"Italian Military Internees" (, , abbreviated as IMI) was the official name given by Germany to the Italian soldiers captured, rounded up and deported in the territories of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and

German-occupied Europe German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly military occupation, militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the governmen ...

Operation Achse Operation Achse (), originally called Operation Alaric (), was the codename for the German operation to forcibly disarm the Italian armed forces after Italy's armistice with the Allies on 3 September 1943. Several German divisions had en ...

in the days immediately following the

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 ...

armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces The Armistice of Cassibile (Italian language, Italian: ''Armistizio di Cassibile'') was an armistice that was signed on 3 September 1943 by Kingdom of Italy, Italy and the Allies of World War II, Allies, marking the end of hostilities between It ...

(September 8, 1943). After disarmament by the Germans, the Italian soldiers and officers were confronted with the choice to continue fighting as allies of the German army (either in the armed forces of the

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic (, ; RSI; , ), known prior to December 1943 as the National Republican State of Italy (; SNRI), but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò (, ), was a List of World War II puppet states#Germany, German puppe ...

, the German puppet regime in northern Italy led by

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his overthrow in 194 ...

, or in Italian "volunteer" units in the German armed forces) or, otherwise, be sent to detention camps in Germany. Those soldiers and officials who refused to recognize the "republic" led by Mussolini were taken as civilian prisoners too. Only 10 percent agreed to enroll. The others were considered

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

. Later they were re-designated "military internees" by the Germans (so as to not recognize the rights granted prisoners of war by the

Third Geneva Convention The Third Geneva Convention, relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. The Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War was first adopted in 1929, but significantl ...

), and finally, in the autumn of 1944 until the end of the war, "civilian workers", so they could be subjected to hard labor without protection 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 ...

. The Nazis considered the Italians as traitors and not as prisoners of war. The former Italian soldiers were sent into

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

in war industries (35.6%),

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

(7.1%), mining (28.5%), construction (5.9%) and agriculture (14.3%). The working conditions were very poor. The Italians were inadequately fed or clothed for the winter in Germany, Poland, etc. Many became sick and died. There were cases of harassment and beatings of Italians who refused to fight on the side of Germany. Some Italians were sent not to POW camps, but to

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...

, including Flossenbürg,

Gross-Rosen Gross-Rosen was a network of Nazi concentration camps built and operated by Nazi Germany during World War II. The main camp was located in the German village of Gross-Rosen, now the modern-day Rogoźnica in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, d ...

Mittelbau-Dora Mittelbau-Dora (also Dora-Mittelbau and Nordhausen-Dora) was a Nazi concentration camp located near Nordhausen in Thuringia, Germany. It was established in late summer 1943 as a subcamp of Buchenwald concentration camp, supplying slave labour f ...

, and their subcamps. Italians were also victims of mass executions and massacres, perpetrated by the Germans. The death rate of the military internees at 6-7% was second only to that of

Soviet prisoners of war The following articles deal with Soviet prisoners of war. * Camps for Russian prisoners and internees in Poland (1919–24) *Soviet prisoners of war in Finland Soviet prisoners of war in Finland during World War II were captured in two Soviet Un ...

although much lower.

Numbers of prisoners and casualties

The Germans disarmed and captured 1,007,000 Italian soldiers, out of a total of approximately 2,000,000 actually in the army. Of these, 196,000 fled during the deportation. Of the remaining approximately 810,000 (of which 58,000 were caught in France, 321,000 in Italy and 430,000 in the Balkans), more than 13,000 lost their lives during the transportation from the Greek islands to the mainland and 94,000, including almost all the Blackshirts of the MVSN, decided immediately to accept the offer to fight alongside the Germans. This left a total of approximately 710,000. Italian soldiers deported into German prison camps with the status of IMI. By the spring of 1944, some 103,000 had declared themselves ready to serve in Germany or the

