Cerimonia del 6 Nov. 2011 al Cimitero di Zonderwater

L'omaggio ai caduti a Zonderwater

DetailsCreated on Friday, 11 November 2011 17:45

Fotocronaca di Girolamo Florio

Domenica 6 novembre i prigionieri di guerra italiani deceduti e sepolti in Sud

Africa sono stati ricordati e onorati, oltre che a Worcester, come abbiamo già

riferito da queste pagine, anche nel cimitero e sacrario militare italiano a

Zonderwater, dove durante il secondo conflitto mondiale arrivarono a essere

quasi centomila i prigionieri italiani. Una cerimonia è stata organizzata anche a

Pietermaritzburg e anche su quella pubblichiamo una fotoconaca a parte.

Alla celebrazione nel cimitero di Zonderwater hanno partecipato autorità civili e

militari italiane e sudafricane. L'amico e collaboratore Girolamo Florio, che non

manca mai a quest'appuntamento e ci fa sempre avere le sue fotocronache nel

giro di 24 ore, anche questa volta è stato all'altezza dell'occasione e le sue belle

fotografie raccontano la giornata in tutti i suoi dettagli, dalla deposizione delle

corone ai piedi dell'altare delle tre croci fino alla visita conclusiva del museo che raccoglie una ricca collezione di oggetti

prodotti dai prigionieri e testimonianze dei loro cinque anni di permanenza in questo paese.

Qui di seguito i testi integrali dei discorsi più importanti e significativi della giornata:

Il discorso dell'ambasciatore Elio Menzione

Major General Zakes Msimang, Chief Director Air Force Policy and Planning, representing the Chief of the South African Air

Force;

General Michele Franzé, Vice-Comandante Generale of the Arma dei Carabinieri;

CDC Corrections Zak Modise, representing the National Commissioner, Department of Correctional Services;

Retired Lt. Gen. Denis Earp, former Chief of the South African Air Force;

Retired Major General Mario S. Brazzoli, former Government Information Technology Officer of the South African Air Force;

Consul General of Italy in Johannesburg, Enrico De Agostini;

War Veterans;

Consigliere CGIE, Mr Giuseppe Nanna;

Consigliere CGIE, Mr Riccardo Pinna;

President of COMITES Gauteng, Mr Salvatore Cristaudi;

Mr Emilio Coccia, President of Zonderwater Block Association;

Dear Italian and South African friends;

Ladies and Gentlemen;

This is for me the fourth occasion, in little more than three years, to participate in the commemoration of the 252 Italians who

are buried in this Cemetery of Zonderwater which is so dear to the heart of the Italian Community in South Africa, for its

powerful symbolic associations.

This will also be the last speech I will pronounce in South Africa, as in three days time I will be leaving this wonderful country

for South America. And I am particularly happy and moved, at the same time, for meeting all of you, and especially the

Italian community and its institutional leaders, in this place and on the occasion of this ceremony, which has become the

most important periodic event for all Italians living in South Africa and for so many South Africans of Italian origin.

Zonderwater continues to be a source of endless literary inspiration. In each of my speeches during the last three years I

mentioned a new book which had just been published on the detention camp of Zonderwater: the works by Mario Gazzini,

Lorenzo Carlesso and – last year – Carlo Annese, who – as an important Italian sports journalist – in his “I diavoli di

Zonderwater”focused on the numerous sport activities that took place in the Camp between 1941 and 1946. And I am glad

to inform all of you today that, thanks to his book on Zonderwater, Mr Annese has recently won an important literary award.

Pagina 1 di 9L'omaggio ai caduti a Zonderwater

16/12/2011http://www.lagazzettadelsudafrica.net/lomaggio-ai-caduti-a-zonderwater.html?tmpl=component&print=1&layo...

