Eye-witnesses to the deportation of Italian Jews by the Nazis in 1943 continued to give evidence before a mixed Italo-German court sitting here in connection with the current war crimes trial at Osnabrueck. The German Judges are trying to persuade some of the witnesses to come to Osnabrueck for a direct confrontation with the defendants whom they are unable to recognize from photographs.
One of the witnesses, Sgnr. Columella, who was the mayor of the resort town of Bavena on Lake Locarno in 1943, testified that he tried to warn Jews living in apartments and hotels along the lake shore of the impending deportations. In a few cases he succeeded but some Jews disregarded his warning because they were misled by the “friendliness” of the SS men in the town. The former mayor said the SS arranged a banquet to celebrate the deportation of Jews and invited him to attend. Later, he went on, they ordered him to read from the City Hall balcony letters allegedly written by the deportees saying that they were being well treated and were sending large sume of money to the Baveno township in appreciation of the hospitality shown them. The money was loot taken by the SS from the deported Jews, Sgr. Columella said.
Another witness testified that a Signora Caroglio was seized by the Germans and put on a truck for deportation despite her protestations that she was not Jewish. Her body was later found far from the scene. The widow of one deportee. Prof. Cantoni, described how the SS spent days hunting down Jews for deportation.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
