Eugenio Calò
Encyclopedia
Eugenio Calò is a national hero
of Italy
. Born in Pisa
to an old Sephardi family, he was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal for Military Valour, Italy's highest honor for heroism. Eugenio Calò was an Italian partisan
, second in command of the Pio Borri partisan division that fought the Germans
in the Casentino
mountains in Tuscany
. As a Jewish victim of fascist Italy during the Second World War
, Calò had lost his workshop, his home, and his family. Finally, at the age of 38, he was captured, tortured and murdered by the Germans.
, the anti-Semitic persecutions increased. The Fascists and the Germans began arresting the Jews and sending them to concentration camps. When Calò had learned about the capture of his family and the fact that they had been kept in Florence
's Le Murate prison, he tried to organize their escape. His efforts were in vain. In May 1944 they were all deported to a concentration camp in Fossoli, and on the 16th of that month were sent on a transport to Auschwitz. His wife Carolina Lombroso gave birth to their fourth son while on the train. His family was killed by the Germans immediately upon arriving at Auschwitz.
Two months later, Calò and his fellow partisans captured a group of some thirty German soldiers. Acting on his moral authority as commander and as a human being, Calò opposed his fellow partisans who asked for a summary trial and execution of the prisoners. Instead, he insisted on treating the German soldiers as prisoners of war. He volunteered to take the prisoners across German lines, and extradite them to the hands of the allied forces
. The Germans soldiers were notorious for their revenge and reprisal massacres of the civilian population. It was quite obvious to the partisans that if captured with German prisoners, they would be tortured and killed along with some innocent villagers. On July 2, 1944, the prisoners were transferred by Calò and other partisans - among them, Angelo Recapito and Luigi Valentini – to the Allied Headquarters in Cortona
across the frontline.
General Mark Clark, commander of the US Fifth Army, asked for two volunteers who would take messages back to the partisans in order to coordinate their activities towards the liberation of the city of Arezzo
which was planned for July 14. Calò and Angelo Recapito volunteered to go back and deliver the message. They succeeded in their mission and rejoined their friends, but were captured on July 14 along with a group of civilians and other partisans at Molin dei Falchi, where they had intended to spend the night with some more German prisoners. One of the German prisoners had managed to escape and informed the German Army and some Italian fascist
collaborators of the camp's existence. The Germans attacked and there was a fierce battle in which many partisans died. The survivors were transferred to the village of San Polo di Arezzo where all the men of the village were collected as well for the reprisal action. The captured partisans were brutally tortured and murdered.
As per these commands, all the men of San Polo were gathered and brought to Villa Mancini where the German officers were quartered. There, the partisans were brutally beaten with rubber hoses and tortured. Eugenio Calò and Angelo Recapito, who both had information pertaining to the Allied forces' military plans, maintained their silence. At the end of the day, the partisans, wounded and barely alive, along with the captured men of the village — forty-eight in all — were taken to a nearby field on the backyard of Villa Gigliosi that the German soldiers had requisitioned. The civilians were made to dig three pit graves and were then thrown in still alive. The partisans were placed in the pits with their heads above ground and with explosive charges attached to their bodies. They were then blown apart. The Germans did not allow anyone to bury the dead.
, daughter Elena and sons Renzo and Albertino) had been captured and sent to Auschwitz only a couple of months earlier.
For his military activities against the Germans as a member of the Italian resistance movement
, for his contribution as second in command of the Pio Borri partisan division that patrolled the Casentino mountains in Tuscany, for his bravery, and for his humanity, Eugenio Calò was awarded in 1947 the highest honor for military heroism in Italy, the "Gold Medal for Military Valour".
Eugenio had paid with his life for his heroism. He was tortured and finally murdered by German soldiers.
There are streets in Arezzo
and Florence
bearing the names of Eugenio Calò and Angelo Recapito and in the town of Quarata, near Arezzo, there is a school named after him.
from 1969 to 1980 as a member of Willy Brandt
's SPD
, had already been indicted by the Italian justice in 1967 and 1972, but the complaints had been classified
Folk hero
A folk hero is a type of hero, real, fictional, or mythological. The single salient characteristic which makes a character a folk hero is the imprinting of the name, personality and deeds of the character in the popular consciousness. This presence in the popular consciousness is evidenced by...
of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Born in Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
to an old Sephardi family, he was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal for Military Valour, Italy's highest honor for heroism. Eugenio Calò was an Italian partisan
Italian resistance movement
The Italian resistance is the umbrella term for the various partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians during World War II...