, as combatants or as auxiliary workers. In total, therefore, between 600,000 and 650,000 soldiers refused to continue the war alongside the Germans. The estimates of losses among the IMI vary between 37,000 and 50,000.
The most common estimate is 45,000 victims. The causes of death were: * the harshness and danger of forced labor (10,000 dead) * disease and malnutrition, especially in the last months of the war (23,000) * executions inside the camps (4,600) * the allied bombings of facilities where they worked (2,700) * others perished on the Eastern Front (5,000-7,000) * attempted to escape to allied lines in Italy or the Western Front or neutral

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and were either shot or died on to journey to freedom (Unknown Number) At the end of the war, several thousand former IMI ended up in the hands of French, Soviets or Yugoslavs, and instead of being released, were kept in captivity for some time after the end of the war while others were liberated by American, British and Canadian soldiers. Some of the Italians died in the weeks or months after their liberation and return to Italy, after exhausting labor in German labor camps like those in

Kamienna Góra Kamienna Góra (, ) is a town in south-western Poland with 18,235 inhabitants (2023). It is the seat of Kamienna Góra County, and also of the rural district called Gmina Kamienna Góra, although it is not part of the territory of the latter (t ...

Places of internment

Prisoner-of-war camps in which sizeable numbers of Italians were held: *

Stalag I-A Stalag I-A was a German prisoner-of-war camp during World War II, located in the village of Stablack (now divided between Kamińsk, Poland, and Dolgorukovo, Russia). It housed mainly Polish, Belgian, French, Soviet and Italian prisoners of wa ...

with 11,323 Italian POWs as of 1 October 1943 *

Stalag I-B Stalag I-B Hohenstein was a German World War II German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II, prisoner-of-war camp located west of Hohenstein, East Prussia (now Olsztynek, Poland). The camp was partially located on the grounds of the Tannenberg M ...

with 12,697 Italian POWs as of 1 October 1943 *

Stalag I-F Stalag I-F was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp located just north of the city of Suwałki in German-occupied Poland. Camp history Construction of the camp began in April 1941, before the attack on the Soviet Union, to accommodate ...

with 19,957 Italian POWs as of 1 October 1943 *

Stalag II-B Stalag II-B was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp situated west of the town of Hammerstein, Pomerania (now Czarne, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland) on the north side of the railway line. It housed Polish, French, Belgian, Serbian, Du ...

with 12,904 Italian POWs as of 1 October 1942 *

Stalag II-D Stalag II-D Stargard (American named, "Camp #86") was a World War II German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II, prisoner-of-war camp located near Stargard, Pomerania. It housed Polish people, Polish, American ...

with 6,409 Italian POWs as of October 1943 *

Stalag III-A Stalag III-A was a German World War II German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II, prisoner-of-war (POW) camp at Luckenwalde, Brandenburg, south of Berlin. It housed Polish, Dutch, Belgian, French prisoners of war in World War II, French, Yugosl ...

with some 16,000 Italian POWs *

Stalag III-B In Germany, stalag (; ) was a term used for prisoner-of-war camps. Stalag is a contraction of "Stammlager", itself short for ''Kriegsgefangenen-Mannschaftsstammlager'', literally "main camp for enlisted prisoners of war" (officers were kept i ...

( Fürstenberg/Oder) with some 13,500 Italian POWs brought by October 1943 *

Stalag III-C Stalag III-C was a German Army World War II prisoner-of-war camp for Allied soldiers. It was located on a plain near the village of Alt Drewitz bei Küstrin then located in the Neumark of the province of Brandenburg (now Drzewice, Kostrzyn nad Od ...

with 1,449 Italian POWs as of 1 October 1944 * Stalag III-D with 31,738 Italian POWs registered by January 1944 *

Stalag VI-C Stalag VI-C was a World War II German POW camp located 6 km west of the village Oberlangen in Emsland in north-western Germany. It was originally built with five others in the same marshland area as a prison camp (''Straflager'') for Germans ...