Today, I would like to welcome the presence of Ing. Costantino Demuru, whose book “La piccola valigia di latta” (“The little

tin suitcase”) has just been published in Italy. It describes the 10 years spent in Africa by his father Peppino Demuru, whose

final chapter happened to be in the detention camp of Zonderwater. The direct inspiration for it was provided by a TV

transmission of the year 2000 on Zonderwater, and the material kindly provided to the Author by the South African Embassy

in Rome and by the Zonderwater Block Association, together with the old letters found in the little tin suitcase which gives

the book its name, allowed Ing. Demuru to reconstruct the most intense, exciting and troubling years of his father’s life in this

beautiful and touching book.

Peppino Demuru left for the by then called “Africa Orientale Italiana” in February 1937; he participated in the operations

against the Ethiopian guerilla activities which followed the Italian conquest of Addis Abeba, and then in the fight against

British and Allied troops from 1940; he was one of the last Italian soldiers to be captured on 28th June 1941; and, after two

very painful years in detention camps in British Somaliland and Kenya, he was one of the last Italian Prisoners-of-War to be

shipped to South Africa in 1944. After a few months in the Pietermaritzburg Camp, where he participated in the construction

of the Chapel which still stands and is an object of love and pride for the Italian community, he finally reached Zonderwater

in April 1945, a few months before the end of the war. His first impression of the South African detention camps is what he

defines “the enormous difference” with respect to his previous Camps in Kenya and especially those in Somaliland in terms

of better food, sanitary conditions, treatment by the guards and a lack of tensions which surprised him: “all in all, general

conditions were good, as well as our relations with the authorities”.

As a person who refused any form of work and collaboration with his captors, Peppino Demuru was isolated with like-minded

companions in a special block of this Camp, and – like he had been one of the last to arrive – he was one of the last to be

finally repatriated, in January 1947. Particularly touching are the pages in this book which describe his frustrations due to a

belated departure, so many months after the end of World War II. In the end, he was able to reach his native Sardinia and

reunite with his wife Angela.

This book gives us a very personal perception and insight into the complex reality of Zonderwater. As I mentioned so often

in my previous speeches, it is quite unique that thousands of ex prisoners-of-war decided to remain or return to South Africa,

their country of detention, after the end of World War II: I am myself a son of a prisoner-of-war, as my father spent two long

years in a detention camp lager in Germany, after being captured in the Greek islands; while happening to meet, and later

marry, a German girl, who would become my mother, he never dreamt of spending the rest of his life in Germany.

This makes Zonderwater so special, such a powerful symbol and bridge between South Africa and Italy. Especially after the

enlightened Colonel Hendrik Frederik Prinsloo took over the command of this Camp in December 1942, this “city of

prisoners” became an extraordinary model of social organization, where all prisoners could share cultural and sports

activities helping them to at least partially overcome political divisions which lasted until the bitter end.

As I have already said, Colonel Prinsloo was a rare case of a man capable to reconcile military discipline with compassion

and a deep respect of the prisoners’ human dignity. Therefore, he deserved their respect and even their affection after their

liberation, as proved by the participation of so many of them at his funeral in 1965.

As this is the last ceremony at Zonderwater to which I have the honour and the privilege to participate, allow me to express

my deepest gratitude to Lt. Gen. Carlo Gagiano, Chief of the South African Air Force, who this year could not attend as he is

ill and I wish him a speedy recovery. Lt. Gen. Gagiano every year gives a precious contribution to make this annual

commemoration such an imposing and moving event: thank you, dear Carlo, for your friendship and for remembering your

although distant Italian roots.

Last but surely not least, I would like to express again my warmest thanks to my friends Emilio Coccia and Artura Costella,

for their endless and priceless efforts, together with those of the entire Zonderwater Block Association which they are

leading: they helped to preserve so well the memory of our dead and to make of this Cemetery such a beautiful and moving

place.

Please allow me now to add a few words in Italian for our community.

Cari Connazionali,

senza alcuna esagerazione, vi posso assicurare che mi sento felice e commosso per poter approfittare di questa splendida

cerimonia nel luogo più caro agli Italiani del Sud Africa per rivolgerVi un ultimo saluto, ad appena tre giorni dalla mia

partenza definitiva da Pretoria. Durante i miei tre anni e due mesi di permanenza in questo magnifico Paese, anni che sono



stati per me straordinariamente intensi ed appassionanti, mi siete sempre stati vicini, ed ho potuto apprezzare a fondo lo

splendido contibuto che avete dato e continuate a dare alla crescita del Sud Africa. Per tanti sudafricani siete voi il volto,

l’immagine dell’Italia; e sono orgoglioso di poter affermare che del nostro Paese offrite l’immagine migliore. Un’immagine di

operosità, apertura, capacità di comprendere i problemi locali e generosità nell’aiutare ad affrontarli ed risolverli.

