Gonars
Encyclopedia
Gonars is a town and comune
near Palmanova
in the province of Udine
, Friuli
, northeastern Italy
.
On February 23, 1942 the fascist regime established a concentration camp in the town, mostly for prisoners from present day Slovenia
and Croatia
. The first transport of 5343 internees (1643 of whom were children) arrived two days later from the Province of Ljubljana
and from the Rab camp
and the camp in Monigo near Treviso
.
The camp was disbanded on September 8, 1943, immediately after Italian capitulation. Every effort was made to erase any evidence of this black spot of Italian history. The camp's buildings were destroyed, the materials were used to build a nearby kindergarten
and the site was turned into a meadow
. Only in 1973 a sacrarium was created by sculptor
Miodrag Živković
at the town's cemetery. Remains of 453 Slovenian and Croatian victims were transferred into its two underground crypt
s. It is believed that at least 50 additional persons died in the camp due to starvation
and torture
. Apart from the sacrarium no other evidence of the camp remains and even many locals are unaware it.
Among the people interned in the camp were scientist Aleš Strojnik, writer Vitomil Zupan
, poets Alojz Gradnik
and France Balantič
, historians Bogo Grafenauer
and Vasilij Melik
, sculptor Jakob Savinšek
, playwright and essayist Bojan Štih
, journalist Ernest Petrin, and politicians Anton Vratuša
, Boris Kraigher and France Bučar
.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
near Palmanova
Palmanova
Palmanova is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, close to the border with Slovenia. It is located 20 km from Udine, 28 km from Gorizia and 55 km from Trieste near the junction of the Autostrada Alpe-Adria and the Autostrada Venezia-Trieste .Palmanova is famous for its fortress...
in the province of Udine
Province of Udine
The Province of Udine is a province in the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy, bordering Austria and Slovenia. Its capital is the city of Udine....
, Friuli
Friuli
Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...
, northeastern 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...
.
World War II
On February 23, 1942 the fascist regime established a concentration camp in the town, mostly for prisoners from present day Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
and Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. The first transport of 5343 internees (1643 of whom were children) arrived two days later from the Province of Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
and from the Rab camp
Rab concentration camp
The Rab concentration camp was an Italian concentration and internment camp on the Adriatic island of Rab, now part of the Republic of Croatia, during World War II. The camp was located at...
and the camp in Monigo near Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...
.
The camp was disbanded on September 8, 1943, immediately after Italian capitulation. Every effort was made to erase any evidence of this black spot of Italian history. The camp's buildings were destroyed, the materials were used to build a nearby kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
and the site was turned into a meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
. Only in 1973 a sacrarium was created by sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
Miodrag Živković
Miodrag Živkovic
Miodrag "Miko" Živković is the president of the opposition Liberal Party of Montenegro and one of its representatives in the Parliament of Montenegro.Born to father Đorđije and mother Vojislava , Živković finished primary and secondary school...
at the town's cemetery. Remains of 453 Slovenian and Croatian victims were transferred into its two underground crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
s. It is believed that at least 50 additional persons died in the camp due to starvation
Starvation
Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death...
and torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
. Apart from the sacrarium no other evidence of the camp remains and even many locals are unaware it.
Among the people interned in the camp were scientist Aleš Strojnik, writer Vitomil Zupan
Vitomil Zupan
Vitomil Zupan , who also wrote under the pseudonym Langus, was a Slovenian writer, poet, playwright, essayist and screenwriter. He is considered one of the most important authors in the Slovene language of the second half of the 20th century.-Biography:Vitomil Zupan was born in Ljubljana, then part...
, poets Alojz Gradnik
Alojz Gradnik
Alojz Gradnik was a Slovenian poet and translator.-Life:Gradnik was born in the village of Medana in the Goriška Brda region, in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire and is today in the Goriška province of Slovenia. His father was a Slovene from Trieste who came from a poor working family...
and France Balantič
France Balantic
France Balantič was a Slovene poet. His works were banished from schools and libraries during the Titoist regime in Slovenia, but since the late 1980s, he has been re-considered as one of the foremost Slovene poets of the 20th century.- Life :Balantič was born in a working class family in Kamnik,...
, historians Bogo Grafenauer
Bogo Grafenauer
Bogo Grafenauer was a Slovenian historian, who mostly wrote about medieval history in the Slovene Lands. Together with Milko Kos, Fran Zwitter, and Vasilij Melik, he was one of the founders of the so-called Ljubljana school of historiography.- Early life :He was born in Ljubljana in a well...
and Vasilij Melik
Vasilij Melik
Vasilij Melik was a Slovenian historian, who mostly worked on political history of the Slovene Lands in the 19th century.He was born in Ljubljana as the only son of the renowned geographer Anton Melik...
, sculptor Jakob Savinšek
Jakob Savinšek
Jakob Savinšek, was a Slovene sculptor, illustrator and poet.- Life :Savinšek was born in the Upper Carniolan town of Kamnik, then part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes , where he spent his youth. After finishing secondary school in Ljubljana, he studied medicine at the University of...
, playwright and essayist Bojan Štih
Bojan Štih
Bojan Štih , was a Slovene literary critic, stage director, and essayist. He was one of the most influential figures in modern Slovene theatre after 1945....
, journalist Ernest Petrin, and politicians Anton Vratuša
Anton Vratuša
Anton Vratuša is a former politician and diplomat, who was Prime Minister of Slovenia and Yugoslavia's ambassador to the United Nations....
, Boris Kraigher and France Bučar
France Bucar
France Bučar is a Slovenian politician, legal expert and author. Between 1990 and 1992, he served as the first chairman of the freely elected Slovenian Parliament. He was the one to formally declare the independence of Slovenia on June 25, 1991. He is considered as one of the founding fathers of...
.
Further reading
- Alessandra Kersevan, Un campo di concentramento fascista. Gonars 1942-1943., Kappa Vu Edizioni, Udine, 2003