Italy Commemorates 81st Anniversary of Ardeatine Caves Massacre

Rome: Italy on Monday marked the 81st anniversary of the Ardeatine Caves massacre by the Nazis during World War II. On March 24, 1944, 335 Italians were executed by Nazi officers in a reprisal for a Partisan attack that killed 33 German soldiers in central Rome. In retaliation, for every German killed, the army seized 10 Italians, including civilians, political prisoners, and Jews who were in custody, plus five more who were also executed. Both men and boys were executed and their bodies dumped in the caves where the memorial to the massacre is now located.

According to Ansa News Agency, President Sergio Mattarella laid a wreath at the memorial in a ceremony attended by Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, Lazio Governor Francesco Rocca, Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, Rome Chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, and Noemi Di Segni, the president of the union of Italian Jewish communities, among others. Premier Giorgia Meloni described the massacre as “one of the most piercing wounds inflicted to Rome and to all of Italy.” A note from Meloni’s office at Palazzo Chigi stated, “The massacre of Fosse Ardeatine, perpetrated by Nazi occupying troops in reprisal against the partisan attack of Via Rasella, is one of the most painful pages of national history and it is the primary task of Institutions, at every level, to talk about what happened and in particular to pass on to younger generations the memory of those facts.”

The note concluded, “On this day, we pay homage to the 335 victims of the indescribable massacre and we renew the commitment to preserve and protect the values of freedom and democracy on which our Republic is founded.” Noemi Di Segni, President of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, emphasized the necessity of commemorating the anniversary “to understand a fact of the past of which we must be aware and conscious.” She highlighted the importance of the presence of students at the commemoration, noting, “The presence of students here is important so they can understand exactly what a massacre means and what a Nazi slaughter is,” and cautioned against the abuse of such terms in contemporary contexts.

Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri also described the massacre as an “enduring wound” for the city. He stated, “Remembering is a duty. Because only through memory we can remain united as a community and progress based on the values on which constitutional democracy was born: anti-Fascism, resistance, the rejection of those crimes, of that concept of politics and violence that made us change” and “become a better society.”