The Zonderwater Italian Military Cemetery, once a well‑maintained memorial site for 277 Italian prisoners of war who died in South Africa between 1941 and 1947, has fallen into serious neglect. Repeated break-ins have left the electric fencing destroyed, the office ransacked, and the grounds largely abandoned. Thieves have removed the bronze name plaques from the graves, leaving the fallen soldiers unidentified. The museum, formerly home to the prisoners’ artwork and craftsmanship, now stands empty, with its collection stored elsewhere for safety after the alarm system was disabled.
The cemetery forms part of the history of the Zonderwater POW camp, the largest Italian prisoner-of-war camp in South Africa during the Second World War. Established near Cullinan, the camp was designed to house up to 100 000 prisoners and developed into a self-contained settlement with barracks, hospitals, schools, theatres, workshops, sports fields, and cultural institutions. After the war, many prisoners were temporarily employed on nearby farms, and some remained in South Africa, later founding the Zonderwater Ex‑POW Association in 1965 to preserve the cemetery. The Italian government supported maintenance efforts until 2020.
Since 2021, the site has been under the administration of the South African Department of Correctional Services, but the Italian consulate reports ongoing difficulties in securing and maintaining the grounds. Requests to resume management of the cemetery have been unsuccessful. The current state of decay stands in stark contrast to the historical significance of the site as a place of remembrance, cultural heritage, and shared wartime history.