PG 49 Fontanellato
Fontanellato, Parma, Italy
The camp was in an orphanage near Parma, Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. The camp held 500 Allied Officers and 100 Other Ranks. All 600 men marched out of the camp with the connivance of the Italian Commandant and the guards an hour before the Germans arrived, thanks to the decision by the Commandant, Colonel Eugenio Vicedomini, to open the gates the day after the Armistice of 8th September 1943. Source: Wikipedia
PM 3200
The full list of the inmates of PG 49 as of August 1943 is in the back of the book “Home by Christmas” by Ian English, republished by the Monte san Martino Trust.
More information about this camp can be discovered from these links:
http://www.emiliapublishing.com/beyond-the-wire.php
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/37/a6182237.shtml
http://www.pennilesspress.co.uk/annexe/dan_billany.htm
https://campifascisti.it/scheda_campo.php?id_campo=422
Translation for the Campi Fascisti main page:
Fontanellato – Camp for prisoners of war n. 49
Fontanellato (Parma) – Italy
Camp type: Prisoner of war camp from March 1943
Source: DPG42
History: In March 1943, the PG camp came into operation. No. 49 of Fontanellato, in the province of Parma (see DPG42). The camp is intended for higher grade prisoners of war and has a capacity of 500 places. It is set aside, i.e. hosted or built in a masonry building (see DPG27).
The Fontanellato camp is mentioned for the first time in a document dated 5 April 1942 (see DPG47). The prisoner of war office intends to set up a “concentration camp for 400 officers using the National Orphanage of Fontanellato (Parma) with the consent of the Dominican Fathers who currently own the building”. (see also PGFO01). Still in the first days of March 1943 some works were to be completed, for example the construction of a dividing wall which would preserve an altar of the convent from “improper” use (see PGFO02). Before the end of March, the works appear to be completed. In fact, in the schedule of prisoners of war of 31 March 1943 in Fontanellato there are 318 British prisoners of war, 1 Australian, 2 Canadians, 1 New Zealander, 62 white South Africans, and 1 Middle Eastern, for a total of 385 PG (see DPG35).
Most likely they are – at least in part – the English who were already detained in the camps of Rezzanello (PG n. 17) and Montalbo (PG n. 41). In fact, an order dated March 1943 which aims to save on detention costs, establishes the transfer of British senior officers to the new camp of Fontanellato (see DPG48).
Camp research P.G. No. 49 of Fontanellato is still in progress
Note: Research on Italian prisoner of war camps is still ongoing (summer 2013).
The information reported here is taken from some documents conserved in the Historical Office of the Army General Staff and concerns only the period from March 1942 to March 1943. The data on this sheet are therefore incomplete and still to be verified.
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PG abbreviation
The full title is ‘Campo Concentramento di Prigioniere di Guerra’ (prisoner of war concentration camp). They were not concentration camps in the normal sense of the word. Camps were normally prefixed PG, but could be referred to as CC, Campo or Campo PG. The exception was the 2 Dulags and 1 Stalag within Italy, which were German controlled transit centres for POWs being transferred to Germany. The camps were originally known by their place names, and numbers were not introduced until early 1942. There are some camps with no numbers, perhaps they closed before early 1942?
PM abbreviation
Camps in Italy were divided into postal areas, each area designated ‘PM [number]’. PM translates to ‘Posta Militare’, meaning ‘military mail’. The number indicated the central postal reception area for the camps’ mail.
POWs
Found 20 POWs
View these result on a separate page
Working Parties
No working parties found
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