Bologna. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in the military prison at Gaeta. He was released in 1985 and died six years later in 1991. In 1998, on the 54th anniversary of the massacre, the German President Johannes Rau made a formal apology to Italy and expressed his "profound sorrow and shame" to the families of the victims of Marzabotto. In January 2007, 10 of 17 suspected former SS members were found guilty in absentia by an Italian military tribunal in the north Italian town of La Spezia. They were sentenced to life imprisonment for the massacre. The Italian media reported that the 10 were also ordered to pay roughly €100 million to the survivors and relatives of the victims. Seven suspects were acquitted. Victims Giovanni Fornasini (1915-1944), priest, l'angelo di Marzabotto, Gold Medal of Military Valour, Servo di Dio (1918-1944), priest, Servo di Dio In popular culture The 1975 film Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, which deals with themes of fascism and the abuse of power, is set in Marzabotto in the aftermath of the massacre. L'uomo Che Verrà (2009) tells the story of the local Italian people, partisans and the Marzabotto Massacre. It has won numerous awards. It features Raffaele Zabban playing Don Giovanni Fornasini, and Germano Maccioni playing Don Ubaldo Marchioni. See also Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre Lidice Kľak Oradour-sur-Glane massacre Ochota massacre Khatyn massacre Italian Campaign (World War II) List of massacres in Italy German war crimes References Sources Marzabotto: The Crimes of Walter Reder - SS-Sturmbannführer, by Christian Ortner (Vienna, 1985) Silence on Monte Sole, by Jack Olsen (New York City, 1968) Don Giovanni Fornasini, Associazione Nazionale Partigiani d'Italia External links Peace School Foundation of Monte Sole, in Italian Monte Sole Park, in Italian Massacres and Atrocities of World War II The Man Who Will Come (L'uomo Che Verra) Massacres in 1944 Massacres in the Italian Social Republic Collective punishment 1944 in Italy Mass murder in 1944 World War II massacres September 1944 events October 1944 events Waffen-SS