| Marzabotto massacre | |
| Location: | Marzabotto, Italy |
| Target: | Italian civilians |
| Date: | 29 September – 5 October 1944 |
| Type: | Massacre |
| Fatalities: | ~ 770 |
| Perps: | 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS |
The Marzabotto massacre, or more correctly, the massacre of Monte Sole, was a World War II war crime consisting of the mass murder of at least 770 civilians by Nazi troops, which took place in the territory around the small village of Marzabotto, in the mountainous area south of Bologna. It was the largest massacre of civilians committed by the Waffen SS in western Europe during the war. It is also the deadliest mass shooting in the history of Italy.
In reprisal for attacks on German soldiers by partisans and the Resistance between 29 September and 5 October 1944, SS-Sturmbannführer Walter Reder led soldiers of the 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS to systematically kill hundreds of people in Marzabotto. They also killed numerous residents of the adjacent Grizzana Morandi and Monzuno communes, the area of the massif of Monte Sole (part of the Apennine range in the province of Bologna).
Historians have struggled to document the number of victims. Some sources report up to 1,830 victims; others estimate 955 people killed. The Peace School Foundation of Monte Sole reports 770 victims. This number is close to the official report by Sturmbannführer Reder, who reported the "execution of 728 bandits". Among the victims, 155 were less than 10 years old, 95 were aged 10 to 16, 142 were over 60 years old, 454 were male and 316 were female. Five were priests.[1]
Giovanni Fornasini, a parish priest and member of the Resistance, risked his life to protect the population from the Nazis during the massacres. While Fornasini saved the lives of many of his parishioners and managed to escape immediate death, he was later discovered by an SS officer while he was burying the bodies of those killed in the massacre, which was forbidden by the Nazis. The officer accused him of crimes committed in the Marzabotto area. When Fornasini confessed to having helped the villagers avoid execution, the officer shot and killed him.