Le annuali cerimonie a Zonderwater hanno accompagnato e ritmato la mia esperienza sudafricana sin dell’inizio. A soli due

mesi dal mio arrivo partecipai infatti alla mia prima commemorazione, rimanendo profondamente colpito dalla vostra

partecipazione sentita e commossa ad un evento che ricorda i nostri 252 giovani qui tumulati. Dall’ultima cerimonia del 7

novembre scorso, un’altra persona, cui ero molto affezionato, ha raggiunto i nostri giovani: il mio anziano, straordinario

amico Edoardo Villa, grande scultore bergamasco che è stato prigioniero in questo Campo, e che, come tanti altri, dopo la

guerra decise di rimanere in questo Paese, divenendo un eccezionale mediatore culturale tra Italia e Sud Africa. Vorrei

approffittare dell’odierna cerimonia per rendere omaggio anche alla sua memoria, alla sua figura; sono orgoglioso di portare

con me in Sud America una sua piccola opera, che mi ricorderà gli anni passati qui ed il mio dialogo con tutti voi.

Sono particolarmente contento che la cerimonia odierna sia onorata dalla presenza del Vice-Comandante Generale

dell’Arma dei Carabinieri, Generale di Corpo Armata Michele Franzé. Grazie per la Sua partecipazione, Generale: è una

testimonianza concreta dell’attenzione che le istituzioni italiane continuano a dedicare al ricordo di oltre 100.000 pigionieri di

guerra del nostro Paese, moltissimi dei quali furono detenuti in questo Campo smisurato, in questa “città dei prigionieri”; dei

molti che decisero di rimanere in Sud Africa per ricostruirsi una vita; e dei 252 più sfortunati, che in questo Campo

incontrarono la morte. Abbiamo un debito di gratitudine nei loro confronti; e la sua presenza qui, Generale Franzé, è la

forma migliore per onorarlo.

Un saluto speciale vorrei rivolgere anche all’Ing. Costantino Demuru, anch’egli presente a questa cerimonia. Il suo bel libro,

su cui mi sono già soffermato nella parte del mio discorso in inglese, offre una testimonianza molto personale, intima e

sofferta di questa “città dei prigionieri”, ed aggiungendosi ad altre opere di carattere più generale aiuta a completare, con un

tassello prezioso, il mosaico che ci permette oggi di comprendere, a quasi 70 anni di distanza, una realtà così complessa.

Vorrei infine ripetere, anche in italiano, i miei ringraziamenti più sentiti e sinceri all’Associazione Zonderwater Block ed in

particolare ad i suoi dirigenti, i miei amici Emilio Coccia ed Arturo Costella. Il loro straordinario impegno e spirito di sacrificio

personale ha permesso di conservare il Cimitero di Zonderwater nel suo splendido stato attuale, nonostante la riduzione dei

sussidi pervenuti dall’Italia, dovuta ad una situazione di ristrettezze finanziarie che ben conoscete.

Un ringraziamento speciale merita anche il mio, il nostro caro amico Carlos Sersale di Cerisano, Ambasciatore di Argentina,

che oggi è dovuto partire per Buenos Aires e pertanto non può partecipare alla cerimonia odierna. Figlio di un ufficiale

medico italiano prigioniero a Pietermaritzburg ed a Zonderwater, egli ha partecipato fedelmente a tutte le commemorazioni

degli anni passati, e pochi giorni fa a quella organizzata nel Cimitero Militare Italiano di Pietermaritzburg; inoltre, la sua

presenza spirituale all’evento odierno è assicurata da un omaggio floreale da lui gentilmente disposto.

