This is not the right place to correctly analyse and speak about what really happened in the Marshes at that time. I just do not think I am actually able to extract any historical, social or political judgement from such unpleasant events. As I am just an easy-going and sufficiently educated person, I can only express some personal opinions, as well as a short presentation of such events which occurred in that dreadful month of August 1944.

This website was personally conceived, designed and serviced only to spread the knowledge of the above-mentioned wetland, which I showed you through my pictures. A page on the Nazi massacres can just have a single aim. That is to bring to people's attention, by inviting those who should be interested in getting to the bottom of it, an aspect which I think it is related to the area, whose beauties and naturalistic values I tried to emphasize as best as possible.

Those people, who would like to go to visit such places, are very likely to come across some memorial stones and small monuments, silent witnesses of a very dark time, as dark as every war is. This humble contribution of mine which all of you can admire through the web, it did not actually seem comprehensive enough to me, so I thought of touching on the events which spread memories of many innocent people who were killed in the paths of the Marshes during the war.

In August 1944, the front of operations was moved along the Arno River by then; under the pressure of the allied troops' advance, the German army was retreating to the northern lines. It is difficult to say how much the outcome of the war could be foreseen by then. During the retreating operations, the Fucecchio Marshes were mopped up and 175 civilians, even many children were present among them, were forced to undergo brutal summary executions. On reading the books which have been released on this topic, we cannot help noticing that a sad description of absurd revenges was traced, if we consider the absolute uselessness of war massacres in the overall balance of these war events.

In September 2002, in the district of Castelmartini, which stands near the Research Centre, a war memorial to the memory of the victims  was unveiled. The unveiling took place in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic.

The victims’ names can be read by anyone who wishes to go to see such monument. They are people who contributed to the freedom of our nation. That is the reason why, after due consideration, I thought it was only fair that their names should be remembered and made known through the pages of this website of mine, as well.

For further information, please visit the website of the Tuscan Region dedicated to the massacres during the Second World War: http://www.eccidi1943-44.toscana.it