PG 91 - Avezzano

Sheet by: Costantino Di Sante

Camp entrance no. 91 in Avezzano (AQ) - AUSSME Archive, Fototeca 2 Guerra Mondiale Italia 507/650

General data

Town: Avezzano

Province: L'Aquila

Region: Abruzzo

Location/Address: Borgo Pineta - Avezzano

Type of camp: Prisoner of War camp

Number: 91

Italian military mail service number: 3300

Intended to: NCOs – Troops

Local jurisdiction: IX Army Corps

Railroad station: Avezzano

Accommodation: huts

Operating: from 03/1942 to 15/09/1943

Commanding Officer: Lt. Col. Pietro Tirone

Brief chronology:
21 December 1942: the Ditta Mariani began the construction of the camp, emplying Indian PoWs.
6 March 1942: 140 Indian PoWs arrived at the camp.
26 July 1942: 210 Arab PoWs arrived at the camp.
27 July 1942: 98 British PoWs arrived from Germany, escorted by German guards.
28 July 1942: a sentry wounded a PoW in the stomach.
4 August 1942: 510 Indian PoWs were transferred to Germany.
6 August 1942: 89 Indian PoWs were transferred to Germany from Pescara train station.
14 August 1942: 92 British PoWs arrived from Germany.

Allied prisoners in the Avezzano camp

Date Generals Officers NCOs Troops TOT
1.4.1942 49 527 576
1.5.1942 49 533 582
1.6.1942 50 647 697
1.7.1942 7 520 527
1.8.1942 11 735 746
1.9.1942 38 802 840
31.10.1942 82 2618 2700
30.11.1942 52 3998 4050
31.1.1943 212 3661 3873
30.4.1943 211 3702 3913
31.5.1943 190 3128 3318
30.6.1943 184 3337 3337
31.8.1943 325 211 2734 3270
 

Camp’s overview

PG 91 Avezzano was primarily used to hold Indian PoWs in the «Borgo Pineta», housing them in huts that had already been used during the First World War to hold Austro-Hungarian PoWs. The first works to reopen the camp began in the spring of 1941, and PG 91 was officially opened at the end of February 1942. The first 140 Indian PoWs arrived on 6 March. By November 1942, the camp housed more than 4,000 PoWs above its upper capacity.
During the summer, roughly 100 Middle Eastern PoWs arrived from Germany (Palestinians, Syrians, Transjordan, Cyprians, Armenians, Turks, and Somalians), while 510 Indian PoWs were instead transferred to Germany. These exchanges were part of the Italo-German pacts to enlist Indian PoWs in the German army and Arab PoWs in the Italian army to fight the British and the Russians. To encourage the PoWs to enlist, on 23 July 1942, they received a visit from some representatives of the «Free India Movement» who lived in Europe. On 19 September, the Grand Muftì visited the camp to convince the Muslim PoWs. During the war, motivated by their desire for homeland independence, at least 2,000 Indian PoWs from Avezzano enlisted in the German army and were transferred beyond the Brenner.
Arab and Indian PoWs lived in different huts and each had their camp leader. Aside from being exposed to constant anti-British propaganda to convince them to enlist in the Axis forces, the PoWs enjoyed good living conditions. They were divided according to caste, and, according to their faiths, meat was eliminated and replaced by a more appropriate ration of bread, pasta, and rice. Moreover, they were allowed to keep long hair and beards. Apart from overcrowding at times and some issues with the water system, living conditions were good. Indeed, they were better than at PG 57 Grupignano (Udine), where the Sikhs who refused to collaborate were sent.
In the spring of 1943, some work detachments were established, formed by some 50 PoWs each. Two were assigned to work on the farms in the «Principato del Fucino», one to Ortucchiuto, another to the «Azienda Via Nova» in Avezzano; another to the «Ditta Bonocasa», where they were employed to load and unload the wood in the forest of Corvaro (Borgocollefegato, today Borsorose). The last one was probably assigned to the farms near the camp.
After the Armistice, the fate of the PoWs is unclear. Probably only a few hundred managed to escape before the Germans arrived. Others, since the Germans could not deport them immediately, escaped in the following days, thanks to the help of the medical officer, Captain Giuseppe Croci.
From November 1943, the camp was used as a deposit for military transport. Despite the carabinieri's strict surveillance, the local populations plundered the camp multiple times. In March 1944, the Germans demolished many of the huts and took away building materials. After the war, many private houses and sports facilities were built on the 450,000 square metres area of the camp. A luxuriant pine grove now covers the only area where some traces of the camp still remain.

Archival sources

Bibliography

Online resources

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