Hi all, I found this quite useful link today, Ministero della Difesa - Ricerca notizie sulle sepolture dei Caduti in Guerra while searching for info about several Italian pows buried in Northam (WA), Australia. It covers all the Italian soldiers and POWs who died during the WWII. It could be useful for researchers and families. Marco PS: Incredibly, it is only in Italian. To use it, "Cognome" means "Surname", "Nome" means "Name", "Anno di nascita" means "Year of birth" while "Luogo di nascita" means "Birthplace". "Avvia ricerca" of course mean "Enter". Clic here and the survey will start.
Excellent link. Thanks for that. And it all becomes clear with the Google translation tool on the Google toolbar.
thanks, useful, I'm going to the Rome archives at some point this year and this will help regarding the war in Tunisia 1942/43 which I am researching.
Of course if you need helps or translations with my language, please don't hesitate to ask! I have been contacted from Australia about 4 graves, in bad conditions, of Italian POWs. So I searched the Defence' website in order to find an office or group able to provide a solution, then I found this database. I am Italian and I am a researcher, but I have never heard about it before.. Strange!
Nice one Varasc, have you found it to be reasonably complete, like our own CWGC? If it is, I'll add it to our links. BTW: Translates quite well with Google: Google Translate - General Commissariat of Honour in War Memorial
Hi von Poop, Thank you. Well, to be sincere this database is quite inferior to the CWGC. I used this last during the researches for my last book and I found more info, like the next of kin, the names and address of the parents. Furthermore, it gave info and pictures on the War Cemetery of interest. This Ministry of Defence database, while only in Italian, provides just few infos, like birthplace and date of birth, date of death and place of death, place of the burial. Anyway it works. I was able to find the 4 Italian POWs died in Australia, as well as Ct. Giorgio Ambrosetti, our late relative who died near Monte Cassino in 1943. So, according to me, it works. Edited: The current link for the database (the old one does not seem to work) is the following: Ministero della Difesa - Ricerca sepolture
Hi Varasc Can you please help me. I lost an uncle in a German POW Camp in a place called "Olingembai, nella Prussia orientale" my written Italian is not great and I am trying to find this place. Do you have any idea what camp was in Olingembai, nella Prussia orientale, and what the town is called today? Than k you
Welcome, do you have a camp number by chance? Based on a basic translation by Google the camp is in East Prussia. There were very few camps in East Prussia (Marienburg, actually classed as being in Poland) is the only one on the maps however there were many satellite work camps away from the main camp, unfortunately most are unknown or undocumented except in the occasional Liberation report. Olingembai, East Prussia Wayne Hi Varasc Can you please help me. I lost an uncle in a German POW Camp in a place called "Olingembai, nella Prussia orientale" my written Italian is not great and I am trying to find this place. Do you have any idea what camp was in Olingembai, nella Prussia orientale, and what the town is called today? Than k you
hello Robert, sorry for this delay. I would be pleased to help you with the Italian language. Unfortunately I could not find one or more links to this camp... I only found general links concerning the Eastern Prussian camps, like for instance Information Portal to European Sites of Remembrance Furthermore there are several links on Marienburg. If your uncle came from Italy, as I suppose from your topic, we may try to find him in the database as well as to address a letter to the Italian Ministry of Defence, to its historical bureau. I may provide you an Italian translation of your letter, if you agree. Please, contact me by e-mail if possible. Marco
Does Marienburg have any records of POWs that stayed there? or at the work camps? These are the records that the M of D gave me attached but my verbal Italian is great not written.
I realise this is a link that has had no comments for a while, I am trying to help my father in law, by aiming to track down his Biological Dad, who was an Italian POW. He was at Lodgemoor camp in the UK during Early 1944 - 1945; but hosteled at Treeton. After searching Kew the other day, it says that he would have been employed by the War Department. My question is, would the Italians keep records of POW's in certain areas , and would I be able to get access to these? Thanks
I would like to document the fact that some Italian POWs ended up in POW Camps in India during WW2. The FIBIS Fibiwiki has a a page POW Camps in India http://wiki.fibis.org/index.php?title=POW_Camps_in_India#Italian_prisoners_of_war Cheers Maureen
A few years back I researched the subject of Italians for a book 'Prisoners of War in Bedfordshire' (ISBN 978-1-4456-0312-4), as I was originally interested in an incident whereby an escaped Italian PoW died after exchanging rifle fire with a member of the Home Guard. Unfortunately there are few surviving records in the UK. The camps did not maintain 'War Diaries' but individual records were maintained on all captured personnel. However, I was informed that when the UK joined the Common Market all these records were returned to their respective governments in order to assist in pension, injury, or disability claims etc. In the case of German PoW these have all be maintained centrally, but I didn't follow up their whereabouts. The Italian government divided the records, distributing them back to the PoW's place of birth. Therefore unless you know their d.o.b. and its location it is almost impossible to find them. I was interested in Antonio Amedeo, born 21.01.20. in Calabria, and taken prisoner at Tobruk. Apart from CWGC information I found nothing else about this young man. Stephen.
This might be of interest. He’s buried in Brookwood Cemetery after being shot following an escape. See attached screenshot.
My father Walter James Smith service number 6855739 was a POW at Stalag V11A In Moosburg Germany, but before arriving at this camp he was held for a short period at Dulag 339 ( Mantua) which was a transit camp. I have no other information regarding this camp so any help would be gratefully received.