The internment camp in Casoli, in the province of

Chieti Chieti (, ; , nap, label= Abruzzese, Chjïétë, ; gr, Θεάτη, Theátē; lat, Theate, ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Central Italy, east by northeast of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region. ...

, was one of several internment camps set up by the

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

government following the entry of Italy into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 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 is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

were interned first, then "ex-

Yugoslavs Yugoslavs or Yugoslavians ( Bosnian and Croatian: ''Jugoslaveni'', Serbian and Macedonian ''Jugosloveni''/Југословени; sl, Jugoslovani) is an identity that was originally designed to refer to a united South Slavic people. It has ...

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 December ...

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 (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

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 International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

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 the La ...

was signed.

References

* * * *''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

History

See also

References

External links