Massacre at the Turchino Pass

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The Martiri del Turchino memorial

The massacre at the Turchino Pass marks the mass shooting of 59 political prisoners on May 19, 1944 by members of the Navy . The shootings took place on the orders of the Chief of the Security Police and SD Friedrich Engel in Genoa on the slopes of Monte Bric Busa near the Turchino Pass .

The massacre

The massacre followed a few days after an attack on the Odeon cinema in Genoa , which was only frequented by German soldiers. Italians were strictly forbidden from entering. At 7 p.m. on May 15, 1944, a partisan disguised in Wehrmacht uniform carried out a bomb attack on the cinema, in which four German marines were immediately killed and 16 other soldiers were injured, one of whom succumbed to serious injuries in the following days, as well as possibly one another German soldier.

In retaliation for this attack, on May 19, 59 political prisoners - including 17 partisans imprisoned since April 1944 - were singled out from the prison in Marassi (Genoa) and taken by truck to the Turchino Pass, where they were then shot on the southern slope of the Bric Busa . According to the German interpretation of the international law of war, fatal partisan attacks by shooting hostages should be carried out in retaliation with a reprisal rate of 10: 1. To be shot, the prisoners had to climb up to six people on a board that had been placed over a pit dug by Jews the day before . As a result, each prisoner could see the bodies of his comrades before he was shot.

Among the 59 victims were 17 men who had survived the Benedicta massacre that had taken place a month earlier .

For the massacre at the Turchino Pass and for the massacres of Benedicta, Portofino and Cravasco , in which a total of 246 people were killed, the commanding SS police chief of Genoa, Friedrich Engel, who is also known internationally as the butcher of Genoa , was appointed in 1999 the Military Tribunal of Turin sentenced to life imprisonment. However, Germany refused extradition to Italy. In 2002, at the age of 93, Engel was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for murder in Hamburg because the execution of the shooting operation, which was permissible in itself, was cruel. In 2004, the BGH overturned this judgment on Engels' appeal, however, on the grounds that the subjective requirements for the murderous feature of cruelty had not been sufficiently proven. At the same time, the Federal Court of Justice dropped the proceedings because of the defendant's advanced age. Friedrich Engel is therefore considered unpunished under German law. He died in 2006 at the age of 97.

A memorial was erected at the site of the massacre, on Strada Provinciale SP73 near the Passo del Faiallo . It bears the name Sacrario dei Martiri del Turchino (in German: War Memorial of the Martyrs of Turchino ).

List of victims

Ten dead could never be identified. The names of the mostly very young victims are as follows. The possible affiliation to partisan associations is also indicated.