with over 11,000 Italian POWs as of 1 October 1943 * Stalag VI-D (

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

) with 4,473 Italian POWs as of 1 October 1944 *

Stalag VIII-A Stalag VIII-A was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp, located just to the south of the town of Görlitz in Lower Silesia, east of the River Neisse. The location of the camp lies in today's Polish town of Zgorzelec, which lies over the r ...

with 9,415 Italian POWs as of 1 June 1944 *

Stalag VIII-C Stalag VIII-C was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp, near Sagan, Lower Silesia (now Żagań, Poland). It was adjacent to the famous Stalag Luft III, and was built at the beginning of World War II, occupying . It housed Allied POWs of vari ...

with 5,251 Italian POWs as of 1 December 1943 *

Stalag IX-C Stalag IX-C was a German prisoner-of-war camp for Allied soldiers in World War II. Although its headquarters were located near Bad Sulza, between Erfurt and Leipzig in Thuringia, its sub-camps – ''Arbeitskommando'' – were spread over a wide ar ...

with 9,225 Italian POWs as of 1 December 1943 *

Stalag XI-B Stalag XI-B and Stalag XI-D / 357 were two German World War II prisoner-of-war camps ('' Stammlager'') located just to the east of the town of Fallingbostel in Lower Saxony, in north-western Germany. The camps housed Polish, French, Belgian, So ...

with 13,561 Italian POWs by October 1943 *

Stalag XIII-B In Germany, stalag (; ) was a term used for prisoner-of-war camps. Stalag is a contraction of "Stammlager", itself short for ''Kriegsgefangenen-Mannschaftsstammlager'', literally "main camp for enlisted prisoners of war" (officers were kept i ...

( Weiden) with 4,787 Italian POWs as of 1 April 1944 *

Stalag XIII-D Stalag XIII-D Nürnberg Langwasser was a German Army World War II prisoner-of-war camp built on what had been the Nazi party rally grounds in Nuremberg, northern Bavaria. Camp history In September 1939 an internment camp for enemy civilians was ...

with 10,139 Italian POWs as of 1 April 1944 *

Stalag XX-B Stalag XX-B was a German prisoner-of-war camp in World War II, operated in Wielbark (present-day district of Malbork, Poland). It housed Polish, British, French, Belgian, Serbian, Soviet, Italian, Australian, New Zealand and Canadian POWs. Loca ...

with 6,081 Italian POWs as of 1 July 1944 *

Stalag 307 Stalag 307 and Oflag 77 was a German prisoner-of-war camp operated during World War II in Dęblin in German-occupied Poland. History The first POW camp was established in Dęblin by the German occupiers in 1939 for Polish troops of the Indepen ...

with 7,765 Italian POWs as of January 1944 * Stalag 319 (

Chełm Chełm (; ; ) is a city in eastern Poland in the Lublin Voivodeship with 60,231 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is located to the south-east of Lublin, north of Zamość and south of Biała Podlaska, some from the border with Ukraine. The ...

) with 2,163 Italian POWs as of January 1944 * Stalag 327 (

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

) with 3,555 Italian POWs as of 1 January 1944 * Stalag 328 (

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

) with 2,441 Italian POWs as of January 1944 * Stalag 333 (

Beniaminów Beniaminów is a village in central Poland, administratively located in the Legionowo County in the Masovian Voivodeship. It is located east of Warsaw, between Legionowo and Nieporęt within the Warsaw metropolitan area. History Within the vi ...

) with 2,720 Italian POWs as of 1 January 1944 *

Stalag 344 Stalag VIII-B was most recently a German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army administered prisoner-of-war camp#Military District VIII (Breslau), POW camp during World War II, later renumbered Stalag-344, located near the village of Lamsdorf (now Łambin ...

with 1,063 Italian POWs as of 3 January 1944 * Stalag 352 (

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

) with 3,500 Italian POWs between December 1943 and June 1944 * Oflag 73 (Beniaminów) with 2,934 Italian POWs as of 1 February 1944 * Oflag 83 (

Wietzendorf Wietzendorf ( Eastphalian: ''Witzendörp'') is a municipality in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, in northern Germany. It is situated approximately 14 km southeast of Soltau, and 50 km southwest of Lüneburg. The population as ...

