The Federal Republic of Germany, of the one part, and the Italian Republic, of the other part,
desire to lay to rest the Italian war dead buried in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German war dead buried in the territory of the Italian Republic in cemeteries to be developed on a permanent basis, and also desire to ensure the dignified maintenance of the graves of the Italian war dead in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German war dead in the territory of the Italian Republic,
have decided to conclude the following agreement:
Article 1
For the purposes of this agreement, German war dead are members of the German armed forces or persons equated with them, as well as persons of German nationality who have died as a result of war events.
Article 2
The German war dead of World War II buried in Italy will be brought together in Italy in special cemeteries or places of honor at locations yet to be agreed upon.
Wherever it is feasible and possible, the war dead of the First World War can also be brought together at the same locations and, in the same way, the war dead of the Second World War can be brought together in the cemeteries or memorials of the First World War.
Article 3
The necessary plots of land shall be selected by agreement between the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Italian Government, taking into account the need not to use any sites that serve urban development, are of significant agricultural use or are of particular archaeological, artistic or agricultural interest.
The cemeteries and places of honor will be established according to the designs of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, approved by the Italian Government.
The decision as to whether the facility should take the form of a cemetery or a place of honor will be made by mutual agreement between the two parties.
The area earmarked for the facility should not be more than 4 square meters for each dead person.
Article 4
The exhumation and transfer of the mortal remains of German war dead and the expansion of the German cemeteries and places of honor shall be carried out by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany at its expense and in agreement with the Italian government as quickly as possible.
Article 5
The Italian government undertakes to transfer the properties on which the German cemeteries or places of honor are to be built to the Federal Republic of Germany for free use for this special purpose and for the entire time during which these properties are used for this purpose. The Italian government guarantees the protection of the cemeteries and places of honor and the permanent right of rest for the German war dead buried there.
Should the Italian government deem it necessary to use a cemetery plot for another purpose due to urgent public interest, it shall provide another suitable plot for the same purpose and shall bear the costs of the reburial of the dead and the similar design of the new cemetery. The selection of the new property, the execution of the transfer and the design of the new cemetery shall be carried out in agreement with the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Article 6
A custodian shall be appointed for the maintenance of each German cemetery or German place of honor in Italy; this custodian shall be paid by the Italian Government; the appointment, replacement and payment of the custodians shall be made by mutual agreement.
The Italian government recognizes the right of the government of the Federal Republic of Germany to provide for the maintenance and preservation of the German cemeteries and places of honor in Italy at its own expense and to employ German personnel for this purpose.
Article 7
The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany may import into Italy free of duty and tolls material (including marble, unpolished and polished stones), tools (including mechanical devices such as mowers and others) and art objects needed for the removal and re-embedding of the dead, for the final construction and maintenance of the German cemeteries.
The Italian Government shall grant appropriate facilities for the importation of trees, plants, seeds and bulbs to be used for the maintenance and decoration of the German cemeteries. The phytosanitary regulations governing such imports shall be observed.
The exemptions provided for in this Article shall be granted at the request of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany. The request is to be submitted through diplomatic channels.
Article 8
The Italian government grants, at the request of the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, authorization for the exhumation and transfer of German war dead from Italy to the Federal Republic of Germany; in this case, the legal provisions applicable in both countries regarding the transfer of corpses are to be observed.
The exhumation may only take place in the presence of a representative of the competent Italian authority, who will draw up a protocol regarding the exhumation.
Article 9
During the period from September 1 to June 30 of each financial year, the Italian government grants the next of kin (parents, widows - even if they have remarried - children, siblings) of German war dead who have died for their country, a 40% discount on the cost of a return ticket for one journey per year on Italian railways (F.F.S.S.).
The details of the benefits provided for in this article shall be agreed directly between the relevant railway administrations.
The benefits shall take effect on the date of publication in Italy of the relevant implementing provisions.
Article 10
The Italian Government shall ensure that all records in its possession concerning German war dead and war graves in Italy are forwarded to the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Article 11
The Italian government agrees that the German War Graves Commission, acting on behalf of the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, shall assume responsibility for the tasks arising from this agreement. The Italian government shall grant this organization every possible facility.
The German War Graves Commission may send experts to Italy to carry out its tasks and set up the necessary workrooms. The appointment of the representatives and staff of this organization who carry out their activities in Italy is subject to the approval of the Italian government.
Article 12
The details of the implementation of this Agreement shall be settled directly between the German organization referred to in Article 11 and the competent Italian authorities.
Article 13
For the purposes of this Convention, Italian war dead means Italian military or civilian persons who, for any reason connected with the events of the war, have died.
Article 14
The Italian war dead of the Second World War buried in the Federal Republic of Germany will be brought together in the Federal Republic of Germany in special cemeteries or places of honor at locations yet to be agreed.
Wherever it is feasible and possible, the war dead of the First World War can also be brought together at the same locations, and in the same way the war dead of the Second World War can be brought together in the cemeteries or memorials of the First World War.
In cases where it is not possible to exhume and identify Italian war dead buried in collective graves with the dead of other nations, the Federal Republic of Germany will ensure that these sites are placed in a dignified condition and permanently maintained.