Grazie infine a tutti voi, ed in particolare ai rappresentanti istituzionali della collettività, per il dialogo costante, franco e

mutuamente rispettoso che avete mantenuto con me nel corso degli ultimi tre anni. Sono sicuro che questo dialogo

proseguirà con il mio successore, l’Ambasciatore Vincenzo Schioppa, che arriverà in Sud Africa il 24 novembre prossimo. E

sono certo che anch’egli rimarà colpito, nel novembre del prossimo anno, da Zonderwater, da questo poderoso simbolo di

tenacia, sofferenza e sacrificio, che per tutti gli Italiani del Sud Africa ha assunto il valore di un’icona, di un’esortazione a

mantenersi uniti e concordi ed a salvaguardare le radici linguistiche e culturali che continuano ad unirli al loro Paese di

origine, nel ricordo di tanti giovani che qui hanno affrontato il supremo sacrificio.

Il discorso del console generale Enrico De Agostini

The Ambassador of Italy to South Africa H.E. Elio Menzione;

il Vice-Comandante Generale dell’Arma dei Carabinieri, Generale di corpo d'Armata Michele Franzè,

representatives of the South African Armed Forces, Italian and South African War Veterans;

the Elected Representatives of the Italian Community,

the President of the Zonderwater Block Association Ing. Emilio Coccia,

Dear Italian and South African friends;

Ladies and Gentleman;

Al termine di quattro anni e mezzo in Sud Africa, durante i quali ho svolto, tra l'altro, il compito di custode ufficiale del



Sacrario di Zonderwater per conto del Governo italiano, desidero congedarmi da tutti voi. Prima di pronunciare due parole in

inglese a beneficio di quelli che non hanno la fortuna di parlare la nostra lingua, vorrei ringraziare in particolare il

Commissariato Generale per le Onoranze ai Caduti in Guerra, del Ministero della Difesa (Onorcaduti) e la Zonderwater

Block Association per quanto fanno a favore di questo importantissimo luogo della memoria. Un saluto molto particolare va

anche ai reduci della Seconda Guerra MondiaIe che sono qui oggi e che ho avuto il piacere e l'onore di conoscere in questi

anni. Spero di rivedervi presto a Zonderwater.

One of the most remarkable things that I have witnessed during my four year tenure as Consul General of Italy in

Johannesburg is the dedication of a group of middle aged members of the Italian Community to the mortal remains and to

the memory of a handful of Prisoners of War who were unfortunate enough to die and be buried at Pietermaritzburg, at

Worcester and here at Zonderwater.

Before coming to South Africa I must admit that I hadn't even heard of the Italian Prisoners of War camps in this country.

Their extremely important role in the life of the South African - Italian community was therefore a surprise to me.

And so I asked myself whether it makes sense to honour the Italians who died in the South African Prisoners Camps. Does

the commemoration of those who died in the War have a meaning at all? Or is it merely a rhetorical exercise that bears no

significance today?

Since 1688, there have always been some Italians in South Aftica, but the bulk of the Italian community as we know it today,

its basis, its foundation is to be found amongst people who

certainly did not wish to come to South Africa in the first place: Prisoners of war of this and other camps, who, against all

odds, decided to settle in South Africa after the war.

Was it because they recognized the potential of this extraordinary country or because they had been treated humanely by

their enlightened custodians? Probably both: the potential they saw in South Africa must have been associated with a

substantial affinity with the South African people. An affinity which many of them put into practice by marrying local girls.

A bridge between Italy and South Africa was thus created out of the oddest of circumstances: war and captivity. And this, I

believe, is the answer to our original question: the sense of our presence here today resides in the understanding of the

values that inspired captors and captives. They were constructive and not destructive and contributed to create a better

future for the prisoners, their families and this beautiful country.

But this is still not enough to justify our presence here today. The fact that a principle is valid does not necessarily mean that

it works in practice.

The new generations, those who are the hardest hit by the current economic crisis, can certainly learn a lot from the

example of their forefathers who chose to reinvent their lives in a

country so different and so far from their own. But we must make an effort to reach out to them. The continued efforts of

Emilio Coccia, Arturo Costella, Franco Muraro and a few others have kept the fire burning, the memory alive and the annual

ceremonies going.