) with some 6,000 Italian POWs in the spring of 1945 Alex Moroder Max Stuflesser Ernst Prinoth Prisoners of war Stalag XVIII-A Wolfsberg

Other places of internment were Stalag II-A,

Stalag IV-A Stalag IV-A Elsterhorst was a World War II German Army prisoner-of-war camp located south of the village of Elsterhorst (now Nardt), near Hoyerswerda in Saxony, north-east of Dresden (this should not however be confused with Stalag IV-A Hohnstei ...

Stalag IV-B Stalag IV-B was one of the largest prisoner-of-war camps in Germany during World War II, located north-east of the town of Mühlberg. It held Polish, French, British, Australian, Soviet, South African, Italian and other Allied prisoners of war. ...

Stalag IV-C Stalag IV-C was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp located in Bystřice (now part of the town of Dubí) in German-occupied Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) in the Ore Mountains region. Camp history The camp was opened in Februar ...

, Stalag IV-D, Stalag IV-F, Stalag IV-G, Stalag V-A, Stalag V-B (

Villingen Villingen-Schwenningen (; Low Alemannic: ''Villinge-Schwenninge'') is a city in the Schwarzwald-Baar district in southern Baden-Württemberg, in south-western Germany. It had 89,743 inhabitants as of September 2024. History In the Middle Ages, ...

), Stalag V-C (

Offenburg Offenburg (; "open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in south-western Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the administrat ...

), Stalag VI-A, Stalag VI-F ( Bocholt), Stalag VI-G ( Bonn–Duisdorf), Stalag VI-J ( Krefeld-Fichtenhain),

Stalag VII-A Stalag VII-A (in full: ''Kriegsgefangenen-Mannschafts-Stammlager VII-A'') was the largest prisoner-of-war camp in Nazi Germany during World War II, located just north of the town of Moosburg in southern Bavaria. The camp covered an area of . It se ...

Stalag VII-B In Germany, stalag (; ) was a term used for prisoner-of-war camps. Stalag is a contraction of "Stammlager", itself short for ''Kriegsgefangenen-Mannschaftsstammlager'', literally "main camp for enlisted prisoners of war" (officers were kept i ...

(

Memmingen Memmingen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Memmenge'') is a town in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is the economic, educational and administrative centre of the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the ...

Stalag VIII-B Stalag VIII-B was most recently a German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army administered prisoner-of-war camp#Military District VIII (Breslau), POW camp during World War II, later renumbered Stalag-344, located near the village of Lamsdorf (now Łambin ...

, Stalag IX-A (

Ziegenhain Ziegenhain is a municipality in the district of Altenkirchen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, 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 n ...

Stalag IX-B Stalag IX-B (also known as Bad Orb-Wegscheide) was a German World War II German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II, prisoner-of-war camp located south-east of the town of Bad Orb in Hesse, Germany on the hill known as ''Wegscheideküppel''. The ...

Stalag X-A In Germany, stalag (; ) was a term used for prisoner-of-war camps. Stalag is a contraction of "Stammlager", itself short for ''Kriegsgefangenen-Mannschaftsstammlager'', literally "main camp for Enlisted rank, enlisted prisoners of war" (office ...

(

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been di ...

Stalag X-B Stalag X-B was a World War II Nazi Germany, German prisoner-of-war camp located near Sandbostel in Lower Saxony in north-western Germany. Between 1939 and 1945 several hundred thousand POWs of 55 nations passed through the camp. Due to the bad co ...

, Stalag X-C, Stalag XII-A (

Limburg an der Lahn Limburg an der Lahn (, ; officially abbreviated ''Limburg a. d. Lahn'') is the district seat of Limburg-Weilburg in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Limburg lies in western Hesse between the Taunus and the Westerwald on the river Lahn. The t ...

