A long battle to prosecute the eight surviving Nazi
soldiers believed to be responsible for one of the bloodiest civilian massacres
to have occurred in Italy during World War II has ended in controversy.
On August 12, 1944, a group of
German officers from the Waffen SS division decimated the village of Sant’Anna
di Stazzema, a town in the Versilia coastal hills. The soldiers executed an
estimated 560 townspeople, including men, women and children, in the church
square. Their bodies were then burned, making it one of the most brutal
atrocities in war-torn Italy.
However, a recent ruling by a
German court says it will not prosecute the eight surviving Nazi military
officers suspected of participating in the massacre. Reviewing the results of a
10-year investigation, the German justices ruled ‘a lack of evidence.’
In Italy, news of the German
court’s decision has disappointed and enraged many. Victims’ relatives and a
host of Italian politicians have promised to continue to pursue justice.
Among them is the Association of
the Martyrs of Sant’Anna (www.santannadistazzema.org),
which called the ruling ‘absurd and unjust’ and has vowed to take action.
Mario Silicani, mayor of
Sant’Anna di Strazzema, said of the German ruling, ‘It is offensive to read
that it was not possible to clarify whether or not this was a planned act,
because the Italian investigation has already illustrated the course of the
events in question. In the coming days, I will be lobbying support from Italy’s
foreign affairs minister Giulio Terzi and justice minister Paola Severino to
start a discussion between the two countries for the recognition of rulings
issued by the respective courts … It offends and hurts us to know that in a
sense we are back at the start again, even though for us the 2005 ruling
remains a cornerstone of historical and judicial truth, for the seriousness
with which the investigations were conducted, supported by the work of
prosecutor Marco De Paolis.’
Silicani’s words were echoed by
high-ranking Italian politicians, including president of the Italian Republic,
Giorgio Napolitano: ‘We note with profound regret the disturbing reasons for
closing a case into those suspected of directly participating in those heinous
Nazi crimes.’
In its own investigation and
trial, in 2005 Italy’s military court convicted 10 former Nazi officers to life
in prison in absentia, including the eight who remain alive. The Italian court
convicted the officers for having carried out a ‘premeditated act of
terrorism.’ The Italian High Court of Appeal upheld the conviction in 2007.
Germany, however, has refused to grant Italy’s request for the men’s arrest as
its constitution prohibits the extradition of its citizens.
German officials have stressed
that the court’s decision was made with special care. ‘I want to assure the
survivors and victims’ relatives that the Stuttgart prosecutor’s office did
everything possible’ to determine the responsibility of German military
officers in the Sant’Anna di Stazzema massacre,’ said Stuttgart attorney
general Claudia Krauth. ‘Even here we feel the weight of our responsibility,’
added Krauth. ‘We have investigated with great interest and commitment.’
MEMORIAL FOR THE VICTIMS
Together with survivors of the
massacre, town officials created the National Park of Peace of Sant’Anna di
Stazzema in 2000, a memorial area that extends over the hilly area surrounding
the village and includes the church square where the massacre took place. The
park comprises a sacred area, which includes the small parish church, a museum
dedicated to the resistance, and a Via Crucis, which is a paved path from the
church’s square that leads to the Charnel House Monument. Erected in 1948 and
designed by Tito Salvatori, the Charnel House Monument is a 12-metre tower with
four arches. Under its arches is a sculpture by artist Vincenzo Gasperetti
representing a woman with a child killed during the massacre. The base of the
statue contains the mortal remains of those killed. The monument also bears a
plaque with the names of those victims who could be identified. For more
information, consult www.santannadistazzema.org.
A
survivor’s account
‘As we were all small children, my
mother hid us in a forest and we remained there until we heard some shots. When
the shots ended, when it was all quiet, we started hearing that the Nazis destroyed
the village and killed all the people.’ Luciano Lazzeri, survivor – www.santannadistazzema.org