But it is at home that this battle is won or lost. It is up to the parents and the grandparents to take some time and teach the

men and women of tomorrow that it is for them and for their future that those tombs' have been kept clean and polished, it is

for their sake that that little church is still standing. This is something that the volunteers of the Zonderwater Block

Association cannot do by themselves. They, to rephrase a very famous analogy, have kept the water coming out of the

fountain, somebody else must make sure that the horse comes and drinks from it.

If, in other words, the community does not understand the value of its roots and does not teach its children that the

foundations of their future as Italian South Africans lie here, the efforts of that handful of volunteers will have been in vane.

In a society that is increasingly dominated by the ephemeral standards of mobile phones and social networks, the values of

those who fought and died for their country may sound old- fashioned and yet they are our children's only hope to find their

bearings in an increasingly confusing world.

Il discorso del presidente dello Zonderwater Block Emilio Coccia



Honorable Representatives of the South African and the Italian Governments

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

It is my privilege, and indeed my pleasure, to welcome the H.E. Elio Menzione, Ambassador of Italy in South Africa, Lt. Gen.

Michele Franzè, Deputy Commander of the Carabinieri and representing the Italian Defence Force, Maj. Gen. Zakes

Msimang, Chief Director Air Force Policy and Planning, representing the Chief of the SA Air Force, Dr. Enrico De Agostini,

Consul General of Italy in Johannesburg, CDC Corrections Zak Modise, representing the National Commissioner,

Department of Correctional Services, and Col. Roberto Danieli, Italian Defence Attachè.

I would also like to extend my warmest welcome to the representatives of the Light Horse Regiment, the Transvaal Scottish

Regiment, the Sappers Foundation, the Council of Military Veterans' Organization and the M.O.T.H, as well as the Defence

Attachè of the Republic of Chile, to the Director of the Military Archives in Pretoria and to the representatives of the

South African Police Services, the ALPINE 44 Association and the Polish Community in South Africa.

A special welcome to the Italian former POW, all of them, by now, older than 90, and to some of their descendants, who

recently found their origin and were reunited to their Italian families, and today came from as far as Italy and the United

States.

I salute the flags of the Italian military, cultural, social and regional Institutions, including our sister Associations of the

Carabinieri and the Alpini.

A welcome and a sincere word of thanks to the Department of Correctional Services – Zonderwater, for their very efficient

and dependable cooperation, specially in this moment of economic austerity, and to the Giuseppe Verdi and Valli Alpine

choirs.

My deepest gratitude goes, once again, to the SA Air Force and his Chief, Lt.Gen. Carlo Gagiano,, for his valuable support

to our Association through the years. The excellent performance of the Military Band, the flight and landing of the Golden

Eagles, combined with the friendly and enthusiastic bond with the Zonderwater Block Association are all signs that the

relationship between Italy and South Africa is moving from strength to strength.

Last, but not least, a grateful thanks to Andrea Meneghelli and his "Silver Lions" for flying past to salute the Italian POWs

who are resting in peace under these White Crosses.

It is now 70 year that the first Italian PsOW died in captivity and were laid to rest in this and other cemeteries in the Union of

South Africa. They were part of the 109.000 Italian soldiers taken prisoner during WW2 in Libya, Egypt and Abyssinia, and

interned for up to six years in Zonderwater and other camps in the Union. Young people, mostly in their twenties, finding

themselves so far away from their families, vanquished, and their freedom lost. But they stood up to the challenge, realizing

that only by keeping body and mind occupied they could survive the time ahead.

Thousands of them chose to work outside the boundaries of the Camp in the Agricultural and the Construction fields,

benefiting over 5.000 farmers and the Government Departments of Public Works, Land and Forestry. Over and above the

construction of a great number of buildings, public roads, irrigation networks and land settlements, they introduced certain

techniques and practices unknown at that time in South Aftica, empirical maybe, but certainly very sound.

And sharing for so long the everyday life with the local population, the exchange of cultural and social values was inevitable,

leaving a legacy of mutual trust and appreciation.

