Fossoli camp

The Fossoli camp (Italian: Campo di Fossoli) was a concentration camp in Italy, established during World War II and located in the village of Fossoli, Carpi, Emilia-Romagna. It began as a prisoner of war camp in 1942, later being a Jewish concentration camp, then a police and transit camp, a labour collection centre for Germany and, finally, a refugee camp before closing in 1970. It is estimated that 2,844 Jews passed through this camp, 2,802 of whom were then deported. The camp was established by the Royal Italian Army on 30 May 1942 for the British, South African and New Zealand military personnel captured in military operations in North Africa and originally called Campo PG 73. On 22 July 1942 1,800 prisoners of war were moved to the camp and accommodated in 191 tents in what was called the "Old camp", the Campo Vecchio. With the surrender of Italy on 8 September 1943, the camp was evacuated and all prisoners of war were moved to Germany. After the surrender, the camp was enlarged by 60 wooden and 20 stone barracks which became the "New camp", the Campo Nuovo. In December the camp was renamed Fossoli di Carpi and became the "national concentration camp" for the Jews in the Italian Social Republic, following the issue of RSI Police Order No. 5. The camp was operated by fascist Italian militias. Police captain Domenico Avitabile was the first Italian commandant of the concentration camp, succeeded by Mario Taglialatela.