“Le Nuove” Prison in Turin

The Turin Judicial Prison, known as Le Nuove, represented a central site of Nazi-Fascist repression between 1943 and 1945. Built in the second half of the 19th century according to the “panopticon” model, the prison was intended during the Fascist regime for the detention of political opponents. After September 8, 1943, with the German occupation, it became one of the main instruments of Nazi-Fascist persecution, housing workers, Jews, partisans and draft dodgers.

With the Nazi occupation, an entire arm of the prison was run directly by the SS. Here there were numerous incidents of violence, brutal interrogations and torture, often conducted on Jews and partisans. The German arm became infamous for the inhumane living conditions and atrocious suffering inflicted on the prisoners. One of the most dramatic episodes was the death of Emanuele Artom, a young Jewish partisan, political commissar of the 5th Justice and Freedom Division, who died on April 7, 1944, following torture. His body, buried on the outskirts of Turin, was never found.

Prison conditions were extreme: overcrowded cells, scarce and inedible food, lack of hygiene, and a constant tension due to the uncertainty of one’s fate. Many inmates were released from the New Only to be sent to forced labor in Germany, deported to concentration camps, or executed. Prisoners lived in the anguish of hearing the rattle of chains every morning, a prelude to summary executions or deportations.

Le Nuove prison was a nodal point for the deportation of Jews and political opponents to Nazi concentration camps. Jews, often rounded up in or around the city, were detained while waiting to be transferred to transit camps such as Fossoli or directly to the extermination camps. The victims included many members of Turin’s Jewish community and people captured while trying to cross the Swiss border.

Despite the climate of terror, forms of resistance developed inside the prison. Political prisoners, locked up in the fourth wing, managed in some cases to establish contact with the outside world, thanks to the help of workers from nearby factories such as Westinghouse. Sister Giuseppina De Muro and Father Ruggero Cipolla, prison chaplain, worked to alleviate the prisoners’ suffering, often risking their own lives to ensure their safety.

As Liberation approached, the New became a focal point of tensions. During the insurrection days of April 25, 1945, political prisoners took advantage of the loosened surveillance to attempt escapes and organize rebellion actions. On April 27, partisans from the 3rd Justice and Freedom Brigade, in collaboration with Westinghouse workers, managed to enter the prison, decreeing the surrender of Fascist commander Gino Cera and initiating the liberation of the inmates.