Ahead of the 100th birthday of one of the last Nazi criminals alive, calls have grown in Italy for him to finally apologise for his role in the massacre of more than 300 people in caves outside Rome at the end of World War II. Erich Priebke, who turns 100 on Monday, was sentenced to life in prison in 1998 for his role in the 1944 Ardeatine caves massacre, in which 335 people, including 75 Jews, were executed by the Nazis as a reprisal for a deadly partisan attack on German soldiers.
The partisans killed 33 soldiers and Adolf Hitler is reported to have given the order for 10 Italians to be shot for every dead German, or 330 in all. In the end 335 people were killed and Priebke was accused not only of taking part in the executions, but also for giving the order to kill the five extra people who were rounded up. After the war, Priebke fled to Argentina where he lived until Italy requested his extradition in 1995. He was put on trial, convicted and handed a life sentence in 1998.
The following year, he pleaded poor health and old age and was given permission to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest. The fact that he has never apologised for the massacre and the relatively lax conditions of his house arrest - he can leave the house under escort - have for years been condemned by relatives of his victims.
A party held in the countryside to celebrate Priebke's 90th birthday sparked particular anger. "I really hope nothing similar will take place this time: it would be an offense not only to his victims but to all Holocaust victims," leftist deputy Sergio Boccadutri said.
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