The memorial stone with the names of the victims
An unknown victim's identification card. As a feature it is indicated: military pants, military skirt, military boots, long johns
  1. Aldo Matteo Alloisio (born October 2, 1921), III Brigata Liguria
  2. Domenico Arecco (born August 23, 1913), Brigata Autonoma Militare
  3. Valerio Bavassano (born January 14, 1923), III Brigata Liguria
  4. Giuseppe Bottaro (born March 24, 1905), Brigata VAI "Giovine Italia"
  5. Angelo Briano (born April 21, 1922), Div. "Gin Bevilacqua", Brig. "Crosetti" ( Savona )
  6. Attilio Briano (born May 8, 1923), Div. "Gin Bevilacqua", Brig. "Crosetti" (Savona)
  7. Renato Brunati (born February 8, 1903), II Div. "Felice Cascione", V Brig. "Nuvolini" ( Imperia )
  8. Augusto Calzolari (born September 28, 1924), Div. Gramsci ( La Spezia )
  9. Giulio Cannoni (born December 15, 1920), III Brigata Liguria
  10. Angelo Castellini (born November 11, 1924), Brigata Autonoma Muccini (La Spezia)
  11. Pietro Cavallo (born September 14, 1924), III Brigata Liguria
  12. Alessandro Cavanna (born February 24, 1922), CLNS Margherita Ligure e Brig. VAI "Giovine Italia"
  13. Gaetano Colombo (born July 4, 1900), Div. Gramsci, Brig. Colombo (Savona)
  14. Mario Dagnino (born March 19, 1925), III Brigata Liguria
  15. Orazio Esposto (born April 22, 1896), Comando IV Zona Operativa
  16. Sandro Fallabrino (born July 5, 1925), Brigata SAP Longhi ( Genoa )
  17. Edoardo Ferrari (born April 4, 1922), affiliation unknown
  18. Ferrero Gio Battista (born September 3, 1924), affiliation unknown
  19. Francesco Fialdini (born May 2, 1924), III Brigata Liguria
  20. Giovanni Fialdini (born May 2, 1924), III Brigata Liguria
  21. Pietro Fraguglia (born February 24, 1924), III Brigata Liguria
  22. Enrico Gaiti (born June 23, 1920), III Brigata Liguria
  23. Bruno Ghiglione (born October 18, 1924), Brigata Autonoma Militare
  24. Pietro Gibelli (born May 4, 1924), affiliation unknown
  25. Enrico Grenno (born August 25, 1925), civilian
  26. Luigi Grenno (born November 11, 1920), civilian
  27. Emilio Guerra (born November 19, 1905), III Brigata Liguria
  28. Guido Lia (born October 4, 1908), affiliation unknown
  29. Onorato Leone (born April 30, 1919), affiliation unknown
  30. Rino Mandoli (born December 13, 1912), III Brigata Liguria
  31. Umberto Mantellato (born March 29, 1907), III Brigata Liguria
  32. Salvatore Marozzelli (born January 7, 1904), civilian
  33. Giovanni Martini (born February 22, 1918), III Brigata Liguria
  34. Antonio Massa (born October 6, 1924), III Brigata Liguria
  35. Giancarlo Odino (born August 9, 1894), Brigata Autonoma Militare
  36. Ubaldo Ottonello (born February 2, 1922), III Brigata Liguria
  37. Isidoro Pastorino (born September 20, 1920), Brigata Autonoma Militare
  38. Francesco Podestà (born April 16, 1923), Brigata Autonoma Militare
  39. Luigi Ratto (born June 15, 1904), Div. Cichero, Brig. Balilla
  40. Luigi Rocca (born August 30, 1905), CLNS Margherita Ligure
  41. Domenico Santo (born April 28, 1902), civilian
  42. Angioletto Sasso (born February 10, 1922), II Div. "Felice Cascione", IV Brig. "E. Guarrini "(Imperia)
  43. Cesare Scolesite (born November 11, 1925), III Brigata Liguria
  44. Rinaldo Sozo (born October 15, 1922), affiliation unknown
  45. Renzo Tassara (born March 23, 1925), III Div. Alpi, Brig. Valle Pesio
  46. Pietro Turni (born January 18, 1905), affiliation unknown
  47. Bartolomeo Uberti (born August 5, 1907), affiliation unknown
  48. Walter Ulanowski (born July 6, 1923), III Brigata Liguria
  49. Angelo Verdino (born August 2, 1907), civilian

literature

  • Ingo von Münch : History in court. The angel case . Ellert & Richter Verlag, Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-8319-0144-9 .
  • Pier Paolo Rivello: Quale giustizia per le vittime dei crimini nazisti? L'Eccidio della Benedicta e la strage del Turchino tra Storia e Diritto Giappichelli, Turin 2002
  • A death without complaint . In: Der Spiegel . No. 16 , 2002 ( online ).

Web links

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alla sbarra il boia di Genova anche Amburgo processa Engel - La Repubblica
  2. ↑ 'In: BGH 5 StR 115/03 - decision of June 17, 2004 (LG Hamburg)'
  3. ↑ The "Executioner of Genoa" as honest man - Der Spiegel
  4. ↑ BGH 5 StR 115/03 - decision of June 17, 2004 (LG Hamburg)
  5. ↑ SS war criminal Friedrich Engel dies - Hamburger Abendblatt

Coordinates: 44 ° 29 '14 "  N , 8 ° 43' 8.7"  E