Italy has made its first compensation payment to the heirs of a victim of Nazi crimes, granting €800,000 to the family of Metello Ricciarini, who was killed in 1944 in Tuscany during a mass killing of civilians.
This decision, the result of decades of legal battles, could set a precedent for other families of victims of Nazi and fascist crimes.
In 1962, Germany paid Italy 40 million Deutsche Marks for compensation, but the funds did not reach individual victims. In 2022, a €61 million fund was established to address such claims.
Nazi crimes in Italy affected 22,000 people, including deported Jews and forced laborers. This compensation marks a significant step toward acknowledging their suffering.
