The Atrocity of Sant'Anna di Stazzema (northern most Tuscany) was one of nearly 700 massacres committed by the Nazis against Italian CIVILIANS, during WWII that slaughtered 15,000 to 20,000 Italians!!!

[As you recall, this Carnage included Monte Sole (1830), Marzabotta/Bologna (800), San Terenzo (369), Ardeatine Caves/Rome (335), etc, etc, ......

The Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre that resulted in the deaths of 560 was unique in that it was carried out against mostly women, children, and elderly and was reportedly the first massacre Not to be carried out as a Retaliation for German soldiers killed by Partisans, BUT as part of the Nazi's new "Scorched Earth" Policy.

The Trial in La of 5 German Officers had been delayed, because the Italian Government had hidden the Files, on the encouragement of the US Government, so as not to weaken the German Government, who NATO was depending on at that time to be a bulwark against Russian Communism.

The File "Cabinet of Shame" held evidence of a 20 day old child shot, and more than 132 were shot and burned in the plaza in front of the church, among the infamia perpetrated.

Listen to the 5 minute Audio Report.

REAL MEDIA: http://www.npr.org/dmg/dmg.php?prgCode=ATC&showDate=25-Jun-2004&segNum=16&mediaPref=RM

OR

WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER: http://www.npr.org/dmg/dmg.php?prgCode=ATC&showDate=25-Jun-2004&segNum=16&mediaPref=WM

OR

NPR : 60 Years Later, Germans Tried for Atrocities in Italy
http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1978755

and then click on All Things Considered audio
With Either "Real Player"  or Windows Media" FREE
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60 YEARS LATER, GERMANS TRIED FOR ATROCITIES IN ITALY

National Public Radio
June 25, 2004

In Italy next week, five Germans go on trial in absentia for war crimes committed 60 years ago.

As German troops retreated from the Allied invasion, they often adopted a "scorched earth" policy, destroying infrastructure that the Allies could use.

German troops razed the village of Sant'Anna di Stazzema in three hours, killing about 560 people -- including women, children and elderly.

The atrocity, along with many others by the Germans, was well-documented, but the Italian government hid the files in the 1950s.

By then, West Germany was an ally of the United States and the Cold War was under way.

The files were discovered in 1994, leading to trials.

The survivors of the attack on Sant'Anna remember it vividly, as NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports....
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The Night of the Shooting Stars
a k a La Notte di San Lorenzo; Night of San Lorenzo; Night of the Falling Stars
1982 - Italy - War Drama/Family Drama

PLOT DESCRIPTION
Starring Omero Antonutti, Margarita Lozano.
Directed by Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani. (R, 100 minutes).

In Tuscan lore, the evening of August 10th is la notte di san lorenzo (the night of the shooting stars). Each of these stars is believed to grant one wish. In this celebrated film by Italy's Taviani brothers, a woman asks for the words to tell her son about that same night during the last days of World War II.

The Nazis occupied Italy and the fascists had mined her small Tuscan village of San Martino. Skeptical of the fascists' promise that all peasants will be safe in San Martino's cathedral, a group of villagers opt to leave and search for the Italian partisans and advancing American forces.

Among those to depart is the woman, then only six years old. La Notte di San Lorenzo is the story of the villagers' remarkable exodus, the fate of those left behind, and the partisan struggle against fascism -- lyrically intertwined with their thoughts, loves, fears, and memories, as well as the fantasies of a young girl experiencing the tragedy she perceives to be her greatest adventure. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide