Sant'Anna di Stazzema

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Sant'Anna di Stazzema
Sant'Anna di Stazzema
Location of the province of Lucca
Location of the province of Lucca

Sant'Anna di Stazzema is a village in Tuscany in central Italy. It was the site of a notorious atrocity in WWII.

It is a frazione of the comune of Stazzema, in the province of Lucca.

[edit] History

On August 12, 1944, retreating SS-men of the II Battallion of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 35 of 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS, commanded by SS-Hauptsturmführer Anton Galler, rounded up 560 villagers and refugees — mostly women, children and older men — shot them and then burned their bodies.

In the aftermath of the massacre the village was only partially rebuilt and stands today as a memorial.

[edit] Notes and references

Coordinates: 43°58′27″N, 10°16′25″E