The Gonars concentration camp was one of the several

Italian concentration camps Italian concentration camps include camps from the Italian colonial wars in Africa as well as camps for the civilian population from areas occupied by Italy during World War II. Memory of both camps were subjected to "historical amnesia". The repr ...

and it was established on February 23, 1942, near

Gonars Gonars ( fur, Gonârs) is a town and ''comune'' near Palmanova in Friuli, northeastern Italy. History World War II On 23 February 1942, the fascist regime established a concentration camp in the town, mostly for prisoners from present-day Slo ...

, Italy. Many internees were transferred to this camp from the other Italian concentration camp,

Rab concentration camp The Rab concentration camp ( it, Campo di concentramento per internati civili di Guerra – Arbe; hr, Koncentracijski logor Rab; sl, Koncentracijsko taborišče Rab) was one of several Italian concentration camps. It was established during World ...

, which served as equivalent of

final solution The Final Solution (german: die Endlösung, ) or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question (german: Endlösung der Judenfrage, ) was a Nazi plan for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews during World War II. The "Final Solution to th ...

Mario Roatta Mario Roatta (2 February 1887 – 7 January 1968) was an Italian general. After serving in World War I he rose to command the Corpo Truppe Volontarie which assisted Francisco Franco's force during the Spanish Civil War. He was the Deputy Chief of ...

ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...

policy against ethnic

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovene as their n ...

from the Italian-occupied

Province of Ljubljana The Province of Ljubljana ( it, Provincia di Lubiana, sl, Ljubljanska pokrajina, german: Provinz Laibach) was the central-southern area of Slovenia. In 1941, it was annexed by Fascist Italy, and after 1943 occupied by Nazi Germany. Created on May ...

and

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...

from Gorski Kotar, in accord with the

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

1920s speech by

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

, along with other

Italian war crimes Italian war crimes have mainly been associated with Fascist Italy in the Pacification of Libya, the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II. Italo-Turkish War In 1911, Italy went to war with the Ottoman Empire and in ...

committed on the Italian-occupied territories of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

: The first transport of 5,343 internees (1,643 of whom were children) arrived two days after its establishment, on February 23, 1942, from the

and from the other two Italian concentration camps, the Rab camp and the camp in

Monigo The Monigo concentration camp was a prison camp opened during World War II aimed at civilian prisoners (mostly Slovenes and Croats). It was located in Monigo, a suburb of the town of Treviso. The camp was active between 1942 and 1943. The total n ...

(near

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

). The camp was disbanded on September 8, 1943, immediately after the

Italian armistice The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigad ...

. Only in 1973 a

sacrarium A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. For Roman C ...

was created by

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Miodrag Živković at the town's cemetery. Remains of 453 Slovenian and Croatian victims were transferred into its two underground

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

s. It is believed that at least 50 additional persons died in the camp due to

starvation Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, dea ...

and

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

Notable inmates

Slovenes

* Viktor Antolin, professor of philosophy (student/journalist at the time) *

France Balantič France Balantič (29 November 1921 – 24 November 1943) was a Slovenian language, Slovene poet. His works were banned from schools and libraries during the Titoist regime in Slovenia, but since the late 1980s he has been re-evaluated as one of th ...

, poet *

France Bučar France Bučar (2 February 1923 – 21 October 2015) was a Slovenian politician, legal expert and author. Between 1990 and 1992, he served as the first speaker of the freely elected Slovenian Parliament. He was the one to formally declare the inde ...

, lawyer, writer, and statesman in post-1991 Slovenia * Lojze Bukovac, bearer of Commemorative Medal of the Partisans of 1941, a writer *

Alojz Gradnik Alojz Gradnik (August 3, 1882 – July 14, 1967) was a Slovenian poet and translator. Life Gradnik was born in the village of Medana in the Gorizia Hills region, in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire and is today in the Municipality of ...

, poet *

Bogo Grafenauer Bogo Grafenauer (16 March 1916 – 12 May 1995) was a Slovenian historian, who mostly wrote about medieval history in the Slovene Lands. Together with Milko Kos, Fran Zwitter, and Vasilij Melik, he was one of the founders of the so-called ...

, historian * Zora Konjajev, pediatrician *

Boris Kraigher Boris Kraigher (February 14, 1914 – January 4, 1967) was a Slovenian communist politician. Kraigher served as the president of the Executive Council of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia from December 15, 1953 to June 25, 1962. He was a member ...

, politician * Vasilij Melik, historian *

Frane Milčinski Frane Milčinski (pen name Ježek; 14 December 1914 – 27 February 1988) was a Slovene poet, satirist, humorist and comedian, actor, children's writer, and director. He is considered one of Slovenia's foremost 20th-century satirists and ente ...

(pen name ''Ježek''), a poet, actor, children's writer, and director *

Jakob Savinšek Jakob Savinšek (4 February 1922 – 17 August 1961) was a Slovene sculptor, illustrator, and poet. Life Savinšek was born in the Upper Carniolan town of Kamnik, then part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (now in Slovenia), wh ...

, sculptor and poet * Bojan Štih, literary critic, essayist, and stage director * Bogdana Stritar, opera singer * Nada Vidmar, opera singer * Nande Vidmar, painter *

Anton Vratuša Anton Vratuša (born Vratussa Antal; 21 February 1915 – 30 July 2017) was a Slovenian politician and diplomat who was Prime Minister of Slovenia from 1978 to 1980, and Yugoslavia's ambassador to the United Nations.http://www.sazu.si/en/members/a ...

, politician * Aleš Strojnik, scientist and educator * Vitomil Zupan, writer

Sources

Alessandra Kersevan Alessandra Kersevan (born 18 December 1950) is a historian, author and editor living and working in Udine. She researches Italian modern history, including the Italian resistance movement and Italian war crimes. She is the editor of a group call ...

(2008): '' Lager italiani. Pulizia etnica e campi di concentramento fascisti per civili jugoslavi 1941–1943''. Editore Nutrimenti, *

(2003): ''Un campo di concentramento fascista. Gonars 1942–1943.'', Kappa Vu Edizioni, Udine. * Nadja Pahor Verri (1996): ''Oltre il filo : storia del campo di internamento di Gonars, 1941–1943'', Arti Grafiche Friulane, Udine. * Luca Baldissara, Paolo Pezzino (2004): ''Crimini e memorie di guerra: violenze contro le popolazioni e politiche del ricordo'', L'Ancora del Mediterraneo.

References

External links

Gonars Concentration Camp (EUROM)

A website devoted to the Gonars Memorial

Aerial view of the two sub-camps (white zones on the left): camp B is the vertical stripe just north of Gonars, camp A is the square zone north-west of the town
{{Authority control 1940s in Italy 1942 establishments in Italy 1943 disestablishments in Italy Italian war crimes Italian fascist internment camps in Italy

Notable inmates

Slovenes

Sources

Further reading

See also

References

External links