Casaglia
![The aerial view shows the cemetery of Casaglia. It is surrounded by a high wall and is located in a wooded area. Mountains can be seen in the background.](/fileadmin/_processed_/3/d/csm_Casaglia_Drohne_Friedhof_3_01fbf16ec4.jpg 320w, /fileadmin/_processed_/3/d/csm_Casaglia_Drohne_Friedhof_3_b731680c83.jpg 480w, /fileadmin/_processed_/3/d/csm_Casaglia_Drohne_Friedhof_3_983aa980a3.jpg 640w, /fileadmin/_processed_/3/d/csm_Casaglia_Drohne_Friedhof_3_aed0a37eba.jpg 960w, /fileadmin/_processed_/3/d/csm_Casaglia_Drohne_Friedhof_3_21501e1d28.jpg 1280w, /fileadmin/_processed_/3/d/csm_Casaglia_Drohne_Friedhof_3_cc44cf069c.jpg 1920w, /fileadmin/_processed_/3/d/csm_Casaglia_Drohne_Friedhof_3_e487060c60.jpg 2560w)
29 September 1944 , Casaglia, district in the Marzabotto commune (Bologna, Emilia Romagna)
On the morning of 29 Sept. 1944, appr. 100 women, older persons and children took shelter in the local church. Assuming that they were the intended target of an
- Involved Unit
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3rd Company of the Reconnaissance battalion 16 ‘Reichsführer-SS’
- Culprits
- Victims
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85
- Armed forces
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Waffen-SS
![Close-up of an iron cross. In the background more graves can be seen in the cemetery as well as the cemetery wall and on the right edge of the picture the remains of a square tower-like building.](/fileadmin/_processed_/7/5/csm_Casaglia_Detail_MG_Durchschuss_am_Kreuz_3_ba0d5e00b1.jpg 320w, /fileadmin/_processed_/7/5/csm_Casaglia_Detail_MG_Durchschuss_am_Kreuz_3_b2de3eef50.jpg 400w, /fileadmin/_processed_/7/5/csm_Casaglia_Detail_MG_Durchschuss_am_Kreuz_3_e6faf5c3d2.jpg 480w, /fileadmin/_processed_/7/5/csm_Casaglia_Detail_MG_Durchschuss_am_Kreuz_3_065a190de7.jpg 560w, /fileadmin/_processed_/7/5/csm_Casaglia_Detail_MG_Durchschuss_am_Kreuz_3_ff1e668380.jpg 640w, /fileadmin/_processed_/7/5/csm_Casaglia_Detail_MG_Durchschuss_am_Kreuz_3_5722dd2e91.jpg 800w, /fileadmin/_processed_/7/5/csm_Casaglia_Detail_MG_Durchschuss_am_Kreuz_3_945cf13dbd.jpg 960w, /fileadmin/_processed_/7/5/csm_Casaglia_Detail_MG_Durchschuss_am_Kreuz_3_2681792912.jpg 1120w, /fileadmin/_processed_/7/5/csm_Casaglia_Detail_MG_Durchschuss_am_Kreuz_3_b5ad2bb64e.jpg 1280w)
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The church and surrounding community
![The remains of the church of Casaglia: the memorial to the victims can be seen on the left edge of the picture. In the background of the picture, one of the walls of the church rises up. In front of it are the remains of the altar. To the right of the ruins is the church bell.](/fileadmin/_processed_/d/c/csm_Casaglia_am_Boden__9fc106a1f1.jpg 320w, /fileadmin/_processed_/d/c/csm_Casaglia_am_Boden__b07da0b782.jpg 480w, /fileadmin/_processed_/d/c/csm_Casaglia_am_Boden__9bec5509e4.jpg 640w, /fileadmin/_processed_/d/c/csm_Casaglia_am_Boden__4c225517bb.jpg 960w, /fileadmin/_processed_/d/c/csm_Casaglia_am_Boden__a97b98faa0.jpg 1280w, /fileadmin/_processed_/d/c/csm_Casaglia_am_Boden__3d7473b1a4.jpg 1920w, /fileadmin/_processed_/d/c/csm_Casaglia_am_Boden__00138f7b7b.jpg 2560w)
'Like a flock of sheep, we were all forced to enter the cemetery. They shoved and stepped on us. One of them gave an old woman his arm to help her in, before again beginning to brutally shove the others. They seemed out of their minds'
Cornelia Paselli
'I saw two Germans step in. One of them placed a MG before us on a tripod, loaded it with a belt. I recall that this MG had a big muzzle. The other German had a big automatic weapon.'
Lucia Sabbioni, 1947
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Arrival of the reconnaissance battalion
Literature
Luca Baldissara, Paolo Pezzino, Il massacro. Guerra ai civili a Monte Sole, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2009, pp. 149-170, 581-582.
Cornelia Paselli, Vivere nonostante tutto, a cura di Alice Rocchi, Reggio Emilia, Zikkaron, 2021.
Dario Zanini, Marzabotto e dintorni, 1944, Bologna, Ponte nuovo, 1996, pp. 529-531.
Authorship and translation
Author: Carlo Gentile
Translated from German by: Joel Golb
© Project ‘The Massacres in Occupied Italy (1943-1945): Integrating the Perpetrators’ Memories’
2023