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{{Infobox Italian comune
| name                = Gonars
| official_name       = Comune di Gonars
| native_name         = {{native name|fur|Gonârs}}
| image_skyline       = 
| imagesize           = 
| image_alt           = 
| image_caption       = 
| image_shield        =
| shield_alt          = 
| image_map           = 
| map_alt             = 
| map_caption         = 
| pushpin_label_position = 
| pushpin_map_alt     = 
| coordinates         = {{coord|45|54|N|13|14|E|region:IT_type:city(4637)|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_footnotes = 
| region              = [[Friuli-Venezia Giulia]]
| province            = [[Province of Udine|Udine]] (UD)
| frazioni            = Ontagnano, Fauglis, Bordiga, Mulini
| mayor_party         = 
| mayor               = Ivan Diego Boemo
| area_footnotes      = 
| area_total_km2      = 19.9
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total    = 4729
| population_as_of    = 31 August 2017
| pop_density_footnotes = 
| population_demonym  = Gonaresi
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m         = 21
| twin1               = 
| twin1_country       = 
| saint               = [[Saint Canziano]]
| day                 = May 30
| postal_code         = 33050
| area_code           = 0432
| website             = {{official website|http://www.comune.gonars.ud.it}}
| footnotes           = 
| map                 =

}}
'''Gonars''' ({{langx|fur|Gonârs}}) is a town and {{lang|it|[[comune]]}} (municipality) in the [[Province of Udine|Regional decentralization entity of Udine]] in [[Friuli]], [[Friuli-Venezia Giulia]], northeastern [[Italy]]. It is located near [[Palmanova]].

==History==
===World War II===
{{See also|Gonars concentration camp}}
On 23 February 1942, the [[National Fascist Party|Fascist]] regime established a [[concentration camp]] in the town, mostly for prisoners from what is now [[Slovenia]] and [[Croatia]]. The first transport of 5,343 internees (1,643 of whom were children) arrived two days later from the [[Province of Ljubljana]] and from the [[Rab concentration camp|Rab camp]] and the camp at [[Monigo]] near [[Treviso]].

The camp was disbanded on 8 September 1943, immediately after the [[Armistice of Cassibile|Italian capitulation]]. Every effort was made to erase any evidence of it. The camp's buildings were destroyed, the materials were used to build a nearby [[preschool]], and the site was turned into a [[meadow]]. Only in 1973 was a memorial created by the [[sculpture|sculptor]] [[Miodrag Zivkovic (sculptor)|Miodrag Živković]] at the town's cemetery. The remains of 453 Slovenian and Croatian victims were transferred into its two underground [[crypt]]s. It is believed that at least 50 additional persons died in the camp due to [[starvation]] and [[torture]]. Apart from the memorial, no other evidence of the camp remains and even many locals are unaware of it.

Among the people interned in the camp were the engineer [[Aleš Strojnik]], writer [[Vitomil Zupan]], poets [[Alojz Gradnik]] and [[France Balantič]], historians [[Bogo Grafenauer]] and [[Vasilij Melik]], sculptor [[Jakob Savinšek]], playwright and essayist [[Bojan Štih]], journalist [[Ernest Petrin]], and politicians [[Anton Vratuša]], [[Boris Kraigher]], and [[France Bučar]].

==Twin cities==
* {{flagicon|Slovenia}} [[Municipality of Vrhnika|Vrhnika]], [[Slovenia]]

==Further reading==
* Alessandra Kersevan, ''Un campo di concentramento fascista. Gonars 1942-1943.'', Kappa Vu Edizioni, Udine, 2003

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060514042436/http://www.gonarsmemorial.org/ Official site of the concentration camp Memorial]}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050215220811/http://www.romacivica.net/anpiroma/deportazione/deportazionecampi1b.htm An article from Romacivica.net] {{in lang|it}}

{{Province of Udine}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities and towns in Friuli-Venezia Giulia]]
[[Category:Italian fascist internment camps in Italy]]
[[Category:World War II sites in Italy]]

{{FriuliVeneziaGiulia-geo-stub}}