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This map shows only the western portion of the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia - currently known as Republic of Slovenia - and its divisions between the Axis Powers.
Gray stripes: Fascist Italy occupied territory, known as The Province of Ljubljana; Brown: Nazi Germany occupied territory; Green: Hungary occupied territory; Black: Area already annexed by Italy with the Treaty of Rapallo |
On April 6, 1941 when the Axis Powers invaded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Slavic union was largely occupied by Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy, while smaller territories were occupied by Hungary and the Independent State of Croatia. In the process of annexing this territories to their parent land, the various occupiers imposed racial laws, conducted ethnic cleansing, and forced cultural assimilation.
Our research is limited to Slovene territories under Italian rule from 1941 to 1943, which was then renamed as the Province of Ljubljana. An estimated twenty-five thousand people, or 7.5 percent of the total population, were deported during the duration of this occupation. Villages were destroyed, houses were burnt, and people were interned in concentration camps, such as Rab, Gonars, Monigo (Treviso), Renicci d'Anghiari, Chiesanuova and elsewhere.
Our human concern compels us to document what has happened to our ancestors.
By the atrocious standards of the Second World War, the Italian concentration camps may be perceived as only a footnote of evil. We do not attempt to measure that evil. We intend to memorialize Italian war crimes that have not been fully investigated until now. There were no trials of Italian war criminals, such as there were for the Germans and Japanese.
We are recording testimonials of survivors to document these atrocities. By doing so, we are creating a missing context of Italy's concentration camps in the annals of Western European history.
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