The internment camp in Casoli, in the province of
Chieti
Chieti (, ; , , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Southern Italy, east of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti, in the Abruzzo, Abruzzo region.
In Italian, the adjectival form is ''teatino'' and inhabitants of Chieti ar ...
, was one of several internment camps set up by the
fascist
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
government following the
entry of Italy into
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, to sit foreigners and anti-fascists. It operated from July 1940 to September 1943, with a capacity of 80–90 people.
Jewish refugees
This article lists expulsions, refugee crises and other forms of displacement that have affected Jews.
Timeline
The following is a list of Jewish expulsions and events that prompted significant streams of Jewish refugees.
Assyrian captivity
...
from
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
were interned first, then "ex-
Yugoslavs
Yugoslavs or Yugoslavians ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Jugoslaveni/Jugosloveni, Југославени/Југословени; ; ) is an identity that was originally conceived to refer to a united South Slavic people. It has been used in two connotations: ...
".
History
On April 27, 1940, the former school in the municipality of
Casoli
Casoli ( Abruzzese: ') a ''comune'' and town in the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is situated on a foothill of the Majella mountain, at the base of which runs the Aventino River, tributary of the Sangro. As of 31 Decembe ...
and local property from ''Att. Innocent Tilli'' were identified as possible places of internment. They were replaced a few months later by another location of the same capacity, used in the past as a movie theatre.
The
Ministry of the Interior
An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement.
In some states, the ...
decided to allocate the place to an internment camp for foreign Jews, Germans and Austrians. The camp's administration (activated June 10, 1940) was headed by the town's mayor: Moses Ricci, while monitoring was conferred to the police and health matters to Dr. Nicholas Raymond.
The first inmates arrived July 14, 1940, their number varying over time as a result of the numerous transfers between camps.
Conditions in this camp were better than in most other camps, due to inspections of the
Red Cross
The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
taking place and inmates receiving international aid through DELASEM.
The work of Moses Ricci was even reported in October 1940 by local fascists for being too bland and sympathetic to the inmates, who enjoyed greater freedom of movement and with whom the local population tended to fraternize.
In May 1942, the 50 "foreign Jews" were transferred to another internment camp and in their place came 82 "ex-Yugoslavs" from
Corropoli internment camp. The conditions worsened given the shortage of food and clothing, the lack of toilets and overcrowding, as alleged in Red Cross communications.
By September 8, 1943, the camp was closed, after the
armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...
was signed.
See also
*
Holocaust in Italy
The Holocaust saw the persecution, deportation, and murder of Jews between 1943 and 1945 in the Italian Social Republic, the part of the Kingdom of Italy occupied by Nazi Germany after the Italian surrender on 8 September 1943, during World War ...
References
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*''This article was initially translated from the Italian Wikipedia.''
External links
History of Red Cross Involvement in WWII
{{Authority control
1940s in Italy
Italian fascist internment camps in Italy