AEL) were set up in 1940 by the Gestapo in order to re-educate individuals accused of acts of industrial sabotage or who, for some reason, were held to be “reluctant” to work. In effect, these camps were also a means of exploiting forced labour. It has been estimated that in Germany and the German-occupied territories around 200 Arbeitserziehungslager had been set up in which around 500,000 people had been imprisoned.
During the Second World War the Germans established prisoner of war units known as Bau-und Arbeits Battaillon (shortened to B.A.B.). The B.A.B. were made up on average of 600 prisoners of war who were used as forced labour. The distinguishing feature of these forced labour units was that they were mobile; unlike the prisoners who were being held in the Stalag, these workers were not stationed in a specific location but were moved around according to necessity.
The I.G. Farben Company was founded in 1925 from the merger of several different German industries. During the Second World War it was the main producer of chemicals for Nazi Germany. I.G. Farben made more use of forced labour than any other industry, particularly during the construction of the plants at Auschwitz. The directors of I.G. Farben were among the accused at the Nuremberg Trials of 1947/48. At the end of the war the decision was taken to split up the industry into its original component parts.
The Arbeitskommando were work camps detachments for prisoners who had been captured by the Germans. Usually made up of a few hundred prisoners, they were set up near to places of employment (factories, mines, agricultural establishments etc.). They were run from a central Stalag (prisoner of war camp), which may have been responsible for hundreds of work detachments. The work detachments for Allied prisoners of war were visited on a regular basis by representatives of the Red Cross.
The Military Work Inspectorate was set up in October 1943 with the aim of organising a workforce which was to construct territorial defences for the Italian Republic of Salò and repair the damage caused by air raids. Known as the “Organizzazione Paladino” (Paladino Organisation) after its founder and commanding officer, and operating in strict collaboration with, and at times directly employed by, the Germans, it took on several tens of thousands of workers.
The Todt Organisation was begun in Germany at the end of the 'Thirties with the aim of setting up a workforce which would build military defences. The idea of Fritz Todd, who was also its director until his death in 1942, during the war it exploited forced labour in German-occupied countries. In Italy it played a fundamental role in the construction of defences along the Appenines in support of the Wehrmacht, employing tens of thousands of men.
Born in Scilla (Reggio Calabria) in 1890, he volunteered for the Corps of Engineers as a telegraphist in 1907. In 1908 he rose to the rank of sergeant, a rank he held throughout the War in Libya. In 1914 he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and during the First World War he was made captain.
Afterwards he remained in the Armed Forces and in 1932 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1936 he took part in the War in Ethiopia, during which he was promoted to the rank of colonel.
In the Second World War, he returned to Italy after participating in the Greek campaign and was assigned to the Bolzano Corps. In 1942 he was promoted to brigader general. After the armistice he joined the Italian Social Republic for which he created the Military Labour Inspectorate.
He finally retired in 1945 and in 1970 he was awarded the honorary grade of major general.
He died in 1974.
Fritz Sauckel, born in 1894, was a local Nazi party official. In 1942 he was nominated plenipotentiary for the organisation of work throughout all the German-occupied territories. In practice, he was responsible for the compulsory engagement of forced labour. In Italy his organisation tried to round up hundreds of thousands of men to send to the German Reich, with scarce results. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to death, the sentence being carried out in 1946.
Albert Speer, born in 1905, was an architect who enjoyed an excellent personal relationship with Adolf Hitler. Even though he was not an ardent Nazi, he was the brains behind the staging of the Party parades, thereby assuring for himself the esteem and trust of the dictator. In 1942, after the death of Fritz Todt, he was put in charge of the Ministry of Arms and Munitions, which oversaw the Todt organisation. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to twenty years imprisonment. He died in London in 1981.
A German prisoner of war camp. The living conditions in the Stalag varied considerably according to the nationality of the prisoners (Allied, Russian, Italian military internees, etc.)
Fritz Todt was a German engineer who was responsible, in the 'Thirties, for building the motorway system as desired by Hitler. At the end of the 'Thirties he set up the Todt Organisation, with the aim of supplying forced labour to be used in the building of defences along the French border. During the war his organisation oversaw the use of forced labour in the occupied territories. He died in a plane crash in 1942.
