List of Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS divisions that committed war crimes in Italy

This is a list of Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS divisions that committed war crimes in Italy during World War II. War crimes by German combat divisions in Italy were committed by the Waffen-SS and the Wehrmacht, with its sub-branches, the army, Luftwaffe (air force) and Kriegsmarine (navy). Historically, the view existed that the Wehrmacht fought a clean campaign there and the atrocities and war crimes were committed only by the SS, and in the latter case predominantly by the Einsatzgruppen and concentration camp guards, not by the Waffen-SS. This view has been refuted by modern research, which found that the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS were equally involved in war crimes.

Background

Research in 2016 funded by the German government found the number of victims of Nazi war crimes in Italy to be 22,000, double the previously estimated figure. The victims were primarily Italian civilians, sometimes in retaliation for partisan attacks under the doctrine of Bandenbekämpfung ("bandit fighting"), and Italian Jews.

The killing of Italian civilians by front-line units of the Wehrmacht and SS has sometimes been seen as stemming from a sense of betrayal the Germans felt by the Italians signing the Armistice of Cassibile, but historians have argued that the reasons for atrocities and the brutal behaviour were more complex, often resulting from the military crisis caused by the German retreats and the fear of ambushes.

Only very few soldiers of German divisions accused of war crimes ever stood trial and even fewer served time in jail after their conviction. Notable exceptions include Eduard Crasemann, commander of the 26th Panzer Division, which was involved in the Padule di Fucecchio massacre, and who was found guilty of war crimes by an Allied military tribunal and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, dying in jail in 1950, and Walter Reder, sentenced to life in prison by an Italian military court for his role in the Marzabotto massacre as the commander of the SS-Panzer-Aufklärungsabteilung 16 of the 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS, who was released in 1985.

The 1st Fallschirm-Panzer Division Hermann Göring and 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS were disproportionally involved in massacres of the civilian population during the war in Italy, the two divisions accounting for approximately one third of all civilians killed in war crimes in the country.

List

Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS divisions that committed war crimes in Italy:

Division Branch Major incidents Ref.
1st SS Panzer Division Waffen-SS
1st Fallschirm-Panzer Division Luftwaffe
  • Acerra massacre (Campania), 1–3 October 1943, 84 civilians executed
  • Napoli massacre (Campania), 1 October 1943, 93 civilians executed
  • Monchio, Susano and Costrignano massacre (Emilia-Romagna), 1 March 1944, 130 civilians executed
  • Vallucciole massacre (Tuscany), 13 April 1944, 107 civilians executed
  • Civitella in Val di Chiana massacre (Tuscany), 29 June 1944, 146 civilians executed
  • Cavriglia massacre (Tuscany), 4 July 1944, 173 civilians executed
1st Parachute Division Luftwaffe
  • Pietransieri massacre [it] (Abruzzo), 21 November 1943, 125 civilians executed
2nd Parachute Division Luftwaffe
  • A number of incidents between September and November 1943, with up to seven civilians executed in each incident
3rd Panzergrenadier Division Army
  • A number of incidents between September 1943 and August 1944, with up to twenty two civilians executed in each incident
4th Parachute Division Luftwaffe
  • Pedescala massacre (Veneto), 30 April–2 May 1945, 63 civilians executed
5th Mountain Division Army
15th Panzergrenadier Division Army
16th Panzer-Division Army
  • San Clemente di Caserta massacre (Campania), 4 October 1943, 25 civilians executed
16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Waffen-SS
19th Luftwaffe Field Division Luftwaffe
20th Luftwaffe Field Division Luftwaffe
  • A number of incidents between July and August 1944, with up to twenty civilians executed in each incident
24th Waffen Mountain Division Waffen-SS
26th Panzer-Division Army
29th Panzergrenadier Division Army
34th Infantry Division Army
42nd Jäger Division Army
44th Infantry Division Army
  • A number of incidents between March and September 1944, with up to thirty-three civilians executed in each incident
65th Infantry Division Army
71st Infantry Division Army
  • Tićan massacre (Višnjan, now in Croatia), 11 September 1943, 84 civilians executed
90th Panzergrenadier Division Army
  • A number of incidents between August 1944 and April 1945, with up to five civilians executed in each incident
92nd Infantry Division Army
  • A number of incidents between March and July 1944, with up to eleven civilians executed in each incident
94th Infantry Division Army
  • San Polo massacre (Tuscany), 14 July 1944, 63 civilians executed
114th Jäger Division Army
  • Madonna dell'Albero massacre (Emilia-Romagna), 27 November 1944, 56 civilians executed
148th Infantry Division Army
  • One incident recorded, the Regnano Castello massacre (Tuscany), 23 November 1944, 14 civilians executed
162nd Turkoman Division Army
  • A number of incidents between December 1943 and May 1945, two of those, in January 1945 in the Emilia-Romagna resulted in the execution of at least 20 civilians each
232nd Infantry Division Army
  • A number of incidents between August and September 1944, with up to five civilians executed in each incident
278th Infantry Division Army
  • A number of incidents between March and July 1944, with up to seven civilians executed in each incident
305th Infantry Division Army
  • A number of incidents between October 1943 and April 1945, with up to twelve civilians executed in each incident
334th Infantry Division Army
  • A number of incidents between February and September 1944, with up to thirty civilians executed in each incident
356th Infantry Division Army
  • Benedicta massacre (Piedmont), 6–7 April 1944, 97 civilians executed
362nd Infantry Division Army

This page was last updated at 2024-02-27 07:06 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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