Behind barbed wire - New Zealand soldiers and Italian POW camps

Dietro il filo spinato - Prigionieri di Guerra Neozelandesi in Italia, 1942-43

La maggior parte dei prigionieri di guerra neozelandesi detenuti in Italia fu catturata durante la campagna del Nord Africa. Dopo un periodo nei campi di transito a Bengasi vennero trasportati in Italia, sbarcando a Taranto, Salerno o Napoli. Alcuni, presi durante la campagna di Grecia, approdarono a Bari o Brindisi. La navigazione nel Mediterraneo fu sempre molto rischiosa a causa degli incessanti attacchi alleati, e molti non arrivarono sul suolo italiano.

I prigionieri sopravvissuti alla traversata furono trasportati a tappe più a nord, passando per campi di transito come PG 85 Tuturano, PG 75 Bari, PG 51 Altamura, PG 65 Gravina, e PG 66 Capua. Furono destinati a campi nel nord Italia, soprattutto nelle regioni di Piemonte, Lombardia, Liguria, Veneto e Friuli Venezia-Giulia. Diversi avevano sottocampi che erano campi di lavoro, come PG78/1 Acquafredda, sottocampo di PG 78 Sulmona, e PG 107/4 San Donà del Piave, sottocampo di PG 107 Torviscosa. Alcuni, come PG 48 Bussolengo, nacquero come campi di lavoro.

I prigionieri potevano lavorare in settori non bellici, e molti scelsero il duro lavoro come operai nell’ambito della costruzione, e dell’agricoltura, piuttosto della noia, incentivati anche dalle razioni migliori. Il lavoro offriva anche l’occasione di stare in un ambiente più sano, di conoscere meglio gli Italiani e il territorio, e di imparare la lingua.

Il flusso di prigionieri continuò ad aumentare durante il 1942 e 1943, per poi diminuire rapidamente con il cambio delle sorti dell’Asse in Africa, fino ad arrestarsi completamente con il collasso del regime fascista. Dopo l’Armistizio dell’8 settembre 1943, alla vigilia dell’invasione alleata della penisola italiana, i prigionieri furono spostati rapidamente a nord, Molti Neozelandesi (altri ranghi, non ufficiali) finirono al campo PG 57 Grupignano (Udine) o al campo PG 52 Chiavari (Genova), o ai loro sottocampi di lavoro.

Non sfuggì ai prigionieri il vuoto di potere lasciato dal collasso del Governo italiano e del suo Esercito. Molti, abbandonati dai loro carcerieri, tentarono la fuga. Altri, disgraziatamente, optarono di aspettare istruzioni, o furono trattenuti da guardie puntigliose fino all’arrivo dei Tedeschi. Secondo le stime ufficiali, c’erano in Italia in quel tempo da 70.000 ad 80.000 prigionieri del Commonwealth. Fra questi, ci furono migliaia di Neozelandesi, di cui 3200 furono trasferiti dai Tedeschi a campi in Germania.

Molti prigionieri riuscirono a fuggire, anche se la maggior parte venne ripresa nel giro di pochi giorni o settimane. Coloro che si trovavano già in Lombardia o Liguria o Piemonte erano vantaggiati, essendo più vicini alle frontiere con la Francia e con la Svizzera. Soldati neozelandesi furono fra i primi prigionieri alleati a varcare la frontiera svizzera. Coloro che si trovavano nel nordest, invece, dovevano nascondersi, affidandosi al coraggio e alla generosità dei contadini italiani, o collaborare con i partigiani di Tito. Ci sono molte storie di questi ex-PG – soldati che divennero ‘figli’ di famiglie italiane, o che comunque sopravvissero grazie al coraggio e alla generosità della gente comune che li proteggeva, o che li scortava verso le frontiere o le linee alleata, e soldati che si univano ai partigiani – tutte storie che raccontano un’altra esperienza di guerra in Italia.

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The first New Zealanders to experience Italy were not fighting forces but Prisoners of War captured in Greece and North Africa. The men were shipped to the southern Italian ports of Bari or Brindisi, or directly to Taranto, Salerno or Naples. Those taken during the African campaign first had to endure awful holding camps in Benghazi (Libya) before facing the dangerous voyage across the Mediterranean. Given the miserable conditions and the great risk of the ships being torpedoed by the Allies, it is unsurprising that large numbers never made it to the camps in Italy.

The prisoners who survived the crossings were then transported north in stages, staying in transit camps like PG 85 Tuturano in Puglia, PG 78 Sulmona in Abruzzo and PG 66 Capua in Lazio, until they were assigned to detention camps in the northern regions. Many ended up in sub-camps which were labour camps, like PG78/1 Acquafredda, a subsidiary of the Sulmona camp, and PG 107/4 San Donà del Piave, a sub-camp of PG 107 Torviscosa. A few, like PG 48 Bussolengo were born as labour camps. Many New Zealanders (Other Ranks) were sent to PG 57 Grupignano (Udine) or PG 52 Chiavari (Genoa), and their associated work camps.

