For The First Time, Italy Gives Compensation To Victims Of Nazi War Crimes

Illustration. (Pexels/Ekaterina Bolovtsova)

JAKARTA - Italy paid compensation for the first time to victims of Nazi war crimes, giving 800,000 euros (Rp13,392,000,000) to the heirs of a man who died in the 1944 massacre of civilians in Tuscany, a lawyer for the heirs and Italian Treasury Department said on Wednesday.

Metello Ricciarini was killed along with 243 other people in Civitalla in Val in Chiana, about 220 kilometers north of Rome, on June 29, 1944, in retaliation by German forces after two of their colleagues were killed in a shootout with Italian partisans.

"I express my satisfaction, to my mother Metella and my relatives, who received money from the ministry of the economy last week," said family lawyer Roberto Alboni, who is also the victim's nephew, adding it took two decades to get compensation.

This important decision, which comes after decades of legal struggle, marks a significant change in the Italian Government's approach, which has the potential to set a precedent for families of victims of Nazi crimes and other fascists.

Previously, Germany paid Italy 40 million Deutschmarks in 1962, which is worth more than 1 billion euros in current currency value, to cover up the damage the Nazi forces caused to the Italian state and its citizens during the Second World War.

The deal made Italy obliged to pay compensation demands in the future from the victims, but no action was taken over the decades.

Prime Minister at the time Mario Draghi set up 61 million euros in 2022 to cover growing compensation claims from victims and their descendants, in hopes of closing the dark half in Italian history.

It is known that Nazi troops who commit atrocities in Italy are routinely assisted by local Fascists.

"This is an important initial result in efforts to raise awareness about compensation for the heirs of victims of Nazi-fascist crimes", said Dario Parrini, a senator from the far-right Democratic Party who has followed the issue.

A study funded by the German Government and published in 2016 estimated that around 22.000 Italians were victims of Nazi war crimes, including up to 8.000 Jews who were deported to death camps. Thousands of other Italians were forced to work as slave laborers in Germany.