International convention concerning Forced Labour
"Mussolini was forced to retire from office by the "Great fascist council" and arrested on order of Viktor Emanuel III. Imprisoned on the Gran Sasso Mountain, he was liberated on September, 12th 1943 by German paratroopers.
He formed a fascist counter government with German aid and declared the "Italian Socialist Republic". Situated in Salo (Garda Lake) Mussolini tried to regain control in Northern and Central Italy.
He remained an instrument of the German occupation forces. The territory of the "Republic of Salo" shrunk equal to the retreat of German forces out of Italy.
Source: de.wikipedia.org
In the beginning of April 1944, the first forced labourers arrived in Kahla. Among the Italians, beside the prisoner`s of war, the so-called "IMI`s" (Italian Military Interned), there were also civilians that were take prisoner during round-ups.
The fate of these people and their deportation has, even 61 years after the end of the war, not found an end yet.
The fact that even today they are not yet recognized as prisoners of war is also the reason that they can not apply for any compensation.
For the civilian victims that came to Kahla as forced labourer, the situation is even worse, as they don`t fall in a clearly defined group of victims. So, even today, this topic remains very actual in Italy.
This was one of the reasons why on February 1st, 2006 an international convention about deportation and forced labour took place in Piacenza.
This event was organised by Ms. Carla Antonini, director of the Institute for Resistance and contemporary history in Piacenza. She engages herself in particular for the victims of the Piacenza Region.
Invited to participate at this event, Hartmut Schütze vice chairman of the Förderverein "Mahn- und Gedenkstätte Walpersberg" e.V. and Patrick Brion, member of the board and responsible for the international contacts in the association, although the preparation time was very short, travelled to Italy.
January 31st, one day before the convention, the first contact with Ms. Antonini took place. The set of the convention was the magnificent "Teatro Municipale" of Piacenza, well situated in the centre and filled with history.
The movie theatre was the location were the event took place. Some minor technical and organisation questions had to be cleared in advance.
With the superb cooperation between Carla and Gabriella, our great translator, all details were settled on Tuesday afternoon. In the evening there was a first encounter with the other speakers in a local restaurant.
The delicious food and the nice atmosphere quickly contributed to a good mood and first contacts.
On Wednesday morning the convention, at which over 500 guests participated, began. A lot of young people were present. We were very happy to meet old friends and even some former forced labourers of the "REIMAHG" and their relatives.
After the opening speeches of the Mayor of Piacenza and the District Councillor of the Piacenza Region, the first speakers came to word.
The programme was well prepared. Even if some topics took some time and were thematically well filled, they remained interesting.
Professor Brunello Mantelli of the University of Turin, spoke about the complex history as of 1943.
Dr. Lutz Klinkhammer of the German Historical Institute in Rome, who has done a lot of research, explained the problem of the deportation.
Other speakers had different contributions to the issue of the "Last days of the War in Italy" as well as the deportation to Kahla.
Luigi Poggioli, a former forced labourer of the "REIMAHG", that had written together with Carla Antonini a book about this period in Kahla, talked about this. The personal conversation with Luigi left a deep impression on us. Shortly before lunchtime, Patrick Brion gave his presentation about the former armament factory. Together with Gabriella Soldaini as translator, he gave the audience with well-chosen imagery and films a clear impression about this historical period.
After the buffet, that was perfectly organised and presented by the local Hotel School, our movie about the "Commemoration 2005" in Kahla was shown.
The advantage of our preparations on Tuesday paid off, since Gabriella knew the contents of the movie and was able to explain all testimonies into Italian.
The solicitor Joachim Lau, that has taken the interests of former Italian forced labourers into the court, talked about his experiences.
In the afternoon another number of presentations followed. Among those the one from Cleonice Pignedoli, who commits herself since a number of years for the former forced labourers of the "REIMAHG" in the Emilia Region.
Other speakers came to word, as Massimiliano Tenconi, Reinhard Sauer, Annalisa Cegna and Ulrich Herbert.
The convention ended around seven o`clock in the evening and all those that had contributed to this event, met in the theatre`s lobby for a drink.
The story of the "REIMAHG" is very much present in Italy. Due to the numerous talks we had, it was possible to create new contacts. As the research in Italy hast just really began, our association can contribute in an important way by exchanging the information we have found until now.
WWe hope to meet a number of the participants of the convention at this year`s commemoration at Kahla in May.
