The city of Milan on April 25, 1945, was liberated thanks to the effort of the partisan Resistance from the Germans occupation. The 80th anniversary of the Liberation in 2025 is a very important milestone to remember facts and events and to celebrate the fundamental values of freedom, peace and democracy.
The exchange program will attend commemorations, ceremonies and educational programs, dedicated to the strategic importance of the partisans, the roles of the civilians in the war of liberation from Nazi-fascism.
During the morning the participant will visit the House of Remembrance, that hosts the associations and documents that preserve the memory of 20th century. They will have the possibility to visit the archives of the Istituto Nazionale Ferruccio Parri and the headquarters of two very important veterans’ associations (such as ANPI, National Association of Italian Partisans and ANED, National Association of Italian political deportees from Nazi concentration camps) and will have time to conduct their own research and to interview stakeholders and experts.
In the afternoon they will visit Binario 21 – Shoah Memorial the most important centre on the remembrance of the Shoah in Milan, located at the back of Milan’s Central Station. In the period between 1943 and 1945, during the Nazi occupation and the Italian Social Republic, numerous convoys of Jewish people departed from here, destined for the Nazi concentration and extermination camps, mainly Auschwitz-Birkenau. There will be the possibility to have a guided tour of the Memorial and to record podcasts and videos to reflect on the importance of remembrance and knowledge transmission.
On day two, a visit of the city of Milan is planned. The participant will have the possibility to discover the key locations of WWII in Milan by visiting the city’s many monuments and battlegrounds. They will discover, for example, La Loggia dei Mercanti, a symbol of the Milanese Resistance, where the 19 plaques with the 1739 names of the fallen partisans are displayed; Piazzale Loreto, where the partisans brought the corpses of Mussolini and the fascist hierarchs murdered at Dongo on 29 April 1945;the commemorative plaque of the Albergo Regina that, during the occupation, was the power centre of Germans in Milan and became the main place of detention for partisans, Jews and civilians suspected of actively collaborating with the Resistance. For the Milanese, it became infamously known as ‘Hotel Gestapo’ and many more.
During the tour the participant will learn about how was living in Milan during the occupation period. What was the role of the partisans and the civilians. Why the deportation to concentration camp is so important for the city. What was the role of the Italian fascists during the occupation and many other subjects. There will be the possibility to create podcasts and videos.
After lunch the participants will gather in a plenary session with historians and facilitators, that will be focused on organizing the material collected during the stay in Milan and talk about what they are going to see in Lyon.
