1800 A.D. to Present
History

Bolzano Subsidiary Camps
(Lager Satellites)

The Bolzano-Gries camp had numerous small subsidiary camps:

In his research entitled "Il Lager di Bolzano" (The Bolzano Lager), Luciano Happacher gives us some information about them.

The Certosa Val Senales camp held only about 50 people. At first the prisoners were put up in barracks in the town and later transferred to the Guardia di Finanza (military bodies responsible for enforcing the law on income tax and monopolies). The main task of the deportees was to transport material from the town’s railway station. During the first few days of February 1945 the camp had been practically cleared.

In "L'ombra del buio" (The Shadows of Darkness) by Carla Giacomozzi, Tullio Bettiol, ex-deportee of the Certosa Camp, gives us an insight into his experience:

"On the 23^rd September 1944 we were transferred to Val Senales. There, we were put up in wooden barracks built south of the town of Karthaus (Certosa) and only later moved to the Army barracks of the Guardia di Finanza (see above-mentioned definition). The camp security guards were from the SS together with regulars from Wehrmacht army. They took us to the Malles station by trucks, which we had to load up, and then transport to Certosa; I remember loading boots and French rucksacks. As prisoners, we were incarcerated either for political motives or for our Jewish status. There were about 50 of us in total. In January 1945, there were about 30 Jews and a dozen or so Italians, but towards the end of the month, the camp was evacuated and when I escaped (4^th February 1945) only 4 prisoners remained [….]".

" I recall with fondness a particular instance of humanity and courage. Two young girls, Anna and Tina, who were the owners of a small hotel in Karthaus, supplied us, whenever possible, with food and medicine, despite it being absolutely forbidden by the Germans. It was an undertaking that put them at extreme risk".

This was the largest among Bolzano’s subsidiary camps. It held about 400 people (men and women) in its army barracks near Maia Bassa. As in the case of Certosa, work mainly consisted of transporting materials from the train station. Don Primo Michelotti, inspirer of the local CLN (National Liberation Committee) was extremely active in assisting the camps’ deportees.

In "L'ombra del buio" (The Shadows of Darkness) by Carla Giacomozzi, Tullio Bettiol, ex-deportee of the Certosa Camp, gives us an insight into his experience:

"At the end of August-beginning of September 1944 we were transferred to the Maia Bassa army barracks in Merano. It was situated near the racecourse and the old train station. There were about 400 men and women interned including political opponents of the regime and Jews, coming mainly from Lombardia. Our main job was to unload different kinds of goods (food, paintings, carpets, clothing and other items) from the wagons at the nearby train station. These goods were undoubtedly plundered from all over Europe and were then transported, in part to the army barracks, and the rest (the most valuable part, e.g. carpets and paintings) to a nearby castle. I recall the incredible number of rolls of carpets that were transported. We remained in Merano until 23^rd September 1944".

Sarentino

The camp, built on the Banks of the Talvera, at the mouth of the Val Sarentino, was built following the failure of a "transportation" towards German and Polish camps. The camp was surrounded by barbed wire, and consisted of six wooden barracks for the deportees, a small stable for the horses, and a small hut for the security prison guards. 200 people were imprisoned, employed in carpentry works and in the upkeep of roads in the area.

In "L'ombra del buio" (The Shadows of Darkness) by Carla Giacomozzi, Giovanni Gasperin, ex-deportee of the Sarentino Camp, gives us an insight into his experience:

"After the last failed attempt to transport the deportees to Mauthausen, the SS "lightened" the camp by sending a number of prisoners (including a contingent on the banks of the Talvera) to a small camp. There, we were made to erect the barbed wire enclosure as well as build the wooden barracks, prefabricated in the carpentry detachment of the Bolzano camp (a division which, if I am not mistaken, was under the control of a certain marshal Koeing). The camp was situated on the right of the road climbing the Sarentino Valley, just before a bridge over the Talvera [...] Along a wall, which I think was of a river embankment, a canal was built, made out of stones and cement. The prisoners used its waters as latrines. The camp was more or less square in shape, with the Command barrack and those of its prison guards,[…] the horses’ stables, […] the courtyard for the parades and the twice daily rollcalls. I think there were 6 prison barracks in total, arranged in two or three rows. Each barrack held about 40 prisoners. The guards were from the Trentino Corps (Trentino Security Corps) integrated with a few members of the SS Corps. […] The camp was under the command of a Marshal from the Wehrmact, who had been injured in the War and "reutilized". […] The prisoners were used in part to transport equipment and materials to the factories under the tunnels, repair the roads and work in sawmills or other activities in Sarentino. On 30^th April we were taken to Bolzano and freed the following day". 

The Vipiteno camp was a small detachment. The deportees, put up in Army barracks, were categorised according to their professional specialisation and employed in a weapons’ factory (originally situated in Cremona, but evacuated after allied bombardments).

Sources:

• Text: Associazione Nazionale ex Deportati Politici nei Campi Nazisti (ANED) - in Deutsch, English, Francais & Italiano.

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Created: Thursday, August 30, 2001; Updated Thursday, May 24, 2007
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