PG 41 - Montalbo

Sheet by: Isabella Insolvibile

General data

Town: Ziano Piacentino

Province: Piacenza

Region: Emilia-Romagna

Location/Address: Montalbo - Ziano Piacentino

Type of camp: Prisoner of War camp

Number: 41

Italian military mail service number: 3200

Intended to: officers

Local jurisdiction: Difesa Territoriale Milano

Railroad station: Castel S. Giovanni

Accommodation: military quarters

Capacity: 150

Operating: from 08/1941 to 03/1943

Commanding Officer: Major Mario Montanelli (3-4.1942); Captain Raffaele Paddoghi (5.1942); Major Antonio Colleoni (6.1942-3.1943)

Brief chronology:
August 1941: a few dozen Allied prisoners were interned in the camp, previously used for Greek PoWs.
27 August 1941: British driver Robert John Kahn was killed during an escape attempt.
Spring 1942: the camp, now used for Allied PoWs, was earmarked for British prisoners exclusively.
14 March 1942: prisoners’ protest.
April 1942: the commanding officer, Major Montanelli was removed and arrested.
Spring 1943: the camp was closed during the general reorganisation of the Italian prisoner of war camps in Italy (officially on 21 May 1943).

Allied prisoners in the Ziano Piacentino camp

Date Generals Officers NCOs Troops TOT
17.9.1941[1]   47 14 61
1.3.1942   158 2 43 203
1.4.1942   157 1 44 202
1.5.1942   148 7 45 200
1.6.1942   139 1 44 184
1.7.1942   106   45 151
1.8.1942   148   45 193
1.9.1942   142 1 44 187
30.9.1942   143   45 188
31.10.1942   143   45 188
30.11.1942   142   45 187
31.12.1942   141   45 186
31.1.1943   142 1 46 189
28.2.1943   137 1 46 184
31.3.1943   147 1 26 174
[1] TNA, WO 224/115 Lambert, «Camp at Montalbo. Visited September 17th, 1941».

Camp’s overview

The camp was established inside a medieval castle which had been restructured many times before the war. Its last use was as a residence for seminarists. The first source attesting the presence of Allied PoWs in the camp is a report by the International Red Cross [TNA, WO 224/115], which, in September 1941, inspected it, finding 61 British prisoners (47 of whom were officers) in addition to the 69 Greeks already present[1]. The prisoners were officers and their adjutants. The Allied PoWs arrived between August and September and enjoyed a better treatment compared with the Greeks. Despite being segregated from each other, the cohabitation and the evident disparity in treatment created a difficult disciplinary situation inside the camp. The Allied PoWs were visited straight away by Apostolic nuncio Borgongini Duca, who described them as «glowing and happy with their treatment» [AAV, IAC, UIV, Sez. Segr., b. 518]. According to the International Red Cross, the PoWs’ diet, in September 1941, comprised:


























































































































































Monday Tuesday Wendsday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
grams grams grams grams grams grams grams
Bread 550 550 550 550 550 550 550
Meat 150 150 - 150 - 150 150
Pasta - 150 100 150 150 - 150
Rice 150 - 150 - 100 150 -
Lard and oil 15 15 30 15 30 15 15
Marmalade 15 15 25 15 25 15 15
Salt 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
Grated Cheese 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Beans - 50 60 - 60 50 -
Sugar 15 15 15 15 15 15 15
Surrugated Coffee 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Cheese - - 60 - 60 - -
Potatoes 100 - - - - - 100

However, the prisoners, once they went back home, told of a crumbling and inadequate structure, and of mediocre (or even bad) treatment. The food situation as well, as time went on, deteriorated, just like in the other camps.

On 27 August 1941, British driver Robert John Kahn was killed by the guards during an escape attempt. Kahn was the first Allied PoW to «die of escape» in Italy. The legitimacy of this killing was not accepted by his comrades, nor by his Commanding Officer, who described wounds not compatible with shots fired at the back of a fleeing man. The case was investigated after the war but did not lead to any convictions.

By the end of 1941, the camp was intended only for Allied prisoners and, since the spring of 1942, exclusively for British officers. The relations between the captives and the captors were difficult in Montalbo. Escape attempts were common and the Italian reactions to them were almost always severe. The captors’ attitude was particularly rigid and sometimes persecutory (British sources labelled it: «petty persecution»). The prisoners’ correspondence was regularly censored, and confiscations were common. Even the international observers noted deficiencies in the supplies provided and in the structure itself even if, in contrast with other camps, at least Montalbo was heated during the winter. The prisoners did not yield and, in March 1942, staged a spectacular protest – a unicum in Italy – to achieve better living conditions, in particular, an adequate plumbing and lighting system. The PoWs unhinged the camp’s doors, painted ‘V’s on the walls, filled in the keyholes of the Italian offices’ doors, burned all the proclamations of the Command, and more. The outcome of the protest is uncertain: British sources claim it was a complete success, Italian sources the exact opposite. What is certain is that the Italian commander – who, during the protest, threatened to kill some of the prisoners – was removed and arrested (for the theft of Red Cross parcels, he would later be acquitted for lack of evidence). The camp leader was similarly removed, and the seven instigators of the protest were transferred to Gavi. In the following months, the camp would follow the policy of «peace at any price».

As far as escapes are concerned, these were managed by the Escape Committee, which decided on a case-by-case basis whether to approve or reject the escape plans. However, very little could be done, as the Italians kept a tighter guard on Montalbo compared with other camps.

The camp was eventually closed in the spring of 1943 and the prisoners moved to Fontanellato. After the Armistice, the castle became the seat of an unspecified German Command. Later, it went back to being private property. Today it is not open to the public.

After the war, as mentioned, the killing of driver Kahn sparked an investigation for war crimes. Major Montanelli was identified as the principal responsible. He was also investigated for a variety of violations, including violence, menaces and intimidations towards the PoWs, the wounding of some of them, incitements to his subordinates to commit similar acts, destruction of correspondence, and excessive punishments. Moreover, as mentioned, he was also put on trial for the theft of Red Cross parcels intended for the prisoners. All these accusations, however, did not lead to any conviction and the officer did not face any consequence in the afterwar period, despite the prisoners describing him as «a complete fascist of the worst kind» and «a caricature of the Gestapo».

[1] Previously, in July, two Indian PoWs were registered in the camp: ACS, MI, DGPS, A5G, II GM, b. 116, f. 59, MG, CIPG, «Notiziario n. 9», 13 settembre 1941-XIX° [sic], p. 13

Archival sources

Bibliography

Online resources

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