Disaster-stricken scene in Bolzano on May 14, 1945: Streams of refugees, remains of concentration camps, and emergency food kitchens
After the fall of Fascism and the end of World War II, the liberation of concentration camps in northern Italy, including the one near Bolzano, led to a sudden influx of former detainees and displaced persons. These individuals were forced laborers, political prisoners, partisans, and ethnic minorities who had been interned in harsh conditions.
In Bolzano, the Italian Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale (CLN) played a crucial role in managing the aftermath. The soup kitchen in Bolzano, operated by the CLN, provided a warm meal and a pack of cigarettes to the men in the image, who were recently released from a camp.
The chaotic postwar period led to mass movements of people before effective national border and refugee controls were re-established. An estimated 10,000 refugees were on the move between Bolzano and Verona alone, with thousands more crossing the main routes of South Tyrol towards the south daily, beginning as early as the first days of May.
Many of these refugees were on the streets due to setting out alone without support. The CLN, in cooperation with various communities in North Italy, worked tirelessly to provide food, shelter, medical care, and assistance with repatriation or resettlement. The supply of these necessities was unexpectedly smooth, as many communities and the CLN had set up soup kitchens across North Italy.
The CLN's efforts in Bolzano were instrumental in managing the complex ethnic and linguistic situation, the presence of former fascist collaborators, and the needs of returnees from concentration camps. However, direct detailed documentation about the Bolzano camp returnees is limited, and more research is needed to fully understand the challenges faced and the impact of these events on the region.
The uncontrolled flow of returnees represented a significant migration of displaced persons that overwhelmed initial refugee centers and required intervention by the CLN to manage humanitarian aid, organize refugee facilities, and facilitate return or resettlement in the fragile immediate postwar period.
[1] Italian war crimes included mass internments, and many detainees suffered or died in these camps, including the one in Bolzano. [4] The chaotic postwar period led to mass movements before effective national border and refugee controls were re-established.
- The Italian war crimes, such as mass internments, resulted in suffering and even death for many detainees, including those held in the Bolzano camp.
- Amidst the chaotic postwar period, the sudden influx of displaced persons, due to the uncontrolled flow of returnees from concentration camps and other war-and-conflicts-related reasons, led to the need for humanitarian aid, the establishment of refugee facilities, and the facilitation of return or resettlement, as seen in the efforts of the CLN in Bolzano.
