Monigo
| Monigo | |
|---|---|
| Concentration camp | |
  Location of Monigo within Italy | |
| Coordinates | 45°40′49″N 12°12′48″E / 45.6803°N 12.2133°ECoordinates: 45°40′49″N 12°12′48″E / 45.6803°N 12.2133°E |
| Location | Monigo |
| Operated by | Italy |
| Operational | 1942 |
| Inmates | Civilian |
| Liberated by | 1943 |
Monigo 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 number of inmates is not certain, but is estimated in the thousands, 3,000 or 30,000 according to the Vatican. Housed inside a barracks, the camp went into operation in July 1942.
Life at the camp
All inmates were given three blankets, a spoon, a tin and a bit of straw upon arrival. Bunk beds were placed on each wall, where inmates slept in pairs. In addition to the two small rooms for the bathrooms and the canteen, a seventh cabin served as a kitchen and hosted the command. Torture and humiliation abounded. For example, Lieutenant Colonel Alfredo Anceschi was said to tie a woman to a pole in the middle of the camp's grounds upon each new set of arrivals. "Offenders" were put in solitary confinement and shaved. Prisoners were fed with a cup of tea in the morning and later with a loaf of bread. At lunch prisoners were given rice and during the late afternoon, a slice of cheese. In November 1942, there were 3,122 prisoners in Monigo: 1058 men, 1085 women and 466 children including 42 infants. With the arrival of winter, food supplies dwindles and disease decimated the weakest. Professor Menemio Bortolozzi Treviso noted the widespread presence of tuberculosis, pneumonia, scabies, muscular atrophy, dysentery.
Termination
A secret document of the Army states that by July 31, 1943, 540 prisoners of war were also interned. Concomitant with the armistice of 8 September 1943, 187 inmates were killed including 54 children. The barracks at the end of the war returned to exercise their usual function and are standing at the disposal of the army today.
See also
References
- Gombač, Metka. "I bambini sloveni nei campi di concentramento italiani (1942-1943)". DEP: 49-63. Retrieved 18 September 2012
- Victoria Belco (2010). War Massacre and Recovery in Central Italy, 1943-1948 (Toronto Italian Studies). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-9314-0
- Marcus Ferrar; John Corsellis (2005). Slovenia, 1945 : Memories of Death and Survival after World War II. London: I. B. Tauris. ISBN 1-85043-840-4.
- This article was initially translated from the Italian Wikipedia.