Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre
Encyclopedia
The Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre was a Nazi German
atrocity in the village of Sant'Anna di Stazzema
, Italy
, in the course of an operation against the Italian resistance movement
in 1944, during the Italian Campaign
of World War II
.
-Regiment 35 of 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS
, commanded by SS-Hauptsturmführer
Anton Galler, entered Sant'Anna and rounded up hundreds of local villagers and refugees, locking them up in several barns and stables. The civilians (mostly women, children and older men, as the able-bodied men of the village fled into the woods) were then killed in groups with machine gun
s in the open air and with hand grenade
s in basements; the soldiers then set fire to the corpses. The victims included some 110 children (the youngest one, Anna Pardini, was only 20 days old). Also killed were eight pregnant women. The livestock were also killed and the whole village burned. All this took three hours.
s for a bonfire to dispose of the bodies. After the war, the church was rebuilt; the Charnel house
-Monument and the Historical Museum of Resistance were both built nearby. Stations of the Cross
illustrate scenes from the massacre along the trail from the church to the main memorial site of the National Park of Peace, founded in 2000.
, no one was prosecuted for this massacre until July 2004, when a trial against ten former Waffen-SS
officers and NCOs
living in Germany
commenced before a military court in La Spezia
, Italy. On June 22, 2005, the court found the accused guilty of participation in the killings, and sentenced them in absentia
to life imprisonment
: Werner Bruss (b. 1920, former SS-Unterscharführer
), Alfred Concina (b. 1919, former SS-Unterscharführer), Ludwig Goering (b. 1923, former SS-Rottenführer
who confessed he killed twenty women), Karl Gropler (b. 1923, former SS-Unterscharführer), Georg Rauch (b. 1921, former SS-Untersturmführer
), Horst Richter (b. 1921, former SS-Unterscharführer), Alfred Schoneberg (b. 1921, former SS-Unterscharführer), Heinrich Schendel (b. 1922, former SS-Unterscharführer'), Gerhard Sommer
, (b. 1921, former SS-Untersturmführer), and Ludwig Heinrich Sonntag (b. 1924, former SS-Unterscharführer).
, a novel by James McBride
and a film by Spike Lee
.
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
atrocity in the village of Sant'Anna di Stazzema
Sant'Anna di Stazzema
Sant'Anna di Stazzema is a village in Tuscany in central Italy. Administratively, it is a frazione of the comune of Stazzema, in the province of Lucca....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, in the course of an operation against the Italian resistance movement
Italian resistance movement
The Italian resistance is the umbrella term for the various partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians during World War II...
in 1944, during the Italian Campaign
Italian Campaign (World War II)
The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Facts
On the morning of August 12, 1944, the 2nd Battalion of SS-PanzergrenadierPanzergrenadier
is a German term for motorised or mechanized infantry, as introduced during World War II. It is used in the armies of Austria, Chile, Germany and Switzerland.-Forerunners:...
-Regiment 35 of 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS
16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS
The 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS was a Panzergrenadier formation of the Waffen-SS during World War II.-History:Formed in November 1943 when Volksdeutsche recruits were added to the Sturmbrigade Reichsführer SS, which was used as the cadre in the formation of the new division...
, commanded by SS-Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...
Anton Galler, entered Sant'Anna and rounded up hundreds of local villagers and refugees, locking them up in several barns and stables. The civilians (mostly women, children and older men, as the able-bodied men of the village fled into the woods) were then killed in groups with machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s in the open air and with hand grenade
Hand grenade
A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
s in basements; the soldiers then set fire to the corpses. The victims included some 110 children (the youngest one, Anna Pardini, was only 20 days old). Also killed were eight pregnant women. The livestock were also killed and the whole village burned. All this took three hours.
Memorial
At the 16th-century village church in Sant'Anna the soldiers shot the priest Fiore Menguzzo (awarded the medal valor civile posthumously, in 1999) at point-blank range and then used machine guns to kill more than 100 people gathered in this place. The soldiers then used the church pewPew
A pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...
s for a bonfire to dispose of the bodies. After the war, the church was rebuilt; the Charnel house
Charnel house
A charnel house is a vault or building where human skeletal remains are stored. They are often built near churches for depositing bones that are unearthed while digging graves...
-Monument and the Historical Museum of Resistance were both built nearby. Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St...
illustrate scenes from the massacre along the trail from the church to the main memorial site of the National Park of Peace, founded in 2000.