, second in command of the Pio Borri partisan division that fought the Germans
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in the Casentino
Casentino
The Casentino is the valley in which the first tract of the river Arno flows to Subbiano, Italy.It is one of the four valleys in which the Province of Arezzo is divided. Mount Falterona, from which the Arno starts, represents the northern boundary between the Casentino and Romagna...
mountains in Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
. As a Jewish victim of fascist Italy during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Calò had lost his workshop, his home, and his family. Finally, at the age of 38, he was captured, tortured and murdered by the Germans.
German occupation
After the German invasion in 1943Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic was a puppet state of Nazi Germany led by the "Duce of the Nation" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs" Benito Mussolini and his Republican Fascist Party. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern Italy but was largely dependent on the Wehrmacht to maintain control...
, the anti-Semitic persecutions increased. The Fascists and the Germans began arresting the Jews and sending them to concentration camps. When Calò had learned about the capture of his family and the fact that they had been kept in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
's Le Murate prison, he tried to organize their escape. His efforts were in vain. In May 1944 they were all deported to a concentration camp in Fossoli, and on the 16th of that month were sent on a transport to Auschwitz. His wife Carolina Lombroso gave birth to their fourth son while on the train. His family was killed by the Germans immediately upon arriving at Auschwitz.
Two months later, Calò and his fellow partisans captured a group of some thirty German soldiers. Acting on his moral authority as commander and as a human being, Calò opposed his fellow partisans who asked for a summary trial and execution of the prisoners. Instead, he insisted on treating the German soldiers as prisoners of war. He volunteered to take the prisoners across German lines, and extradite them to the hands of the allied forces
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
. The Germans soldiers were notorious for their revenge and reprisal massacres of the civilian population. It was quite obvious to the partisans that if captured with German prisoners, they would be tortured and killed along with some innocent villagers. On July 2, 1944, the prisoners were transferred by Calò and other partisans - among them, Angelo Recapito and Luigi Valentini – to the Allied Headquarters in Cortona
Cortona
Cortona is a town and comune in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy. It is the main cultural and artistic center of the Val di Chiana after Arezzo.-History:...
across the frontline.
General Mark Clark, commander of the US Fifth Army, asked for two volunteers who would take messages back to the partisans in order to coordinate their activities towards the liberation of the city of Arezzo
Arezzo
Arezzo is a city and comune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 m above sea level. In 2011 the population was about 100,000....
which was planned for July 14. Calò and Angelo Recapito volunteered to go back and deliver the message. They succeeded in their mission and rejoined their friends, but were captured on July 14 along with a group of civilians and other partisans at Molin dei Falchi, where they had intended to spend the night with some more German prisoners. One of the German prisoners had managed to escape and informed the German Army and some Italian fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
collaborators of the camp's existence. The Germans attacked and there was a fierce battle in which many partisans died. The survivors were transferred to the village of San Polo di Arezzo where all the men of the village were collected as well for the reprisal action. The captured partisans were brutally tortured and murdered.
San Polo massacre
After September 8, 1943, the German invasion army was ordered by the highest authorities not to obey the Geneva Convention nor normal rules of war, and to show no mercy towards the civilian population. The high German command promised to give complete protection against all accusations of brutality. A specific order was issued to torture and kill everyone found with weapons and to terrorize the unarmed civilian population. For every German killed, ten Italian civilians were to be killed.As per these commands, all the men of San Polo were gathered and brought to Villa Mancini where the German officers were quartered. There, the partisans were brutally beaten with rubber hoses and tortured. Eugenio Calò and Angelo Recapito, who both had information pertaining to the Allied forces' military plans, maintained their silence. At the end of the day, the partisans, wounded and barely alive, along with the captured men of the village — forty-eight in all — were taken to a nearby field on the backyard of Villa Gigliosi that the German soldiers had requisitioned. The civilians were made to dig three pit graves and were then thrown in still alive. The partisans were placed in the pits with their heads above ground and with explosive charges attached to their bodies. They were then blown apart. The Germans did not allow anyone to bury the dead.