Of the eighty-plus POW Camps (Campi Prigionieri di Guerra, or PG) in Italy, most were in the north behind the Gothic Line, although there were a large number initially in the south, the ports of entry being Bari, Brindisi, Taranto, Salerno and Naples. These were quickly emptied following the defeat of the Axis forces in Africa, when the Allies turned their attention to occupied Europe. After the Armistice (8^th September 1943), which signalled Italy’s withdrawal from the war, the Germans immediately occupied northern Italy. All prisoners still in the camps were deported to Germany. At the time, there were estimated to be some 70,000-80,000 Commonwealth prisoners in Italy, including some 3200 New Zealanders. Those lucky enough to be in the north-west (Lombardy, Liguria, Piedmont) were better placed for escape, being closer to the Swiss and French borders. In fact, New Zealanders were among the first Allied soldiers to cross the border into neutral Switzerland. Escapees in the north-east had the unenviable option of joining the Yugoslav partisans or going into hiding. The prisoners taken during the Italian campaign (October 1943-April 1945) fell into German hands and were entrained directly for Germany.  

There were three categories of POW camps in Italy: transit camps, permanent camps and work camps. The first, where prisoners of all nationalities were held temporarily while in transit to other destinations, often became places of long-term detention due to both inefficient organization and the inadequate capacity of the camps destined to receive them. Consequently they were often shockingly overcrowded, with the inevitable results of food shortages, lack of hygiene and general discomfort.

The numerous political prisons of Italy’s Fascist government for the enemies of the regime could not cope with the influx of prisoners, first from the Greek Campaign and then from North Africa.  The permanent camps which were the final destinations of the Allied prisoners were mostly hastily adapted existing structures: ‘resuscitated’ POW camps of WWI (PG 78 Sulmona), existing Army barracks (PG 21 Chieti, PG 120 Padua), farm estates (PG 85 Tuturano), disused monasteries (PG 35 Padula and PG 38 Poppi), private villas (PG 51 Altamura), and even castles and fortresses (PG 47 Vincigliato, and PG 41 Montalbo). Others were custom-built to receive Allied prisoners, like PG 57 Grupignano, near Udine.

Prisoners of War were protected by the Geneva Convention from forced labour in any war-related industries but not from working in other areas. The hard labour, often with long hours, brought certain advantages, foremost of which was extra rations. Working also took the prisoners outside the camps and allowed them to become acquainted with the countryside, a knowledge which would be very important when the opportunity came to escape. It also meant they worked alongside civilians, picking up the language, and valuable snippets of outside information.  The work was usually manual labour like clearing debris or repairing road surfaces. Many were employed in agriculture and some in construction. The main work camps where New Zealanders were employed were PG 107 Torviscosa (Udine), PG 48 Bussolengo (Verona) and PG 106 Vercelli, with their numerous sub-camps.

There are still traces of many of these former camps. Some are now derelict ruins – long abandoned, disused structures awaiting a new destination or demolition, while many have returned to their former use (especially military barracks) or have been reassigned to new purposes (hotels, commercial premises, housing, Civil Defense structures). Some of the grander, historic buildings and sites of national importance have become national monuments.

Among those in the south of Italy is PG 35 Padula, a disused medieval monastery (Certosa di San Lorenzo), in Campania Region, said to be the largest in Europe. As a prison camp it was used mainly for officers, and in March 1943 held 610 Allied prisoners of various nationalities. Today a national monument open to the public.

Another is Camp PG 78 Sulmona (actually at Fonte d’Amore, about 5 km north of Sulmona in Abruzzo. Some 200 Kiwis were at the detached work camp 78/1 Acquafredda at the time of the Armistice, of whom 54 reached Allied lines with the help of Italian civilians. The huts of the main Sulmona camp are still visible today.

Some of the huts at PG 78 Sulmona

In the Marche Region, is the complex which once formed PG 53 Sforzacosta (Marche). A former sugar-beet factory 16-17 km south of Macerata, 1 km from former railway station (now the HQ of the Civil Defence), the camp was so overcrowded in 1943, when numbers reached 8000, that two administration blocks had to be used to house prisoners. Large parts of the area have been re-developed as apartments and commercial premises. Much of the complex is derelict. There is a memorial plaque to the right of the gateway in honour of the wartime internees.

A camp particularly worthy of a visit is PG 73 Fossoli near Carpi, in the province of Modena. Already a political prison camp, it was used from July 1942 to September 1943 to hold Allied prisoners captured in North Africa. On 9 September 1943 the Germans occupied the camp, and all prisoners of war were deported to Germany. Subsequently, the camp became a major hub for collecting Jews for deportation and is now a historic monument associated with the National Memorial Museum to Political and Racial Deportees at Carpi.

