Sant’Anna di Stazzema and the Peace Campus: Italian and German students study the massacre together and listen to witnesses. “It’s too quiet in Germany”

For seven years Germany has been financing Field of Peace. Exchange between young Italians and Germans know Sant’Anna di Stazzema and understand why in 2012 the Stuttgart prosecutor in the archive process to SS officers who ordered massacre of 560 civiliansincluding 130 children, in the village of Versilia, at dawn August 12, 1944. It is from the wrath of the townspeople Stuttgart By decision of the judges, Campo della Pace was born. In fact, after filing the application, residents of the southwestern German city, led byDie Anstifter Association (The instigators), once a month for a whole year, took to the streets in protest against the decision of the prosecutor’s office. The process was not restarted, but Anstifter, together with the associations LpB, NFJW and the Initiative Lern-und Gedenkort Hotel Silber, secured that the German Foreign Office and the federal state of Baden-Württemberg pay for a cultural exchange for young people. Thus, in 2017, Campo was born, which since then every year has allowed twenty boys

between Italians and Germans, to hold 11 days in Sant’Anna di Stazzema in summer, to meet with the survivors, to then meet in Stuttgart for four days in the fall and there to face the very last chapter, dereliction of duty. “I was always aware of what the Germans did to many minorities in other countries, but I didn’t know that they carried out massacres against Italian civilians and in villages,” he tells reporters. Fattoquotidiano.it Finn Rusche17, of. Hamburg. He was most impressed by the survivor Enio Mancini, a toddler, then six years old, rescued by an SS man who fired into the air. “He overcame his hatred. The march along the Gothic Line was strenuous.”

The German teacher spoke about the Peace Camp in Victoria Bernacchi, 17 years old, Mr. Lucca, a student of the Institute of Economics and Technology with a linguistic address. “Because my grandfather was a partisan and I didn’t know him, it was also a rewarding experience to be close to him. Meeting with the survivors – says the girl al fatto.it – for me it was the best, especially Adele and Mario (Adele Pardini AND Mario Marsili, ed.) because they experienced it firsthand. I was also interested to see how German children coped with this, what their grandparents told them. From what I understand, there was a lot of silence.” She also wondered about the relationship between generations. Emilia Shtor18 years old, Mr. Vannweil

Neighbour Tübingen. “Knowing not only the surviving Adele, but also her son and grandson, I have the impression that this trauma should also be passed on to the next generations.” The boys also had free time to socialize. “Making new friends, especially with people from other cultures, was a big part too,” adds al Fattoquotidiano.it John Brussi18 years old, from Florence, student of a technical institute with a degree in IT.

Campo della Pace is just one of the initiatives that attract many young people to Sant’Anna. “In 2022, 221 school groups, numbering about 10,000 students, visited our country and the museum,” he said during the celebration of the 79th anniversary. Umberto ManciniPresident of the Association of the Martyrs of Saint Anne.

TO focus on new generations it’s always been Henry Pieri, a survivor who disappeared two years ago, whose entire family was killed by the SS before his eyes, and he, 10 years old, hid under the stairs. A new graphic novel is dedicated to him Irene Lupi, currently printed only in German at the expense of Anstifter, but which Parco della Pace of Sant’Anna di Stazzema will also publish in Italian. Enrico’s baton was picked up by his friend, a German biologist Petra Quintini, 55 years old, Campo della Pace soul volunteer. “In 2012, I met survivors. I felt ashamed of this injustice. I was angry. They hugged us and said “thank you for coming”. This thing changed my life. Since 2012, I have been visiting Sant’Anna five or six times a year. What we Germans can do to mitigate this process of injustice is to bring young people to Sant’Anna. Pieri’s idea was to bring Italian and German children together,” explains al fatto.it

Quintini. Who already remembers the appointment for next year. “Campo della Pace 2024 will take place from 3 to 14 August. We can now accept applications, he says, accompanied by a letter of motivation, a drawing, a reflection or a short video to be sent to incontrogiovanisantanna@gmail.com.”