The Gemeinschaftslager, like the Wohnlager, were unsupervised camps for foreign workers, while the Arbeitslager were supervised. Generally speaking, the concept of forced labour is applied only to the latter, but at the present time historians are undoubtedly tending to review the concept of forced labour, extending it to include work situations which are apparently free but in reality are forced. More specifically, the current discussion tends to be orientated towards a concept of forced labour which includes these three distinctive elements:
- from a legal point of view, it is impossible for the worker to dissolve the relationship with his employer
- from the social point of view, the possibilities of significantly influencing employment conditions are limited
- there is a high mortality rate, which indicates a higher than average workload and a provision of means of sustenance below the necessary requirements.
See: [https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/geschichte/auslaendisch/begriffe/index.html]
The workers' re-education camps (AEL) were set up in 1940 by the Gestapo in order to re-educate individuals accused of acts of industrial sabotage or who, for some reason, were held to be “reluctant” to work. In effect, these camps were also a means of exploiting forced labour. It has been estimated that in Germany and the German-occupied territories around 200 Arbeitserziehungslager had been set up in which around 500,000 people had been imprisoned.
During the Second World War the Germans established prisoner of war units known as Bau-und Arbeits Battaillon (shortened to B.A.B.). The B.A.B. were made up on average of 600 prisoners of war who were used as forced labour. The distinguishing feature of these forced labour units was that they were mobile; unlike the prisoners who were being held in the Stalag, these workers were not stationed in a specific location but were moved around according to necessity.
The I.G. Farben Company was founded in 1925 from the merger of several different German industries. During the Second World War it was the main producer of chemicals for Nazi Germany. I.G. Farben made more use of forced labour than any other industry, particularly during the construction of the plants at Auschwitz. The directors of I.G. Farben were among the accused at the Nuremberg Trials of 1947/48. At the end of the war the decision was taken to split up the industry into its original component parts.
The Arbeitskommando were work camps detachments for prisoners who had been captured by the Germans. Usually made up of a few hundred prisoners, they were set up near to places of employment (factories, mines, agricultural establishments etc.). They were run from a central Stalag (prisoner of war camp), which may have been responsible for hundreds of work detachments. The work detachments for Allied prisoners of war were visited on a regular basis by representatives of the Red Cross.
The Military Work Inspectorate was set up in October 1943 with the aim of organising a workforce which was to construct territorial defences for the Italian Republic of Salò and repair the damage caused by air raids. Known as the “Organizzazione Paladino” (Paladino Organisation) after its founder and commanding officer, and operating in strict collaboration with, and at times directly employed by, the Germans, it took on several tens of thousands of workers.
The Todt Organisation was begun in Germany at the end of the 'Thirties with the aim of setting up a workforce which would build military defences. The idea of Fritz Todd, who was also its director until his death in 1942, during the war it exploited forced labour in German-occupied countries. In Italy it played a fundamental role in the construction of defences along the Appenines in support of the Wehrmacht, employing tens of thousands of men.
Born in Scilla (Reggio Calabria) in 1890, he volunteered for the Corps of Engineers as a telegraphist in 1907. In 1908 he rose to the rank of sergeant, a rank he held throughout the War in Libya. In 1914 he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and during the First World War he was made captain.
Afterwards he remained in the Armed Forces and in 1932 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1936 he took part in the War in Ethiopia, during which he was promoted to the rank of colonel.
In the Second World War, he returned to Italy after participating in the Greek campaign and was assigned to the Bolzano Corps. In 1942 he was promoted to brigader general. After the armistice he joined the Italian Social Republic for which he created the Military Labour Inspectorate.
He finally retired in 1945 and in 1970 he was awarded the honorary grade of major general.
He died in 1974.
Fritz Sauckel, born in 1894, was a local Nazi party official. In 1942 he was nominated plenipotentiary for the organisation of work throughout all the German-occupied territories. In practice, he was responsible for the compulsory engagement of forced labour. In Italy his organisation tried to round up hundreds of thousands of men to send to the German Reich, with scarce results. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to death, the sentence being carried out in 1946.
Albert Speer, born in 1905, was an architect who enjoyed an excellent personal relationship with Adolf Hitler. Even though he was not an ardent Nazi, he was the brains behind the staging of the Party parades, thereby assuring for himself the esteem and trust of the dictator. In 1942, after the death of Fritz Todt, he was put in charge of the Ministry of Arms and Munitions, which oversaw the Todt organisation. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to twenty years imprisonment. He died in London in 1981.
A German prisoner of war camp. The living conditions in the Stalag varied considerably according to the nationality of the prisoners (Allied, Russian, Italian military internees, etc.)
Fritz Todt was a German engineer who was responsible, in the 'Thirties, for building the motorway system as desired by Hitler. At the end of the 'Thirties he set up the Todt Organisation, with the aim of supplying forced labour to be used in the building of defences along the French border. During the war his organisation oversaw the use of forced labour in the occupied territories. He died in a plane crash in 1942.
