Porzûs massacre


The Porzûs massacre was an episode of the Italian resistance during late World War II, occurring on 7 February 1945. It saw the killings of 17 partisans belonging to the Brigate Osoppo, a formation of Catholic inspiration, by Communist partisans of the Gruppi di Azione Patriottica. Four members of the group were ambushed and killed, while the remaining were taken prisoner and summarily executed in the following days. The event is still the object of studies and controversies in Italy.

History

On 7 February 1945 a group of communist partisans belonging to the Gruppi di azione patriottica, led by Mario Toffanin, a man blamed for theft in 1940, reached the command of the Group of the Eastern Brigade of the partisan division Osoppo, near the malghe of Porzûs, in the comune of Faedis, eastern Friuli, with the goal to arrest and execute their members.
Toffanin accused the Osoppo brigade of hindering the collaboration with the Yugoslavian partisans, led by Josip Broz Tito, of having failed to distribute to the other partisans weapons sent by the Allies and, above all, of having had contacts with the army of the fascist government, in particular Decima Flottiglia MAS and the regiment of volunteers "Tagliamento", in the attempt to avoid occupation and annexation of Friuli Venezia Giulia and Istria by Yugoslavia after the collapse of Germany. Furthermore the brigade Osoppo had given shelter to Elda Turchetti, a young woman who had been listed by BBC radio among German spies. Incidentally this young woman had been handed over to Osoppo by Giacca in order to be examined and eventually put to death. However she had been found not guilty. In fact BBC radio was not always fully reliable in this kind of information because of disinformation carried out by German intelligence.