San Vittore Prison

Built upon the former Capuchin convent of San Vittore agli Olmi, the San Vittore prison became a detention centre for political opponents during the Fascist regime.

In September 1943, the Germans took direct control of the 4^th and 6^th wings, reserved for political prisoners, and the 5^th wing, reserved for Jews. Management was entrusted to the SS who were assisted by agents from the Political Investigation Office of the Republican National Guard.

The Milanese prison was therefore a collection centre for political activists and Jews arrested in areas bordering Switzerland or in the large cities of northern Italy, as well as a provincial concentration camp for Jews. From there, prisoners were transferred directly to concentration and extermination camps in Germany and Poland or to the transit camps of Fossoli and Bolzano.

The prison rules were severe and the hygiene conditions extremely poor. Jews were denied the few rights granted to other political prisoners such as an hour of exercise in the yard, health care, and the right to receive correspondence. During interrogations, prisoners were tortured and abused. The GAP (Patriotic Action Groups) attempted to free the prisoners several times before they were finally liberated on 26^th April 1945 by the Matteotti Brigade partisans.