The Gemeinschaftslager, like the Wohnlager, were unsupervised camps for foreign workers, while the Arbeitslager were supervised. Generally speaking, the concept of forced labour is applied only to the latter, but at the present time historians are undoubtedly tending to review the concept of forced labour, extending it to include work situations which are apparently free but in reality are forced. More specifically, the current discussion tends to be orientated towards a concept of forced labour which includes these three distinctive elements:
- from a legal point of view, it is impossible for the worker to dissolve the relationship with his employer
- from the social point of view, the possibilities of significantly influencing employment conditions are limited
- there is a high mortality rate, which indicates a higher than average workload and a provision of means of sustenance below the necessary requirements.
See: [https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/geschichte/auslaendisch/begriffe/index.html]
The workers' re-education camps (AEL) were set up in 1940 by the Gestapo in order to re-educate individuals accused of acts of industrial sabotage or who, for some reason, were held to be “reluctant” to work. In effect, these camps were also a means of exploiting forced labour. It has been estimated that in Germany and the German-occupied territories around 200 Arbeitserziehungslager had been set up in which around 500,000 people had been imprisoned.
During the Second World War the Germans established prisoner of war units known as Bau-und Arbeits Battaillon (shortened to B.A.B.). The B.A.B. were made up on average of 600 prisoners of war who were used as forced labour. The distinguishing feature of these forced labour units was that they were mobile; unlike the prisoners who were being held in the Stalag, these workers were not stationed in a specific location but were moved around according to necessity.
The I.G. Farben Company was founded in 1925 from the merger of several different German industries. During the Second World War it was the main producer of chemicals for Nazi Germany. I.G. Farben made more use of forced labour than any other industry, particularly during the construction of the plants at Auschwitz. The directors of I.G. Farben were among the accused at the Nuremberg Trials of 1947/48. At the end of the war the decision was taken to split up the industry into its original component parts.
The Arbeitskommando were work camps detachments for prisoners who had been captured by the Germans. Usually made up of a few hundred prisoners, they were set up near to places of employment (factories, mines, agricultural establishments etc.). They were run from a central Stalag (prisoner of war camp), which may have been responsible for hundreds of work detachments. The work detachments for Allied prisoners of war were visited on a regular basis by representatives of the Red Cross.
The Military Work Inspectorate was set up in October 1943 with the aim of organising a workforce which was to construct territorial defences for the Italian Republic of Salò and repair the damage caused by air raids. Known as the “Organizzazione Paladino” (Paladino Organisation) after its founder and commanding officer, and operating in strict collaboration with, and at times directly employed by, the Germans, it took on several tens of thousands of workers.
The Todt Organisation was begun in Germany at the end of the 'Thirties with the aim of setting up a workforce which would build military defences. The idea of Fritz Todd, who was also its director until his death in 1942, during the war it exploited forced labour in German-occupied countries. In Italy it played a fundamental role in the construction of defences along the Appenines in support of the Wehrmacht, employing tens of thousands of men.
Born in Scilla (Reggio Calabria) in 1890, he volunteered for the Corps of Engineers as a telegraphist in 1907. In 1908 he rose to the rank of sergeant, a rank he held throughout the War in Libya. In 1914 he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and during the First World War he was made captain.
Afterwards he remained in the Armed Forces and in 1932 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1936 he took part in the War in Ethiopia, during which he was promoted to the rank of colonel.
In the Second World War, he returned to Italy after participating in the Greek campaign and was assigned to the Bolzano Corps. In 1942 he was promoted to brigader general. After the armistice he joined the Italian Social Republic for which he created the Military Labour Inspectorate.
He finally retired in 1945 and in 1970 he was awarded the honorary grade of major general.
He died in 1974.
Fritz Sauckel, born in 1894, was a local Nazi party official. In 1942 he was nominated plenipotentiary for the organisation of work throughout all the German-occupied territories. In practice, he was responsible for the compulsory engagement of forced labour. In Italy his organisation tried to round up hundreds of thousands of men to send to the German Reich, with scarce results. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to death, the sentence being carried out in 1946.
Albert Speer, born in 1905, was an architect who enjoyed an excellent personal relationship with Adolf Hitler. Even though he was not an ardent Nazi, he was the brains behind the staging of the Party parades, thereby assuring for himself the esteem and trust of the dictator. In 1942, after the death of Fritz Todt, he was put in charge of the Ministry of Arms and Munitions, which oversaw the Todt organisation. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to twenty years imprisonment. He died in London in 1981.
