Podhum massacre

The exact reason for the Italian retaliation against Podhum has never been established. Testa himself claimed it was in retaliation for the deaths of 16 Italian soldiers killed by Partisans, allegedly from Podhum, at the beginning of July.^[9] Others believe that the massacre was in retaliation for the killing of four Italian citizens,^[10] including a teacher and his wife,^[2] in June, and that Prefect Testa gave the order to carry reprisal killings on local citizens to avenge these Italian deaths.^[2]

On the morning of July 12, 1942, 250 Italian soldiers of the 2nd Blackshirt Battalion "Emiliano", under the command of Italian Blackshirt Major Armando Giorleo, entered Podhum, rounding up all 'military age' males that were between the ages of 16 and 64, which amounted to an estimated 91 people. During this round-up, it is reported that roughly 14 people resisting arrest were executed on the spot. The remaining captives were then marched to an open field south of the village. At this spot, they were brought to the edge of a small dirt pit in successive groups of five where they were then shot with rifles and thrown into the pit. This continued until all the victims had been killed.^[2][11]

The number of men and boys killed has not quite been determined. Village documents indicate that upwards of 91 people from the area were executed in these reprisal killings.^[2] On the other hand, the 1946 "Report on Italian War Crimes against Yugoslavia and its people" noted that 118 civilians were killed during the massacre.^[12][13] Jozo Tomasevich cites that "over 100" men from the village were killed.^[10]

Italian forces gathered and deported the remaining inhabitants (primarily the elderly, women and children), numbering 889 civilians, (208 men, 269 women and 412 children) to concentration camps in Italy, such as the Fraschette concentration camp, near Frosinone, where most were held until the end of 1943.^[14] Of those deported to Italian camps, 49 people (including 12 children) did not survive.^{[citation needed]}

The village of Podhum itself was then burned down by the Italian forces, with 494 homes and buildings being destroyed and 2,000 heads of livestock seized.^[12] Six nearby villages were also burned and pillaged.^{[citation needed]}

• Capogreco, Carlo Spartaco (2004). I campi del duce : l'internamento civile nell'Italia fascista : (1940-1943). Torino: Einaudi. ISBN 88-06-16781-2.
• Nedeljković, Dušan (1946). Report on Italian crimes against Yugoslavia and its peoples (Report). Državna komisija za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača.
• Pavličević, Dragutin (2007). Povijest Hrvatske. Naklada Pavičić. ISBN 978-953-6308-71-2.
• Tomasevich, Jozo (1975). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: The Chetniks. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-0857-9.
• Tomasevich, Jozo (2001). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: Occupation and Collaboration. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-7924-1.