), Stalag XII-D (

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

), Stalag XII-F (

Forbach Forbach ( , , ; ) is a commune in the French department of Moselle, northeastern French region of Grand Est. It is located on the German border approximately 15 minutes from the center of Saarbrücken, Germany, with which it constitutes a ...

), Stalag XIII-A (

Sulzbach-Rosenberg Sulzbach-Rosenberg () is a municipality in the Amberg-Sulzbach district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated approximately 14 km northwest of Amberg, and 50 km east of Nuremberg. The town consists of two parts: Sulzbach in the west, and ...

Stalag XIII-C Stalag XIII-C was a German Army World War II prisoner-of-war camp ('' Stammlager'') built on what had been the training camp at Hammelburg, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. Camp history Hammelburg was a large German Army training camp, set up ...

Stalag XVII-A In Germany, stalag (; ) was a term used for prisoner-of-war camps. Stalag is a contraction of "Stammlager", itself short for ''Kriegsgefangenen-Mannschaftsstammlager'', literally "main camp for enlisted prisoners of war" (officers were kept i ...

( Kaisersteinbruch), Stalag XVII-B (

Gneixendorf Gneixendorf is a village near Krems in Lower Austria. It was the location of Stalag XVII-B, the setting of the Billy Wilder film ''Stalag 17''. The stone-age pre-history, the history of Christian orders settlement and rule and their stately rena ...

Stalag XVIII-A Stalag XVIII-A was a World War II German Army (Wehrmacht) prisoner-of-war camp located to the south of the town of Wolfsberg, in the southern Austrian state of Carinthia, then a part of Nazi Germany. A sub-camp Stalag XVIII-A/Z was later opened i ...

Stalag XVIII-C In Germany, stalag (; ) was a term used for prisoner-of-war camps. Stalag is a contraction of "Stammlager", itself short for ''Kriegsgefangenen-Mannschaftsstammlager'', literally "main camp for Enlisted rank, enlisted prisoners of war" (office ...

( Markt Pongau),

Stalag XX-A Stalag XX-A was a German World War II German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II, prisoner-of-war camp located in Toruń in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), German-occupied Poland. It was not a single camp and contained as many as 20,000 men ...

Stalag XXI-D Stalag XXI-D was a German World War II German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II, prisoner-of-war camp based in Poznań in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), German-occupied Poland, operated in 1940–1945. It held Polish, French prisoners of w ...

, Stalag 122 (

Compiègne Compiègne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department of northern France. It is located on the river Oise (river), Oise, and its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois'' (). Administration Compiègne is t ...

), Stalag 365 (

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

), Stalag 366 (

Siedlce Siedlce () ( ) is a city in the Masovian Voivodeship in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). The city is situated between two small rivers, the Muchawka and the Helenka, and lies along the European route E30, around east of Warsaw. It is ...

), Stalag 367 (

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

), Stalag 373 (

Prostki Prostki is a village in Ełk County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Prostki. It lies approximately south of Ełk and east of the regional capital Olsztyn. It ...

), Stalag 384, Stalag 398 (near

Pupping Pupping is a municipality in the district of Eferding in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. St. Wolfgang of Regensburg died here in the Chapel of Saint Othmar while on his way to Hungary for a mission. Geography Pupping lies in the Hausruckvi ...

), Oflag IV-B,

Oflag VIII-F Oflag VIII-F was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for officers (''Offizierlager'') located first in Wahlstatt, Silesia (now Legnickie Pole, Poland) and then at Mährisch-Trübau, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (now Moravská Třebov ...

Oflag X-B Oflag X-B was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for officers ('' Offizierlager'') located in Nienburg/Weser, Lower Saxony, in north-western Germany. Adjacent to it was the enlisted men's camp ('' Stammlager'') Stalag X-C. Camp history ...

, Oflag XVIII-A (

Lienz Lienz (; Southern Bavarian: ''Lianz'') is a medieval town in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the administrative centre of the Lienz district, which covers all of East Tyrol. The municipality also includes the cadastral subdivision of ''Pat ...