Fritz Todt was a German engineer who was responsible, in the 'Thirties, for building the motorway system as desired by Hitler. At the end of the 'Thirties he set up the Todt Organisation, with the aim of supplying forced labour to be used in the building of defences along the French border. During the war his organisation oversaw the use of forced labour in the occupied territories. He died in a plane crash in 1942.
The workers' re-education camps (AEL) were set up in 1940 by the Gestapo in order to re-educate individuals accused of acts of industrial sabotage or who, for some reason, were held to be “reluctant” to work. In effect, these camps were also a means of exploiting forced labour. It has been estimated that in Germany and the German-occupied territories around 200 Arbeitserziehungslager had been set up in which around 500,000 people had been imprisoned.
During the Second World War the Germans established prisoner of war units known as Bau-und Arbeits Battaillon (shortened to B.A.B.). The B.A.B. were made up on average of 600 prisoners of war who were used as forced labour. The distinguishing feature of these forced labour units was that they were mobile; unlike the prisoners who were being held in the Stalag, these workers were not stationed in a specific location but were moved around according to necessity.
The I.G. Farben Company was founded in 1925 from the merger of several different German industries. During the Second World War it was the main producer of chemicals for Nazi Germany. I.G. Farben made more use of forced labour than any other industry, particularly during the construction of the plants at Auschwitz. The directors of I.G. Farben were among the accused at the Nuremberg Trials of 1947/48. At the end of the war the decision was taken to split up the industry into its original component parts.
The Arbeitskommando were work camps detachments for prisoners who had been captured by the Germans. Usually made up of a few hundred prisoners, they were set up near to places of employment (factories, mines, agricultural establishments etc.). They were run from a central Stalag (prisoner of war camp), which may have been responsible for hundreds of work detachments. The work detachments for Allied prisoners of war were visited on a regular basis by representatives of the Red Cross.
The Military Work Inspectorate was set up in October 1943 with the aim of organising a workforce which was to construct territorial defences for the Italian Republic of Salò and repair the damage caused by air raids. Known as the “Organizzazione Paladino” (Paladino Organisation) after its founder and commanding officer, and operating in strict collaboration with, and at times directly employed by, the Germans, it took on several tens of thousands of workers.
The Todt Organisation was begun in Germany at the end of the 'Thirties with the aim of setting up a workforce which would build military defences. The idea of Fritz Todd, who was also its director until his death in 1942, during the war it exploited forced labour in German-occupied countries. In Italy it played a fundamental role in the construction of defences along the Appenines in support of the Wehrmacht, employing tens of thousands of men.
Born in Scilla (Reggio Calabria) in 1890, he volunteered for the Corps of Engineers as a telegraphist in 1907. In 1908 he rose to the rank of sergeant, a rank he held throughout the War in Libya. In 1914 he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and during the First World War he was made captain.
Afterwards he remained in the Armed Forces and in 1932 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1936 he took part in the War in Ethiopia, during which he was promoted to the rank of colonel.
In the Second World War, he returned to Italy after participating in the Greek campaign and was assigned to the Bolzano Corps. In 1942 he was promoted to brigader general. After the armistice he joined the Italian Social Republic for which he created the Military Labour Inspectorate.
He finally retired in 1945 and in 1970 he was awarded the honorary grade of major general.
He died in 1974.
Fritz Sauckel, born in 1894, was a local Nazi party official. In 1942 he was nominated plenipotentiary for the organisation of work throughout all the German-occupied territories. In practice, he was responsible for the compulsory engagement of forced labour. In Italy his organisation tried to round up hundreds of thousands of men to send to the German Reich, with scarce results. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to death, the sentence being carried out in 1946.
Albert Speer, born in 1905, was an architect who enjoyed an excellent personal relationship with Adolf Hitler. Even though he was not an ardent Nazi, he was the brains behind the staging of the Party parades, thereby assuring for himself the esteem and trust of the dictator. In 1942, after the death of Fritz Todt, he was put in charge of the Ministry of Arms and Munitions, which oversaw the Todt organisation. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to twenty years imprisonment. He died in London in 1981.
Fritz Todt was a German engineer who was responsible, in the 'Thirties, for building the motorway system as desired by Hitler. At the end of the 'Thirties he set up the Todt Organisation, with the aim of supplying forced labour to be used in the building of defences along the French border. During the war his organisation oversaw the use of forced labour in the occupied territories. He died in a plane crash in 1942.