Mattarella remembers the Stazzema massacre: 'The horror of the massacre will never be forgotten'

"On August 12, seventy-seven years ago, the SS soldiers carried out a massacre of defenseless civilians in the hamlets of Stazzema, one of the most frightening of the entire war. Hundreds and hundreds were the dead. Children slaughtered together with their mothers and grandparents . Stazzema was considered a refuge for the weakest, for the displaced. Instead, it became a bloody land, the scene of atrocious cruelty and a ferocious contempt for human life, up to the destruction of the burning of victims in the square of Sant'Anna. it can never be forgotten. It is inscribed in the witness that the more mature generations hand over to the young ". The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, writes in a message. "In so much pain,in this abyss of inhumanity - underlines the head of the state - the roots of the regained freedom sink, in our country and in Europe. The Republic was born precisely in the repudiation of the culture of death, of the will to power pushed to the point of becoming an ideology of annihilation. Europe that has become a community is the peaceful and far-sighted response to that nationalism that has generated so many conflicts in our continent. The Republic today bows in front of the Stazzema shrine. A profound feeling unites the Italians to the families of the victims of the massacre and to the valiant survivors who all their lives have borne the burden of such great pain, continuing to spend themselves to make known, to remember, to transmit, with the strength of their testimony, the simplest and most powerful message: never again "."The redemption from oppression and from so much suffering - Mattarella still remembers - was possible thanks to the spirit of solidarity and justice, to respect for inviolable rights, which our people knew how to make prevail. Democracy and freedom now require to be continually nurtured by civic values ​​and a sense of community. Also for this reason, the memory of the most dramatic moments remains a precious heritage also for facing the challenges of the new times and the necessary innovations ".Also for this reason, the memory of the most dramatic moments remains a precious heritage also for facing the challenges of the new times and the necessary innovations ".Also for this reason, the memory of the most dramatic moments remains a precious heritage also for facing the challenges of the new times and the necessary innovations ".