Article 15
The necessary plots of land shall be selected by agreement between the Italian Government and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, taking into account the need not to use for this purpose any sites that serve urban development, are of significant agricultural use or are of particular archaeological, artistic or agricultural interest.
The cemeteries and places of honor shall be established according to designs of the Italian Government approved by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The decision as to whether the site should be in the form of a cemetery or a place of honor shall be made by mutual agreement between the two parties.
The area designated for the installation should not exceed 4 square meters for each deceased.
Article 16
The exhumation and transfer of the Italian war dead and the expansion of the Italian cemeteries and places of honor shall be carried out by the Italian government at its expense and in consultation with the government of the Federal Republic of Germany as quickly as possible.
Article 17
The Federal Republic of Germany undertakes to grant the Italian government free use of the land on which the Italian cemeteries or places of honor are to be built, for this special purpose and for the entire time during which these properties are used for this purpose. The Federal Republic of Germany guarantees the protection of the cemeteries and places of honor and the permanent right of rest for the Italian war dead buried there.
Should the Federal Republic of Germany consider it necessary to assign a cemetery plot for a different use in the urgent public interest, it shall provide another suitable plot for the same purpose and shall bear the costs of reburial of the dead and the similar design of the new cemetery. The selection of the new property, the execution of the reburials and the design of the new cemetery shall be carried out in agreement with the Italian government.
Article 18
A custodian shall be employed and paid by the Federal Republic of Germany to take care of each Italian cemetery and each Italian memorial in the Federal Republic of Germany. The appointment, replacement and payment of the caretaker shall be settled by mutual agreement.
The Federal Republic of Germany recognizes the right of the Italian Government to provide for the maintenance and preservation of the Italian cemeteries and places of honor in the Federal Republic of Germany at its own expense and to employ Italian personnel for this purpose.
Article 19
The Italian Government may import into the Federal Republic of Germany free of duty and tolls materials (including marble, unpolished and polished stones), tools (including mechanical devices such as reapers and other implements) and works of art needed for the exhumation and reburial of the dead, for the final construction and maintenance of the Italian cemeteries.
The Federal Republic of Germany shall grant appropriate facilities for the importation of trees, plants, seeds and bulbs used for the maintenance and decoration of the Italian cemeteries. The phytosanitary regulations governing such imports shall be observed in this connection.
The exemptions provided for in this Article shall be granted at the request of the Italian Government. The request shall be submitted through diplomatic channels.
Article 20
The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany shall, at the request of the Italian Government, grant authorization for the exhumation and transfer of Italian war dead from the Federal Republic of Germany to Italy; in this case, the legal provisions in force in both countries concerning
the transfer of corpses shall be observed:
The exhumation may only take place in the presence of a representative of the competent German authority, who will draw up a protocol of the exhumation.
Article 21
During the period from September 1 to June 30 of each financial year, the Federal Republic of Germany shall grant the next of kin (parents, widows - even if they have remarried - children, siblings) of Italian war dead to visit war graves in the Federal Republic of Germany, a 40% discount on the return fare for a single trip on the Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) for the period from September 1 to June 30 of each fiscal year:
The details of the benefits provided for in this article shall be agreed directly between the relevant railway administrations. The benefits mentioned shall take effect at the same time as the benefits mentioned in Article 9.
Article 22
The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany will ensure that all documents concerning the Italian war dead and war graves in the Federal Republic of Germany that may still be in its possession and should be found are sent to the Italian Government.
In particular, the competent authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany will facilitate the gathering of information from the following archives;
registry offices, cemeteries, crematoria and public hospitals; police stations, courts and places of detention, labor, housing and economic offices.
In cases justified by the necessity of the investigation, access to the documents of the above-mentioned offices may be granted after approval by the competent German authorities.
The government of the Federal Republic of Germany will recommend that private companies proceed accordingly.
Article 23
The government of the Federal Republic of Germany recognizes the Italian delegation of the Commissariato Generale Onoranze Gaduti in Guerra as the organization officially charged with carrying out the tasks provided for in this agreement with regard to Italian war dead.
The delegate shall be deemed to belong to the Italian Embassy in the Federal Republic of Germany.
The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany shall grant every possible facility to the above-named organization.
This organization may call upon specialists from Italy to carry out its tasks and set up the necessary workrooms.
Article 24
The details of the implementation of this Agreement shall be settled directly between the Italian Delegation referred to in Article 23 and the competent authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Article 25
This Agreement shall also apply to the State of Berlin, unless the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany makes a contrary declaration to the Government of Italy within three months of the entry into force of the Agreement.
Article 26
Any disputes regarding the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be settled by diplomatic means.
Article 27
The Agreement shall be subject to ratification and shall enter into force upon the exchange of the instruments of ratification in Rome.
Articles 1, 2, 4, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 23, 24 and 26 shall be applied as from the date of signature of the Agreement.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, being duly authorized thereto, have signed and affixed their seals to this Convention:
DONE at Bonn this 22nd day of December in the year one thousand nine hundred and fifty-five,
in two copies each in the German and Italian languages, both texts being equally authentic.
For the FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY: Walter Hallstein
For the ITALIAN REPUBLIC: Grazzi