PG 136 - OARE Bologna Sheet by: Isabella Insolvibile
General data
Town: Bologna
Province: Bologna
Region: Emilia-Romagna
Location/Address: Via Castelmerlo, Caserma Stamoto, Officina Automobilistica Regio Esercito (OARE) - Bologna
Type of camp: Work camp
Number: 136
Italian military mail service number: 3200
Intended to: NCOs – Troops
Local jurisdiction: Difesa Territoriale Bologna
Railroad station: Bologna
Accommodation: huts
Capacity: 125
Operating: from 10/1942 to 1943
Commanding Officer: Lt. Annito Zani
Brief chronology:
October 1942: the prisoners were assigned to the Officina Automobilistica Regio Esercito of Bologna
After 8 September 1943: presumably, the prisoners were captured by the Germans
Allied prisoners in the Bologna camp
| Date | Generals | Officers | NCOs | Troops | TOT |
| 31.10.1942 | 11 | 91 | 102 | ||
| 30.11.1942 | 9 | 85 | 94 | ||
| 31.12.1942 | 9 | 92 | 101 | ||
| 31.1.1943 | 9 | 91 | 100 | ||
| 28.2.1943 | 8 | 110 | 118 | ||
| 31.3.1943 | 8 | 109 | 117 | ||
| 30.4.1943 | 8 | 108 | 116 | ||
| 31.5.1943 | 8 | 108 | 116 | ||
| 30.6.1943 | 8 | 108 | 116 | ||
| 31.8.1942 | 115 | 115 |
Camp’s overview
In October 1942, a few dozen prisoners, chosen specifically because of their specialisation (mechanics, welders, metal workers, repairmen, carpenters, wheelwrights, and automobile workers) were sent to the Officina Automobilistica Regio Esercito at Bologna. Some were assigned to a detached section – the Magazzino Principale Ricambi di Piacenza – also belonging to the OARE. All were employed, in violation of Article 31 of the Geneva conventions, as part of the war effort of their captor. Neither the International Red Cross nor the Protecting Power was ever admitted to the camp. The Italians, untroubled by the violation of the conventions, were instead concerned about having enemy personnel manning a military installation. Therefore, it was recommended that there be «a particularly cautious plan to surveil them, curated in every detail, under the direct and exclusive control of the CC.RR». [AUSSME, N1-11, b. 843] Moreover, the prisoners were to wear different clothing from the Italian workers with a clear indication of their status as PoWs. Finally, the prisoners were to be exclusively British or come from the Dominions. [AUSSME, N1-11, b. 843]
There is no information about the prisoners after the Armistice.
The camp violated not only Article 31 of the Geneva conventions but also Article 9, since the installation, which was clearly a possible military objective for Allied attack, exposed the PoWs to the risk of being wounded or killed.
Archival sources
- Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Ministero dell’Interno, Direzione Generale Pubblica Sicurezza, A5G, II GM, bb. 116, 117, 118 e 140, Verbali e Notiziari della Commissione Interministeriale per i Prigionieri di Guerra
- Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Ministero della Guerra, Comando Generale Carabinieri, Miscellanea, scatola 2
- Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Ministero dell’Aeronautica, Gabinetto, b. 70, Verbali e Notiziari della Commissione Interministeriale per i Prigionieri di Guerra
- Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Onorcaduti b. 1
- Archivio Ufficio Storico Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, L10, b. 32
- Archivio Ufficio Storico Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, N1-11, bb. 843, 1130
- Archivio Ufficio Storico Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, H8, b. 79
- The National Archives, WO 224/150
Bibliography
- Insolvibile I., I prigionieri alleati in Italia 1940-1943, tesi di dottorato, Dottorato in "Innovazione e Gestione delle Risorse Pubbliche", curriculum “Scienze Umane, Storiche e della Formazione”, Storia Contemporanea, Università degli Studi del Molise, anno accademico 2019-2020,
- Minardi M. (a cura di), Prigionieri in Italia. Militari alleati e campi di prigionia (1940-1945), Parma, MUP, 2021