Six Italian villagers were hung on a mountainside in southern Italy in October 1943 by German forces as collective punishment for the death of a soldier who had been scavenging for food. This occurred after the Nazis brutally occupied the country, which had previously been their ally.
Justice for War Crime
Reuters reported that some of the families of the men executed at Fornelli will get a portion of the 12 million euros ($13 million) granted by an Italian court as recompense for the agony their loved ones endured 80 years later.
"We still mark the event every year. It hasn't been forgotten," said Mauro Petrarca, the great-grandson of one of the victims, Domenico Lancellotta.
All but one of the family members who were still alive when the murders happened are now dead. Nevertheless, under Italian law, the money owed to them can still be given to their children. According to a court order in 2020, Petrarca will earn around 130,000 euros ($142,000).
"This wasn't about the money. It was about seeking justice for a war crime, a question of pride," said Fornelli mayor Giovanni Tedeschi, as reported by Sky News.
'Very Tormented Issue'
After losing a fight at the International Court of Justice over whether Berlin may still be accountable for damages related to World War II crimes and atrocities, it will be Italy to pay up and not Germany.
Jewish groups in Italy say Berlin should shoulder the cost of recognizing German culpability for the Holocaust. However, victim advocacy organizations are concerned that Rome is taking too long to process a flood of claims that will strain its finances.
Vice President of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI) Giulio Disegni has been monitoring the situation on behalf of Jewish victims of Nazi atrocities and described it as "a very tormented issue, both from a political and a legal perspective."
The German government financed research in 2016 estimating that 22,000 Italians, including up to 8,000 Jews transported to death camps, fell victim to Nazi war crimes. Reparations are due to the thousands of Italians who were enslaved as slave laborers in Germany.
The first group of persons to get compensation from the government's new fund to handle claims are the families of the six Catholic Fornelli men, who were executed by German troops. They were killed for the murder of a soldier hunting for food. Their deaths occurred a month after Italy signed an armistice with the Allied forces, terminating its wartime involvement and abandoning the Nazis, who promptly began their takeover of the nation.
