Italian
The story of two concentration camps, one for the internment of Jews, and one for refugees in the same location: a unique case in Italy
Servigliano (FM). A country rich in History like ours, accustomed to multi-century layering, would never expect to find itself in a place that condenses the tragic events of three historical events of the Twentieth Century: the First and Second World Wars, including the internment of Jews, as well as the outcomes of the Julian-Dalmatian exodus.
All this is possible at the Casa di Memoria in Servigliano, a non-profit association founded in 2001 to recover the memory and history of the events that took place in the Servigliano Concentration Camp between 1915 and 1955.
Over these 40 years, the Camp has indeed been used as a prison camp for Austro-Hungarian soldiers during World War I; in World War II, first as a prison camp for Allied soldiers; after September 8, 1943, as an internment camp for Jews; and finally as a Refugee Collection Center for Julian-Dalmatian exiles from 1945 to 1955.
The history of the Servigliano prison camp is therefore intertwined with the most dramatic events of the twentieth century, and precisely for this reason it is one of the most symbolic places at a national and European level.
Prison camp (World War I, 1915-18)
The Servigliano camp was established in 1915 with Italy’s imminent entry into the war, which necessitated a camp for the collection of potential prisoners. It was built on the outskirts of Servigliano, along the railway that crossed the Tenna valley from Porto San Giorgio to Amandola, and perhaps due to its strategic logistical location, it was reused multiple times. Approximately three hectares of land were expropriated, on which 32 wooden barracks were built (unfortunately, none remain today), each with a capacity of 125 prisoners. The camp was divided into two sectors and surrounded along its perimeter by a three-meter-high wall topped with barbed wire, outside of which were small masonry houses for the guards’ accommodation. The structure could hold almost 4,000 prisoners. In 1918, after the war ended and the prisoners were repatriated, the camp was closed.
At the beginning of 1919, the Servigliano camp was reopened to accommodate prisoners of war from Istria, Dalmatia, and Trentino, who, as subjects of the Habsburg Empire, had fought in the Austro-Hungarian army but had now become Italian citizens. The goal was to “re-educate” them to national ideals. In 1920, the prisoners were able to return to their homes, and the camp became a military depot. In 1935, a part of the camp was dismantled and transferred to the Municipality for the construction of a sports field.
Prison camp (World War II, 1941-43)
With the outbreak of the Second World War, the barracks still in existence were reactivated and from January 5, 1941, it was opened as a prisoner of war camp, initially hosting about 2,000 Greeks (from February to December 1941) and then (starting from February 1942) about 2,000 British and Americans. On September 14, 1943, a few days after the armistice, the prisoners escaped upon hearing the news of the imminent arrival of German troops, taking advantage of the confusion, through a hole made in the perimeter wall, and dispersed in the surrounding countryside, pouring into the Tenna valley and receiving welcome and solidarity from the local people, especially from the farmers, who did not hesitate to assist the prisoners of war by hiding and feeding them.
Provincial concentration camp for Jews (World War II, 1943-4)
Between 3 and 5 October, the camp was occupied by German troops. Already on 30 October 1943, the camp was reactivated by the fascist authorities as a concentration camp to intern Jews in the area (the prisoner of war camp – occupied by prisoners of war – had not seen any Jewish presence before 8 September 1943). When, at the end of November, the government of the Italian Social Republic promoted the establishment of a network of provincial concentration camps for Jews captured in the roundups, the Servigliano camp was designated as a place of detention for the provinces of Ascoli Piceno and Frosinone. Dozens of internees were transferred from Servigliano to the Fossoli camp and from there to the extermination camps in Germany. The management continued to be entrusted to Italian police personnel under the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior of the Italian Social Republic. In February 1944, approximately 60 Jews were joined by about 300 Maltese-Libyans.
On the night of March 24, 1944, a group of partisans broke into the camp to free the Jewish prisoners. However, most of them did not escape, unsure of finding a safe refuge outside the camp. On May 3, taking advantage of a bombing of the camp and the news of the imminent arrival of the Germans, almost all the Jews present fled the camp. The Germans, who arrived the next morning, were still able to capture and deport a group of 34 people, while another 30 were saved by hiding with some local families.
In the early months of 1945, with the victory of the Allies, the camp remained empty. However, in the spring, renovation works were started inside, aimed at accommodating 500 Polish soldiers for whom a training course had been organized.
In the summer of 1946, the Servigliano camp was evacuated.
Refugee camp (post-war, 1944-55)
Since September 1947, the camp was intended for the reception of refugees from the Julian-Dalmatian region, but also from Libya and Ethiopia.
In 1955 the camp began to empty and the last guests were transferred to Ascoli Piceno, where some houses had been specially built for them.
The field today
The structure remained in a state of abandonment until 1970. In the Seventies, the administration of Servigliano began to develop a project for the recovery of the historic site, which concluded with the bill of January 20, 2021, in which the seventh Commission declared, in article 1, the former Servigliano prison camp a national monument, now called “Peace Park”. Unfortunately, this project involved the demolition of all the remaining barracks, except one in masonry, which now houses the command.
Furthermore, on April 25, 2023, the gold medal for civil merit was awarded to the Province of Fermo, a recognition that represents the result of decades of research initiated by the association La Casa della Memoria, the hub of historical memory on the Resistance.
The headquarters of the Casa della Memoria has been located since 2013 in the former Servigliano station, near the Campo, and also houses the Museum of Memory and a permanent photographic exhibition on the history of the Campo and the prisoners who passed through. It is often visited by school groups and by relatives of those who were interned, with a lot of emotion and involvement.
There is also a website, with a virtual tour and lots of insights for those who are interested.
The Association Casa della Memoria di Servigliano is a non-profit organization of cultural and civil volunteering. It has a statute, a general assembly of members, and a Board of Directors with elective positions. Now Paolo Giunta La Spada is the Scientific Director of Casa della Memoria di Servigliano.
This institution is in contact with universities, cultural institutions, and historical institutes in Europe and Italy that work on the theme of reconstructing memory and educating for peace. It also collaborates with the Escape Lines Memorial Society (ELMS) and the Monte San Martino Trust in the United Kingdom.
The Monte San Martino Trust Foundation was established in 1989 by J. Keith Killby, a prisoner of war in the camp, and other veterans of the Second World War. The foundation awards scholarships for English language courses to Italians aged 18 to 25, as a recognition of the courage and sacrifice of the Italian countryside people who saved thousands of Allied prisoners of war fleeing after the armistice of 1943.
The Casa della Memoria Association in Servigliano also organizes the annual event Freedom Trails, during which the paths that led the prisoners who managed to escape from the camp to safety are retraced. The event welcomes the grandchildren and children of the Anglo-American prisoners who escaped from the camp, were hidden, and saved by the Italians.
This reality, of which I became aware by chance, deserves to be visited and known by as many people as possible, so that they realize how the same place can become both a setting for confinement and violence, but also for solidarity and memory.
