The other side of the wall

Dossier digitale in lingua inglese a cura di Francesca Meneghetti con il contributo di Giorgio Romanello
Digital dossier by Francesca Meneghetti with the contribution of Giorgio Romanello

Di là del muro

The other side of the wall

FRANCESCA MENEGHETTI

translations by Francesca Sodano and Martina Casarin

This dossier is the summary of some parts of the book Di là del muro. Il campo di concentramento di Treviso, 1942-1943, Istresco, Treviso 2019 (new edition). I would like to thank Francesca Sodano and Martina Casarin for the English translation

Treviso concentration camp was created by fascism, in order to imprison civilians, Slovenians and Croats, as the other ones. These people were captured by the troops of the Second Army stationed in Slovenia, according to Circular 3 C of General Mario Roatta, who resorted to indiscriminate round-ups in order to suppress the Resistance that developed after the Italian occupation.

It was located near Monigo, a suburb of Treviso, inside the “Cadorin” barracks. The prisoners occupied five masonry dwellings (one sixth was reserved to guard soldiers). The camp was opened on 1st July 1942. Until September it was populated by Slovenians, mainly students and intellectuals. In autumn, families from Croatia also began to arrive: women, some of them pregnant, children, old octogenarians, in many cases from Rab (It. Arbe), an alleged extermination camp. The barracks became overcrowded. Due to the cold, diseases spread and mortality increased, especially in the early months of 1943.

Starting from March 1943, a group of South African (about 500) and New Zealand (about 100) prisoners of war, both white, were also placed in the camp, and were partly used in agricultural work in the surrounding countryside. The camp remained in operation until the announcement of the Armistice between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies (8th September 1943). – extract from Introduction

Index

1. Introduction
2. Monigo camp: phase 1,2,3
3. POW camp 103 (for prisoners of war)
4. After 8 September 1943 (Armistice)
5. The other side of the wall. The help from the people of Treviso
6. The help from the Slovenian Catholic Church
7. Milan Lenarčič in Treviso (available by February 2020)
8. Breda Rus, Monigo’s angel (available by February 2020)
9. Memorialization of Treviso concentration camp (article by Giorgio Romanello)