Mattarella remembers the Marzabotto massacre: "Memory remains a warning"

"What has happened can happen again. Wars are once again overwhelming the rules and barriers set up to counter them, causing intelligence and every sense of humanity to regress. History has given us proof that the civilization of peace is supported by democracy, participation, the culture of solidarity, justice". This was declared by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, recalling the Marzabotto massacre carried out by the "Nazi SS, supported by the fascists". "They are the cornerstones of our Constitution, which was born in Marzabotto and in other places where the dignity of man was offended, was born where the pain was unspeakable and now lives thanks to women, men, our communities, capable of generating hope", he adds.

"Marzabotto and the lands around Monte Sole - writes the head of state - were swallowed up by the deepest abyss of inhumanity. Eighty-two years have passed since the extermination that the Nazi SS, supported by the fascists, carried out against the defenseless population, without mercy even for children, women, the elderly, priests. The strength of the survivors and the passing of generations have been capable of reopening the paths of life, but the memory of that frightening chasm remains a warning and continues to call for responsibility. The dynamics of the war alone are not enough to define its horror. It is necessary to delve into the roots of the desire for domination, of the racist myths, of the strategy of annihilation of entire populations. It was this mix that unleashed the bestial ferocity when the fate of the conflict began to take a turn for the worse for the occupiers and their accomplices our social model has its foundations on the sacrifice of those who found themselves paying the highest and most unjust price", underlines Mattarella again.