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| The '''Rab |
The '''Rab Concentration Camp''' was one of 24 Italian ]s during ]. It opened in July ] near the village of Kampor, on the ] island of ]. The camp was disbanded after the Italian capitulation in September ]. | ||
| ==Prisoners== | |||
| The main ] held here, were the so called ], a Communist ] fighting against the Italian Fascists in the country who were interned after been captured. The people of this organisation went on to commit numerous brutal massacres and war crimes including ] and ] once given free reign in the following years, such as the ]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.serendipity.li/hr/bleiburg_massacres.htm|publisher=Serendipity.li|title=The Bleiburg Massacre|date=] ]}}</ref> where 50,000 were killed, the ]<ref name="yugoslavwarcrime">{{cite news|url=http://www.annoticoreport.com/2007/02/foibe-massacres-raised-in-answer-to.html|publisher=The Annotico Report|title="Foibe" Massacres raised in Answer to Croatian President Mesic's Claims|date=] ]}}</ref> against ethnic Italians (innocent civilians) which lead to the ] commonly cited as a ] and ].<ref name="yugoslavwarcrime">{{cite news|url=http://www.annoticoreport.com/2007/02/foibe-massacres-raised-in-answer-to.html|publisher=The Annotico Report|title="Foibe" Massacres raised in Answer to Croatian President Mesic's Claims|date=] ]}}</ref> The so called Yugoslav Partisans also butchered thousands of Hungarians at the ].<ref>{{cite book | last =Wolff | first = Stefan | title =German Minorities in Europe: Ethnic Identity and Cultural Belonging| publisher = University of California Press | url =http://books.google.com/books?id=F3Ocn93_yfEC&pg=PA152&lpg=PA152&dq=partisans+Ba%C4%8Dka.&source=web&ots=Wruxg0rljF&sig=wf3-FiH2gyHwMAUkB-7fWuvkc3Q&hl=en | isbn = 1571817387}}</ref> | |||
| ==History of the prison== | ==History of the prison== | ||
| The camp held about 10,000 prisoners housed in tents<ref>A photo of the camp: http://ww2panorama.org/images/96.jpg</ref>, with ] and ] in one area and ] in another. About 1,200 prisoners died from ] and inhospitable winter and summer weather conditions. Another 800 prisoners from Rab died later when they were relocated to other Italian concentration camps such as ] and ]. Many prisoners who survived until September 1943 and were still strong enough to do so joined the ] and formed the ]<ref>http://emperors-clothes.com/croatia/rab.jpg</ref> which fought the ] ] occupying forces. The main group of the prisoners held here were ], members of a communist resistance military formation. | |||
| It is claimed that the camp held around 10,000 prisoners housed in tents<ref name="yugoslavreport">{{cite news|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2003/10/29/camp_ed3_.php|publisher=Thomas Fuller: IHT.com|title=Survivors of war camp lament Italy's amnesia, Pt 1.|date=] ]}}</ref><ref>A photo of the camp: http://ww2panorama.org/images/96.jpg</ref>, it is claimed that the ] and ] were in one area (the core of the Yugoslav Partisans) and it is also claimed that ] were held in another, the Italians treated the Jews better, providing them with ], ] and more food than the Partisans.<ref name="yugoslavreport">{{cite news|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2003/10/29/camp_ed3_.php|publisher=Thomas Fuller: IHT.com|title=Survivors of war camp lament Italy's amnesia, Pt 1.|date=] ]}}</ref> However this was not an ], like some of the Nazi camps, this was merely a ] camp to house enemey forces who had attacked Italians on the battlefield and been captured, as well as villages strongly accused of providing support for the Yugoslav Partisan army.<ref name="yugoslavreport">{{cite news|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2003/10/29/camp_ed3_.php|publisher=Thomas Fuller: IHT.com|title=Survivors of war camp lament Italy's amnesia, Pt 1.|date=] ]}}</ref> | |||
| By this tine Italy as a whole was having problems and had shortages of food in areas it controlled, home and abroad people suffered from ], especially in regards to bread shortages; it is alleged that 1,200 of those held in the camp died from ] as well as the weather conditions, though there is no information to corroborate the figure.<ref name="yugoslavreport">{{cite news|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2003/10/29/camp_ed3_.php|publisher=Thomas Fuller: IHT.com|title=Survivors of war camp lament Italy's amnesia, Pt 1.|date=] ]}}</ref> Another 800 prisoners from Rab allegedly died later when they were relocated to other Italian prisoner of war camps such as ] and ].{{fact}} Many prisoners who survived until September 1943 and were still strong enough to do so re-joined the ] and formed the ], going on to commit attrocities mentioned in the above section.<ref>http://emperors-clothes.com/croatia/rab.jpg</ref> | |||
| ==Since the war== | ==Since the war== | ||
| In ], a memorial was built to ]'s plans<ref> |
In ], a memorial was built to ]'s plans <ref></ref> <ref></ref> - ironically by prisoners of a ] camp from the nearby island of ]. | ||
| ⚫ | Survivors of the camp include ], who went on to be ]'s ambassador at the ] and was ] (1978-80), and Elvira Kohn, who described her experiences at the camp in some detail <ref></ref>. | ||
| When historians compare the prisoner of war camp to others during the war, they have said that "By the murderous standards of the second world war, Rab was only a footnote of evil"<ref name="yugoslavreport">{{cite news|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2003/10/29/camp_ed3_.php|publisher=Thomas Fuller: IHT.com|title=Survivors of war camp lament Italy's amnesia, Pt 1.|date=] ]}}</ref> However, since being allowed into the ], some Balklan nationalists have used it to form an ] propaganda, however this is in the extreme minority of the population as much bigger events have happened in the ] since that time, such as the insertion and then fall-out of authoritarian ]s, causing the ] lack of development and standards of human life which it is still trying to recover from. | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 20:32, 9 April 2008
The Rab Concentration Camp was one of 24 Italian concentration camps during World War II. It opened in July 1942 near the village of Kampor, on the Adriatic island of Rab. The camp was disbanded after the Italian capitulation in September 1943.
History of the prison
The camp held about 10,000 prisoners housed in tents, with Slovenians and Croats in one area and Jews in another. About 1,200 prisoners died from starvation and inhospitable winter and summer weather conditions. Another 800 prisoners from Rab died later when they were relocated to other Italian concentration camps such as Gonars and Padova. Many prisoners who survived until September 1943 and were still strong enough to do so joined the Partisans and formed the Rab battalion which fought the Nazi German occupying forces. The main group of the prisoners held here were Yugoslav Partisans, members of a communist resistance military formation.
Since the war
In 1953, a memorial was built to Edvard Ravnikar's plans - ironically by prisoners of a communist camp from the nearby island of Goli Otok.
Survivors of the camp include Anton Vratuša, who went on to be Yugoslavia's ambassador at the United Nations and was Prime Minister of Slovenia (1978-80), and Elvira Kohn, who described her experiences at the camp in some detail .
References
- A photo of the camp: http://ww2panorama.org/images/96.jpg
- http://emperors-clothes.com/croatia/rab.jpg
- TEKST 02
- The Croatian Island of Rab
- Centropa
Further reading
- http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t063/t06330.html
- Concentration camp memorial complex
- Milač, Metod M.: Resistance, imprisonment and forced labor : A Slovene student in World War II. ISBN 0-8204-5781-7
External links
- Oris, magazine for the architecture and culture A memorial plaque for the victims of fascism in Kampor on the island of Rab