ANED – National Association of Former Political Deportees to Nazi Camps

ANED – the Associazione Nazionale Ex Deportati nei Campi Nazisti (National Association of Former Deportees to Nazi Camps) – is an Italian apolitical, non-profit association that brings together people who were deported to Nazi camps for political or racial reasons, the families of the fallen and of former deportees, and Italian citizens who share its values and commit to studying and spreading historical knowledge about the Resistance and deportation. It is recognized as an ente morale (moral entity) by decree of the President of the Italian Republic of 5 November 1968. The association traces its origins to the immediate post-war period. From 1945, groups and associations of former deportees and their families began forming in several Italian cities, initially with welfare aims: supporting the families of the fallen, repatriating remains, protecting deportees' interests vis-à-vis Germany, building monuments and creating mutual-aid groups. The first associations were constituted in Turin, where the Associazione di ex Deportati was founded on 6 September 1945 among former political prisoners hospitalized at the Italian Red Cross in Turin; among its founders was Italo Tibaldi, who worked for years to compile the vast list of names of Italian deportees. In Milan, a first draft statute of the Associazione nazionale reduci dei campi di concentramento was drawn up in June 1945 by Enea Fergnani and Dante Frezzati. In 1957 a national congress of the associations grouping former deportees and their families defined a new organizational structure, and the entity began orienting its work toward memory and the universal values of democracy, liberty and peace, with Pietro Caleffi as president; it was in this period that the various groups were unified into a single organization. In 1978 Gianfranco Maris became president, leading the association until 2015, when Dario Venegoni became president. ANED is active in 10 Italian regions with 26 sections; its national presidency and secretariat are based at the Casa della Memoria in Milan. It maintains international relations with the committees that gather former deportees of the individual Nazi concentration camps and has a representative in the committees of Mauthausen, Dachau, Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Mittelbau-Dora, Flossenbürg, Ravensbrück and Risiera di San Sabba. It also maintains relations with national associations of survivors of the individual extermination camps and with the organizations that manage the current camp sites and their museums. The association publishes the magazine Triangolo Rosso, named after the symbol worn by political prisoners – a red triangle. Its identifying emblem is a red triangle with the white letters "IT", recalling the identification badge sewn onto the clothing of Italian political deportees; during events members wear a blue neckerchief with the red triangle in the center. The association celebrates 5 May as its associative feast day, the day the US Army entered the Nazi camp of Mauthausen, the last to be liberated. In 2016 it had 2,382 members. Among ANED's most significant international initiatives was the construction of an Italian Memorial at Block 21 of the former Auschwitz concentration camp. Wanted by Primo Levi, it was inaugurated in 1980 to commemorate all Italians who died in Nazi concentration camps. The architectural project was by the BBPR studio and inserts a helical spiral into the first floor of Block 21 of Auschwitz I, inside which the visitor walks as in a tunnel, lined with a canvas composed of 23 strips painted by Pupino Samonà following a text written by Primo Levi; from the wooden walkway leading the visitor into the tunnel rises the music of Luigi Nono, Ricorda cosa ti hanno fatto in Auschwitz. The director and poet Nelo Risi also contributed his expertise to its realization.

