The silence of the left, lasting over a decade, on the massacre of Italians in Pola perpetrated by the Yugoslav Titini. And the harsh condemnation by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. “Today Italy honors the memory of the compatriots killed on August 18, 1946 on the beach of Vergarolla, in the most serious and bloody massacre in the history of republican Italy. A slaughter fallen into oblivion for decades and which has been restored to collective memory thanks to the invaluable commitment of the Italian community of Pola, the exiles, their descendants, and associations,” is the message from the leader of Brothers of Italy.
“What happened eighty years ago on the beach of Pola still represents an unpunished crime today. Dozens and dozens of innocent civilians – men, women, and children – were killed according to a macabre plan, while attending a sporting event – continues the Prime Minister -. The perpetrators were never identified, the masterminds found, or the motives clarified. Seeking the truth remains the main path to fully do justice to the victims and reveal what, even today, we do not know about this dark page of the twentieth century.”
Eighty years of red silence on the Italian dead of Pola
Of the many children shown on TV and in newspapers to evoke pity for conflicts and crises in the world, one is missing…
“What is certain is that the Vergarolla massacre marked one of the most dramatic moments of that season of violence, significantly contributing to the decision of most Italians to leave Pola and embark on the path of exodus,” Meloni adds. “From the abyssal darkness of that massacre emerged the light of a hero: Geppino Micheletti, a doctor at the Pola hospital who continued to operate on the wounded and mutilated from the explosion even after learning that among the dead were also his brother, his sister-in-law, and his two children, aged 9 and 5. A shining example of humanity, courage, and dedication, recognized by President Mattarella with the Gold Medal for Public Health Merit. Also in his name and in that of all the victims of Vergarolla, the Italian Government will continue its full commitment to preserve and pass on the memory of the complex events linked to the eastern border. Terrible and painful pages, long silenced but today belonging to the national and European memory,” concludes Meloni.