), Oflag XXI-C/Z ( Gronówko), Oflag 64/Z (

Skoki Skoki () is a town in Poland, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Wągrowiec County, with 4,003 inhabitants (2010). It is located about 40 km north of Poznań. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Skoki. History Establ ...

Atrocities against Italian POWs

Biala-Podlaska-180827-Italian-cemetery-1

In addition to the mass deaths caused by starvation and epidemics, the Germans also carried out mass executions of Italian prisoners in several locations, including the Stalag 319 camp in

with several hundred victims and the Stalag 327 camp in

, both in

German-occupied Poland German-occupied Poland can refer to: * General Government * Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany * Occupation of Poland (1939–1945) * Prussian Partition The Prussian Partition (), or Prussian Poland, is the former territories of the Polish� ...

. There were cases of Italian prisoners being shot for taking food smuggled in by Polish civilians or even for eating grass, as in the Stalag 366/Z camp in

Biała Podlaska Biała Podlaska (; ) is a city in the Lublin Voivodeship in eastern Poland with 56,498 inhabitants It is the capital of Biała Podlaska County, although the city is not part of the county (it constitutes a separate city county). The city lies on ...

in German-occupied Poland. German troops also committed massacres of Italian prisoners either shortly before or during their retreat westward from occupied Poland, as in

Międzyrzec Podlaski Międzyrzec Podlaski () is a town in Biała Podlaska County, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 17,102 inhabitants . The total area of the town is . Międzyrzec is located in the historic region of Podlachia, near the Krzna river, n ...

, where 60 Italian prisoners of a local forced labour subcamp of the Stalag 366 camp were massacred on 23 July 1944, and

Kuźnica Żelichowska Kuźnica Żelichowska () is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Krzyż Wielkopolski, within Czarnków-Trzcianka County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Krzyż Wielkopolski, wes ...

where six Italian generals ( Giuseppe Andreoli, Emanuele Balbo Bertone, Ugo Ferrero,

Carlo Spatocco Carlo Spatocco (31 May 1883 – 28 January 1945) was an Italian general during World War II. Biography Spatocco was born in Chieti on 31 May 1883, the son of Francesco Spatocco, and after enlisting in the Royal Italian Army he participated i ...

, Alberto Trionfi, Alessandro Vaccaneo) were massacred on 28 January 1945 during a German-perpetrated

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war, other captives, or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinct from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convention requires tha ...

. In 2023, previously unknown graves of 60 Italian prisoners of war who had been buried by the Germans in cramped crates without lids were discovered at a POW cemetery in

Łambinowice Łambinowice is a village in Nysa County, Opole Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Łambinowice. It lies approximately north-east of Nysa, Poland, Nysa and south-west of the region ...

, Poland.

Ships sunk carrying Italian POWs

* ''Gaetano Donizetti'', Sep. 23 1943,

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

, 1,796 killed, sunk by HMS Eclipse * ''Ardena'', Sep. 27 1943,

Argostoli Argostoli (, Katharevousa: ) is a town and a municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands (region), Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2019 local government reform it is one of the three municipalities on the island. It has been the capi ...

, 779 killed, sunk by a mine * ''Mario Roselli'', Oct. 11 1943, Corfu, 1,302 killed, sunk by RAF air attack * ''Maria Amalia'', Oct. 13 1943,

Kefalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia (), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallonia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th-largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It is also a separate regio ...

, 544 killed, sunk by a mine or by a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

submarine (either HMS ''Unruly'' or HMS ''Trooper'') * ''Sinfra'', Oct. 20 1943, Crete, 2,098 killed, sunk by RAF and

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

air attacks * ''Aghios Antonios - Kal 89'', Nov. 19th 1943,

Karpathos Karpathos (, ), also Carpathos, is the second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Together with the neighboring smaller Saria Island it forms the municipality of Karpathos, which is part of the regional unit ...

