German and Italian Presidents attend Marzabotto massacre anniversary
Hundreds of men, women and children were massacred by Nazi troops and local fascists for their support of Italian resistance fighters.
The presidents of Germany and Italy attended the 80th anniversary of the largest massacre of civilians by Nazi soldiers in western Europe during World War II.
Between 29 September and 5 October 1944, Waffen SS troops killed at least 770 Italian civilians, including 271 children, women and elderly people, in the village of Marzabotto.
Aided by Italian fascist collaborators, Nazi troops killed hundreds of Marzabotto locals in reprisal for their support of partisan freedom fighters.
On Sunday morning, Italian President Sergio Mattarella and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeir went together to the site of the massacre for a commemoratory ceremony.
At the ceremony, the two leaders lay a wreath in memory of the victims.
Steinmeier said he would attend the commemoration with “deep humility.”
“The Marzabotto massacre is one of the many crimes of the SS and Wehrmacht committed in Italy. Crimes that, as we know, left deep wounds in Italy.”
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, led a memorial mass on Sunday in the Marzabotto church whose crypt holds the bodies of the civilians killed 80 years ago.
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