War

The Musée de la Reddition (Museum of Surrender) in Reims commemorates the end of the Second World War in Europe at the actual site of surrender between Allied and German commanders at 2:41 AM on May 7, 1945.

The MuSa or Museo di Salò (Salò Museum) is a municipal museum which presents the history of the city of Salò. The museum is located within the former Church of Santa Giustina, constructed between 1588 and 1608. Damaged by fighting during the Second Italian War of Independence in 1859, the building was deconsecrated and employed as a school; starting in the 1990s, discussions began on converting the property into a municipal museum. The MuSa was inaugurated and opened to the public in 2015.

The Mausoleo Fosse Ardeatine (Fosse Ardeatine Mausoleum) commemorates the Fosse Ardeatine Massacre: the killing of 335 civilian residents of Rome by German SS forces under the command of German SIPO and SD Chief in Rome, Herbert Kappler on March 24, 1944. The massacre was carried out in retaliation for partisan attacks on German occupation forces, the Polizei Regiment Bozen on March 23, which result in the deaths of 33 German; the following day, German authorities begin rounding up civilians with the goal of executing ten Italians for each German death.

The Monumento Ossario ai Caduti Partigiani (Fallen Partisans Ossuary Monument) is located in Bologna’s Cimitero Monumentale della Certosa (Certosa Memorial Cemetary) and commemorates the names and resting place of more than 500 Italian partisans who were native to Bologna. It was inaugurated on October 31, 1959.

The Monumento au Caduti di Monte Sabbiuno (Mount Sabbiuno Monument to the Fallen) commemorates the execution of at least 53 Italian partisans by German forces, in two groups on December 14 and 23, 1944. The partisans were largely members of the Gruppi di Azione Patriottica (GAP) and the 63a Brigate Bolero from the communities of Anzola, Calderara di Reno, and Amola di Piano, north-east of Bologna; they were captured by anti-partisan forces in the Winter of 1944, and executed.

The Museo della Liberazione di Lucca (Musuem of the Libeation of Lucca) presents the history of the Second World War in Lucca, resistance to German and fascist occupation, and the Liberation of Lucca: it displays military weapons and equipment, uniforms, written and photographic records, and oral testimonies which record local experiences.

The Museo della Lina Gotica Orientale (Museum of the Eastern Gothic Line) in Montescudo presents the history of fighting on the eastern Gothic Line, the German line of fortifications established along the northern Apennine Mountains to oppose the Allied advance in 1944-45. It is located inside the preserved remains of the Church of Trivari, which was employed as a fortification and damaged in an engagement between German and British forces from September 12-16, 1944, during the Second Battle of Coriano.

The Museo della Battaglia del Senio (Battle of Senio Museum) in Alfosine presents the history of the local Battle of Senio, which occurred in April 1945 between advancing Allied and defending German forces on the Senio River. Following the collapse of the Gothic Line, German forces established defensive positions along the Senio River. Allied attacks on these positions began in the first days of April, and were successful; Alfosine was liberated on April 10.

The Museo Storico Casa dell’Eccidio di Tavolicci (Tavolicci Casa dell’Eccidio Historical Museum) commemorates the location of a mass execution in which 64 civilians were killed by members of the IV German-Italian Police Battalion on July 22, 1944. That night, the town’s inhabitants were rounded up and locked in the Casa dell’Eccidio, then machine-gunned as the building was set on fire. While some were able to escape by jumping out of windows, 64 were killed including 19 children under the age of 10.