A supreme commissioner, the Gauleiter of Tyrol Franz Hofer, was placed at the head of the OZAV. From the outset, Nazi policy in this area had envisaged the future annexation of South Tyrol to Germany and the “Germanisation” of Alto Adige. In this context, South Tyrol became, especially during 1944, a territory where various people were deported to be used as forced labourers, in particular, in the factories of the satellite camps and in those annexed to the Polizei-und Durchgangslager of Bolzano. The concentration camp would also be an important tool for sending deportees beyond the Brenner Pass, where they…