Gold medal for military valour
Calò had spared the lives of some thirty captured German soldiers and insisted on acting in a humane way, even though his own family (his wife Carolina LombrosoLombroso
Lombroso, Lumbroso, Lumbrozo is a surname, derived from a Sephardi family, members of which lived in Tunis, Marseilles, and Italy. The surname may refer to:* Giacomo Lumbroso , Italian physician....
, daughter Elena and sons Renzo and Albertino) had been captured and sent to Auschwitz only a couple of months earlier.
For his military activities against the Germans as a member of the Italian resistance movement
Italian resistance movement
The Italian resistance is the umbrella term for the various partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians during World War II...
, for his contribution as second in command of the Pio Borri partisan division that patrolled the Casentino mountains in Tuscany, for his bravery, and for his humanity, Eugenio Calò was awarded in 1947 the highest honor for military heroism in Italy, the "Gold Medal for Military Valour".
Eugenio had paid with his life for his heroism. He was tortured and finally murdered by German soldiers.
Remembering Eugenio Calò
The San Polo massacre is commemorated every year, as is the liberation of Arezzo on July 16, 1944. The local religious, civilian and military authorities participate in the ceremony.There are streets in Arezzo
Arezzo
Arezzo is a city and comune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 m above sea level. In 2011 the population was about 100,000....
and Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
bearing the names of Eugenio Calò and Angelo Recapito and in the town of Quarata, near Arezzo, there is a school named after him.
San Polo trials
Former NSDAP member Herbert Hdansk, who took part in the San Polo massacre, was relaxed in 2007 by the Italian justice. Aged 87, he was the only survivor of the perpetrators of the massacre. Klaus Konrad had died on August 15, 2006. He had also been indicted by the magistrates in the same trial. Konrad, who became after the war a deputy of the BundestagBundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
from 1969 to 1980 as a member of Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt, born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm , was a German politician, Mayor of West Berlin 1957–1966, Chancellor of West Germany 1969–1974, and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany 1964–1987....
's SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
, had already been indicted by the Italian justice in 1967 and 1972, but the complaints had been classified
See also
- Military history of Italy during World War IIMilitary history of Italy during World War IIDuring World War II , the Kingdom of Italy had a varied and tumultuous military history. Defeated in Greece, France, East Africa and North Africa, the Italian invasion of British Somaliland was one of the only successful Italian campaigns of World War II accomplished without German support.In...
- History of the Jews in ItalyHistory of the Jews in ItalyThe history of the Jews in Italy goes back over two thousand years. Jews have been present in Italy from the Roman period until the present.-Antiquity:-Pre-Christian Rome:...
- The British Eighth Army who liberated Arezzo on July 16, 1944
- The US Fifth Army that coordinated with the partisans at Cortona
- de:Klaus Konrad
External links
- A short movie about Eugenio Calò (in Hebrew) is available through Google Video.
- The city of Reggello web page regarding the unvailing of a "Stumbling Block" (commemoration plate) in memory of Eugenio Calo's wife and children. (Italian) In memory of Carolina Lombroso Calo, Eugenio Calo's wife, and their children. In front of the house in Cascia di Reggello where they were arrested and deported, to be murdered in Auschwitz.
- BBC-WW2 People's War - San Polo Massacre
- The Guardian (October 29, 2004), reporting the S.Polo massacre investigation, Klaus Konrad, his role (supervised the executions that followed the torture), and his comments
- War diary of the King's Dragoon Guards who entered the village of San Polo on the morning of the 18th
- The Tuscany Italian resistance web site
- The Arezzo province memorial web site - Eugenio Calò
- The Arezzo province memorial web site - Film of San Polo four days after the massacre
- The Arezzo province memorial web site - San Polo massacre
- Description of the battle and the massacre
- AP (2-26-07): 87 year old Austrian acquitted in 1944 San Polo massacre