Concentration Camp on the Island of Arbe-Rab

(Croatia)
;

Credits: Eric Gobetti

Where are we?

We are at the Concentration Camp on the Island of Arbe-Rab

It was built during the Italian occupation and almost 1,500 civilians died there, later commemorated by Edvard Ravnikar’s Memorial (1953).

On 6th April 1941, German troops invaded Yugoslavia from the North East. A few days later, Italian troops crossed the border, conquering Ljubljana and reaching the Dalmatian coast. The Italian army responded to the opposition of Yugoslavian partisans by rounding up the population and destroying several villages. Thousands of people were deported to internment camps set up on the Dalmatian islands or on Italian territory. The harsh living conditions, often below the survival threshold, led to the death of about 4,000 internees.

In the summer of 1942, a camp was set up in Kampor, not far from the town of Rab. In seven days, the camp was able to host more than 4,000 people with terrible food and hygienic conditions: almost 1,500 civilians died there. The Rab camp was later transformed into a transit and sorting camp, and many of the prisoners were taken to the Gonars concentration camp.

The history of the camp is today commemorated with a Memorial established on the island by Edvard Ravnikar (1953). No Italian official representative has ever officially visited it.

Photo: View of the Concentration Camp on the Island of Arbe-Rab in 1946, CC BY-SA 3.0

USEFUL INFORMATION

Facility or museum: no

Geographic location: Croatia

Photo gallery

To know more

Rab/Arbe
“A ferro e fuoco”. L’occupazione italiana in Jugoslavia
Rab/Arbe
Campifascisti.it