The Associazione Nazionale Ex Deportati nei Campi Nazisti (ANED) is an Italian apolitical, non-profit association recognized as an ente morale by decree of the President of the Italian Republic of 5 November 1968. Its membership includes people deported to Nazi camps for political and racial reasons, the families of the fallen and of former deportees, and Italian citizens who share its values and commit to studying and spreading historical knowledge about the Resistance and deportation. From 1945, groups and associations of former deportees and their families began forming in several Italian cities, initially with welfare aims: supporting the families of the fallen, repatriating remains, protecting deportees' interests vis-à-vis Germany, creating monuments, and establishing mutual-aid groups of a moral, material and health character. Milan appears to have had a strong presence of former deportees, but it was in Turin that the first associations were constituted. In Turin, the Associazione di ex Deportati was founded on 6 September 1945 among former political prisoners hospitalized at the Italian Red Cross in Turin; among its founders was Italo Tibaldi, who worked for years to compile the vast list of names of Italian deportees. In July 1945 the Associazione nazionale superstiti dei cambi di concentramento was created with about 1,000 members and an initially regional character; later it moved premises, took the temporary name Associazione Triangolo Rosso, modified its statute and assumed a national character. In 1947 the association was transferred to Milan, with local sections active in Venice, Trento, Treviso, Bolzano, Udine, Vicenza, Florence, Padua, Genoa and Rome. In Milan, a first draft statute of the Associazione nazionale reduci dei campi di concentramento was drawn up in June 1945 by Enea Fergnani and Dante Frezzati. In 1946 a monument in honor of the fallen, created by the BBPR studio of architects (formed in the 1930s and active in the Resistance), was inaugurated at the Monumental Cemetery of Milan. The workers' cooperative Società Cooperativa a r.l Zebra was constituted around 1947. In 1957 a national congress of the associations grouping former deportees and their families was organized; a new organizational structure was defined, the entity began to orient its work toward the theme of memory and the universal values of democracy, liberty and peace, and Pietro Caleffi became president. It was in this period that the different groups were unified into a single organization. In 1968 the national association of former deportees received recognition as an ente morale. In 1978 Gianfranco Maris became president, leading the association until 2015; in 2015 Dario Venegoni became president. One of the most significant international initiatives distinguishing ANED's work was the construction of an Italian Memorial at Block 21 of the former Auschwitz concentration camp. Wanted by Primo Levi, it was inaugurated in 1980 with the aim of commemorating all Italians who died in Nazi concentration camps. Realized with the collaboration of some important names of twentieth-century Italian culture, the architectural project was by the BBPR studio and inserts a helical spiral into the first floor of Block 21 of Auschwitz I, inside which the visitor walks as in a tunnel, lined with a canvas composed of 23 strips painted by Pupino Samonà, following the trace of a text written by Primo Levi. From the wooden walkway leading the visitor into the tunnel rises the music of Luigi Nono, Ricorda cosa ti hanno fatto in Auschwitz. The director and poet Nelo Risi also contributed his expertise to its realization. ANED is active in 10 Italian regions with 26 sections; the national presidency and secretariat are based at the Casa della Memoria in Milan. The association maintains international relations with the committees that gather former deportees of the individual Nazi concentration camps and has a representative in the committees of Mauthausen, Dachau, Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Mittelbau-Dora, Flossenbürg, Ravensbrück and Risiera di San Sabba. There are also relations with the national associations of survivors of the individual extermination camps and with the organizations that manage the current camp sites and curate their museums. The association publishes the magazine Triangolo Rosso, named after the symbol worn by political prisoners – a red triangle. Its identifying emblem is a red triangle with the white letters "IT", recalling the identification badge sewn onto the clothing of Italian political deportees. During events, members wear a blue neckerchief with the red triangle in the center. The association celebrates 5 May as its associative feast day, the day the US Army entered the Nazi camp of Mauthausen, the last to be liberated. In 2016 it had 2,382 members.

• 2026

  ANED is the only former deportees' organization present at The Hague signing of a joint declaration asking to inscribe the main Nazi camp memorial sites on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

• 2016

  Association has 2,382 members.

• 2015

  Dario Venegoni becomes president.

• 1980

  Italian Memorial at Block 21 of Auschwitz, wanted by Primo Levi, inaugurated.

• 1978

  Gianfranco Maris becomes president, leading the association until 2015.

• 1968

  Association recognized as an ente morale by decree of the President of the Italian Republic of 5 November.

• 1957

  National congress of former deportees' associations; new organizational structure defined; Pietro Caleffi becomes president; groups unified into a single organization.

• 1947

  Association transferred to Milan; local sections active in Venice, Trento, Treviso, Bolzano, Udine, Vicenza, Florence, Padua, Genoa and Rome. Workers' cooperative Società Cooperativa a r.l Zebra constituted around this year.

• 1946

  Monument in honor of the fallen, by the BBPR studio, inaugurated at the Monumental Cemetery of Milan.

• 1945

  Associazione di ex Deportati founded in Turin on 6 September among former political prisoners hospitalized at the Italian Red Cross; Italo Tibaldi among founders.

• 1945

  In July, Associazione nazionale superstiti dei cambi di concentramento created with about 1,000 members; in June, first draft statute of Associazione nazionale reduci dei campi di concentramento drawn up in Milan by Enea Fergnani and Dante Frezzati.

Apolitical, non-profit memory and historical association recognized as an ente morale, dedicated to preserving the memory of Nazi deportation and promoting democratic values.

• Triangolo Rosso magazine

  Association magazine named after the red triangle worn by political prisoners.

• Italian Memorial at Auschwitz (Block 21)

  Memorial inaugurated in 1980, designed by BBPR studio with contributions by Pupino Samonà, Primo Levi, Luigi Nono and Nelo Risi.

• Casa della Memoria, Milan

  Seat of the national presidency and secretariat.

1. 1Home - ANEDdeportati.it
2. 2Associazione nazionale ex deportati nei campi nazisti – Wikipediait.wikipedia.org
3. 3Associazione nazionale ex deportati politici nei campi di sterminio nazisti – Wikidatawikidata.org