Ardeatine massacre
|
|
The Ardeatine massacre took place in Italy during World War II. In March 1944, 33 German soldiers were killed when a group of Italian Communist partisans set off a bomb close to a column of German soldiers who were marching on Via Rasella. Adolf Hitler is reported as having given an order that within 24 hours, ten Italians were to be shot for each dead German. Commander Herbert Kappler in Rome quickly compiled a list of 330 civilians who were to be killed, many of them prisoners arrested for petty offenses or anti-Fascism. Many Jews and some other people also were arrested.
The next day, led by German officers, Erich Priebke and Karl Hass, the victims were transported to the Ardeatine caves in groups of five people. They were led into the caves with their hands tied behind their back and then shot in the neck. Many were forced to kneel down over the bodies of those who had been killed before them, because the caves were filled with dead bodies. During the killings, it was found that by a mistake five more people than were supposed to have been taken to the caves had been brought there, but they were killed anyway since they were already there.
Since there were 75 Jews among the victims, this massacre is the largest single episode of the Holocaust in Italy. This is the reason that many Jewish organizations have worked hard to bring those responsible to trial.de:Ardeatinische Höhlen it:Eccidio delle fosse Ardeatine