Today, this legacy is one of the cornerstones of the very good relations between Italy and South Africa. For that, we will

always remember the Italian Prisoners of War, their suffering, their achievements and, specially, their example. And we will

also remember, with gratitude and love, the Ones who paid the supreme tribute to give us a better life and a better future.

Cari connazionali,

saluto e ringrazio le Autorità civili, militari e religiose intervenute a questa solenne cerimonia, e particolannente it Gen. C.A.

Michele Franzè, giunto espressamente dall'Italia con i suoi collaboratori per unirsi alla nostra celebrazione annuale, in cui

ricorre il 70mo anniversario dell'apertura di questo Cimitero.Ricorrenza che coincide con i 150 anni di Unità Nazionale e che

testimonia il riscatto di un popolo attraverso la sua fede, il suo spirito di sacrificio e il suo sangue.



Pure giunti numerosi dall'Italia, e ai quali estendo un saluto molto particolare, sono i figli e figlie di Prigionieri di Guerra

italiani: un folto gruppo ravennate e altri da Sassari, Parma e Bologna. La loro presenza, insieme a quella delle Autorità

diplomaticbe e consolari, sottolinea l'altissima importanza attribuita dall'ItaJia a questo molto speciale evento. Oggi infatti

ricordiamo e ringraziamo i protagonisti di quei momenti storici, che si immolarono per l'ideale di una Nazione indipendente,

unita e rispettata. Gli eoi del nostro Risorgimento, di Vittorio Veneto, di el-Alamein, Keren, Culquaber, possiamo oggi

ripetere fermamente che non sono morti invano. Come non fu inutile il sacrificio dei 437 militari italiani che da questa terra

sudafricana non riuscirono a vedere l'alba della libertà e il cui nome è scritto per sempre, insieme a quello dei Caduti di tutte

le guerre, nell'Albo d'Oro della Patria.

Ricordiamoci quindi con orgoglio e con fierezza, reiterando la nostra solenne promessa che mai saranno dimenticati.

Per concludere, voglio porgere l'estremo saluto a uno degli ex PdG più anziani, che ci ha lasciato nel maggio di quest'anno:

Caporal Maggiore VILLA Edoardo - PRESENTE!

La commemorazione di Zonderwater è avvenuta secondo il seguente programma:

- 08,30 Apertura dei cancelli

- 09,00 Arrivo Console Generale Enrico De Agostini

- 09,15 Arrivo della Rappresentanza militare italiana

- 09,30 Arrivo di S.E. l’Ambasciatore d’Italia in Sud Africa Elio Menzione

- 09,35 Arrivo delle autorita’ sudafricane

- 09,45 Lancio dei paracadutisti

- 09,55 Raccolta delle corone all’entrata principale

- 10,00 Alza bandiera ed esecuzione degli Inni nazionali

- 10,10 Deposizione delle corone

1. S.E. l’Ambasciatore d’Italia

2. Rappresentante delle autorita’ sudafricane

3. Rappresentanza militare italiana

4. Console Generale d’Italia a Johannesburg

5. Rappresentante dell’Aeronautica del Sudafrica

6. Rappresentante del Dipartimento Nazionale delle prigioni del Sudafrica

7. Associazione Zonderwater block

8. Associazione Zonderwater block Sezione di Milano

9. Light Horse Regimental Association

10. Associazione Nazionale Alpini

11. Associazione Nazionale Carabinieri

12. Com.It.Es.

- 10,30 Intervento del Presidente dell’Associazione Zonderwater Block

Intervento del Rappresentante delle autorita’ sudafricane

Intervento di S.E. l’Ambasciatore d’Italia Elio Menzione

- 10,55 Santa Messa accompagnata dai canti dei Cori “Giuseppe Verdi” e “Valli Alpine” .

Esecuzione degli Inni nazionali



Ed eccone il racconto fotografico:



Cerimonia del 6 Nov. 2011 al Cimitero di Zonderwater

Documents

Transcript of Cerimonia del 6 Nov. 2011 al Cimitero di Zonderwater