Trial
Beside the divisional commander Max SimonMax Simon
Max Simon was a German SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS during World War II, who was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves. Simon was a private in the Prussian Army during World War I and was one of the first members of the SS in the early 1930s...
, no one was prosecuted for this massacre until July 2004, when a trial against ten former Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
officers and NCOs
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
living in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
commenced before a military court in La Spezia
La Spezia
La Spezia , at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts one of Italy's biggest military...
, Italy. On June 22, 2005, the court found the accused guilty of participation in the killings, and sentenced them in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
: Werner Bruss (b. 1920, former SS-Unterscharführer
Unterscharführer
Unterscharführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party used by the Schutzstaffel between 1934 and 1945. The SS rank was created after the Night of the Long Knives...
), Alfred Concina (b. 1919, former SS-Unterscharführer), Ludwig Goering (b. 1923, former SS-Rottenführer
Rottenführer
Rottenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in the year 1932. The rank of Rottenführer was used by several Nazi paramilitary groups, among them the Sturmabteilung , the Schutzstaffel and was senior to the paramilitary rank of Sturmmann.The insignia for Rottenführer...
who confessed he killed twenty women), Karl Gropler (b. 1923, former SS-Unterscharführer), Georg Rauch (b. 1921, former SS-Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...
), Horst Richter (b. 1921, former SS-Unterscharführer), Alfred Schoneberg (b. 1921, former SS-Unterscharführer), Heinrich Schendel (b. 1922, former SS-Unterscharführer'), Gerhard Sommer
Gerhard Sommer
Gerhard Sommer is a former SS-Untersturmführer in the 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS who was involved in the massacre of 560 civilians on 12 August 1944 in the Italian village of Sant'Anna di Stazzema....
, (b. 1921, former SS-Untersturmführer), and Ludwig Heinrich Sonntag (b. 1924, former SS-Unterscharführer).
In popular culture
The massacre inspired Miracle at St. AnnaMiracle at St. Anna
Miracle at St. Anna is a 2008 war film, directed by Spike Lee and written by James McBride, based on McBride's novel of the same name. The film was released on September 26, 2008, and is set during World War II, in fall of 1944 in Tuscany and in the winter of 1983 in New York City and Rome...
, a novel by James McBride
James McBride (writer)
James McBride is an American writer and musician whose compositions have been recorded by a variety of other musicians.-Early life:McBride's father, the late Rev. Andrew D...
and a film by Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
.
Further reading
- US NARANational Archives and Records AdministrationThe National Archives and Records Administration is an independent agency of the United States government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records and with increasing public access to those documents, which comprise the National Archives...
, Record Group 153, Judge Advocate GeneralJudge Advocate General's CorpsJudge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, refers to the legal branch or specialty of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called Judge Advocates. The Marine Corps and Coast Guard do not maintain separate JAG Corps...
, War Crimes Branch, Cases filed 1944–1949, Location: 270/1/25/3-4, Entry 143, Box 527, Case 16–62 (Santa Anna). - National Archives and Records AdministrationNational Archives and Records AdministrationThe National Archives and Records Administration is an independent agency of the United States government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records and with increasing public access to those documents, which comprise the National Archives...
, RG 238, Office of the Chief of Counsel for War Crimes, Location: 190/10/34/25, Entry 2, Box 10, Case 16–62 (Santa Anna). - Claudia Buratti/Giovanni Cipollini, Vite bruciate. La strage di Sant’Anna di Stazzema 1944–2005, Rome, 2006.
- Carlo Gentile, Politische Soldaten. Die 16. SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Division „Reichsführer-SS“ in Italien 1944, in: Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken, 81, 2001, pp. 529–561.
- Carlo Gentile, Sant’Anna di Stazzema, in: Gerd R. Ueberschär (ed.), Orte des Grauens. Verbrechen im Zweiten Weltkrieg, Darmstadt, 2003, pp. 231–236.
- Carlo Gentile, Le SS di Sant’Anna di Stazzema: azioni, motivazioni e profilo di una unità nazista, in: Marco Palla (ed.), Tra storia e memoria. 12 agosto 1944: la strage di Sant’Anna di Stazzema, Rome, 2003, pp. 86–117.
External links
- The National Park of Peace of Sant’Anna di Stazzema
- "A Day of Shame" for Germany, Deutsche WelleDeutsche WelleDeutsche Welle or DW, is Germany's international broadcaster. The service is aimed at the overseas market. It broadcasts news and information on shortwave, Internet and satellite radio on 98.7 DZFE in 30 languages . It has a satellite television service , that is available in four languages, and...
, 12.08.2004