Part of what remains of the Fossoli camp today

An aerial view of the 1940's camp at Fossoli

 

In Tuscany is the 11th-century Castle of Vincigliata, near Fiesole (Florence), known in the war years as PG 12 Vincigliata, which held about 25 high-rank prisoners, including New Zealand Brigadiers Reginald Miles and James Hargest. Both managed to escape to Switzerland and Hargest eventually reached England.

The Veneto Region hosted several POW camps. Among these was a former Italian Army barracks in the Chiesanuova district of Padua, PG 120 Padua, which was adapted for use as a POW camp August 1942-September 1943. At its peak this camp and its satellite work camps held approximately 3,500 POWs, of whom 1150 Allied soldiers including 110 New Zealanders. In March 1943, the new work camp at Fogolano (PG.120/VIII) received 60 New Zealand soldiers from PG 57 at Grupignano (Udine), to work in agriculture. The Kiwis were lodged in a building which had formerly been the stables and assigned to farm work. Conditions in these outlying camps were generally better, and morale improved with the more relaxed atmosphere and the contact with the world outside the barbed wire. After the Armistice, most of the inmates ended up in work camps in Germany.  Of those who did escape, the majority were recaptured within a few months.

Another camp known to New Zealanders was PG 148 Bussolengo, the base camp of 14 work camps in the Province of Verona The camp operated between November 1942 and September 1943 and held mostly New Zealand and South African POWs brought from PG 52 Chiavari and PG 57 Grupignano to work on the construction of the Biffis Canal, a 47-km waterway in the province of Verona, to draw water from the Adige River for irrigation and hydroelectricity. In 1944 the camp was used for Italian refugees from Cassino but was demolished in the 1980s and only the Italian officers’ building and a few other remnants can still be seen.

PG 107 Torviscosa at Villaggio Roma just north of the highway SS 14 at Torviscosa included several detached work camps. Originally designed as a labour camp for migrant agricultural workers, the scheme failed because of the low wages, poor food and tough working conditions. The labour shortage was solved by POW who provided a ready source of young, cheap labour. Construction of the concentration camp began in early 1942 and up to September 1943 it held 1000 Allied prisoners, of whom 650 New Zealanders and 350 South Africans captured by the Italian Army in the first battle of El Alamein.

In the north-east of Italy was a camp known to many New Zealand POW, PG 57 Grupignano, in the Province of Udine. This custom-built POW camp about 35 km north of Monfalcone and 15 km from Udine. Originally designed for prisoners from Italy’s Balkan war, it was later expanded to take the influx from Africa. The first New Zealanders were mostly from 23 and 24 Battalions. By September 1942 there were two and half thousand ANZAC prisoners, of whom just over a thousand New Zealanders, mostly NCO’s and OR (Other Ranks). Many groups of prisoners were sent away to work camps, such as Camp PG 148 at Bussolengo, PG 107 at Torviscosa. and PG 106 at Vercelli. Even so, the numbers at Grupignano continued to grow and in March 1943 the camp population reached its peak with 4,460 prisoners, including 1,627 Australians and 1,806 New Zealanders. On 13 September 1943 the Germans seized the camp and all prisoners were immediately entrained for Germany. Soon after the camp was dismantled, and the material recycled by the civilians. Today only the small chapel built by the prisoners has been preserved. Inside there is a small wooden cross bears the signatures of the prisoners and a memorial  to the POW lost at sea and never reached the camp. 

The little chapel at PG 57 Grupignano, built by the ANZAC prisoners

The camps in the north-west of Italy included PG 5 Gavi, an Officers’ camp in the castle-fortress of Forte dei Gavi in the province of Alessandria (Piedmont). The camp began operating in June 1941 for Yugoslav and Greek POW, then for Allied POW of various nationalities. The Fort became a prison for ‘bad boys’ who had already attempted escape. Even so, in April 1943, eleven did succeed in making a daring escape from this Italian ‘Colditz’. The castle has been restored and is now open to the public.

Another Piedmontese camp, PG 106 Vercelli, the hub of 25 work camps, which were created in March 1943, mostly on farms in the rice fields around the Province of Vercelli.  Most POW were from Australia and New Zealand. After 8 September 1943, many prisoners escaped and hid in the mountains or tried to reach Switzerland. Some joined the partisans.The Ligurian camp PG 52 Chiavari (Genoa) was located on the banks of the Lavagna River about 15 km inland from Chiavari. A camp of 44 wooden huts (the main services building was in stone while the infirmary was in a nearby country house) which held 1500 Allied prisoners. Within days of the Armistice the Germans had taken over the camp and nearly all prisoners were deported to Germany. Under the successive German occupation, PG 52 became a concentration camp for Jews awaiting deportation. Today the site is commemorated by a marble slab on the side of the bridge of the Lavagna north of the little town of Calvari.