, 110 killed, sunk by

ORP Sokół One ship and three submarines of the Polish Navy have been named ORP ''Sokół'' (Polish: "Falcon"): * ''Sokół'', a tugboat launched in 1920 and disposed of in 1957. * , a launched in 1940 and leased to Poland the same year. She served during Wo ...

* ''Leda'', Feb. 2nd 1944,

Amorgos Amorgos (, ; ) is the easternmost island of the Cyclades island group and the nearest island to the neighboring Dodecanese island group in Greece. Along with 16 neighbouring islets, the largest of which (by land area) is Nikouria Island, it compr ...

, 780 killed, sunk by RAF air attack * ''Petrella'', Feb. 8 1944,

Souda Souda () is a town and former municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Chania, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of . It is an imp ...

, 2,670 killed, sunk by

HMS Sportsman HMS ''Sportsman'' was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in 1942, she spent most of the war serving in the Mediterranean Sea. After an initial patrol off Norway, she sank the heavy transpor ...

* ''Oria'', Feb. 12 1944, Cape Sounion, 4,074 killed, shipwrecked in a storm * ''Sifnos'', March 4, 1944,

Milos Milos or Melos (; , ; ) is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete. It is the southwestern-most island of the Cyclades group. The ''Venus de Milo'' (now in the Louvre), the ''Poseidon of Melos'' (now in the ...

, 70 killed, sunk by RAF air attack * ''Tanais'', June 9, 1944,

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, 213 killed, sunk by HMS Vivid Total of 13,939 killed

Notable IMIs

* Vittorio Emanuele Giuntella *

Giovannino Guareschi Giovannino Oliviero Giuseppe Guareschi (; 1 May 1908 – 22 July 1968) was an Italian journalist, cartoonist, and humorist whose best known creation is the priest Don Camillo and Peppone, Don Camillo. Life and career Guareschi was born into a ...

Tonino Guerra Antonio "Tonino" Guerra (16 March 1920 – 21 March 2012) was an Italian poet, writer and screenwriter who collaborated with some of the most prominent film directors, such as Andrei Tarkovsky, Michelangelo Antonioni, Theo Angelopoulos, and Fede ...

Alex Moroder Alex Moroder ( Ortisei, 13 May 1923 – Ortisei, 11 November 2006) was an Italian activist. Biography He was the son of sculptor Ludwig Moroder and Adele Moroder. In 1939 he was enrolled in the Italian army with the Alpini fighting Germany. I ...

Alessandro Natta Alessandro Natta (7 January 1918 – 23 May 2001) was an Italian politician and secretary of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) from 1984 to 1988. An illuminist, Jacobin, and communist, as he used to describe himself, Natta represented the poli ...

Luciano Salce Luciano Salce (25 September 1922 – 17 December 1989) was an Italian film director, comedian, television host, producer, actor and lyricist. His 1962 film ''Le pillole di Ercole'' was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy at the ...

Mario Rigoni Stern Mario Rigoni Stern (1 November 1921 – 16 June 2008) was an Italian author and World War II veteran. Biography He was born and grew up on the Asiago plateau in North East Italy. In 1938, after being rejected for service in the Navy, he enrol ...

Gianrico Tedeschi Gianrico Tedeschi (20 April 1920 – 27 July 2020) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Life and career Born in Milan in April 1920, Tedeschi got a degree in pedagogy before enrolling at the Silvio D'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Art, wh ...

* Giuseppe Tontodonati

References

External links

''Between Two Stools. The History of the Italian Military Internees 1943 - 1945''
web site of the exhibition at the Nazi Forced Labour Documentation Centre in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

''The Sand Mine''
-

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

web about the massacre of 127 Italian forced labourers in April 1945 in Treuenbrietzen (

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

Bibliography

* * * {{Nazi war crimes in Italy Military history of Italy during World War II World War II crimes against prisoners of war Nazi war crimes in Italy Forced labour during World War II G Nazi forced labour de:Militärinternierte#Italienische Militärinternierte