German veteran Alfred Stork indicted in WWII massacre of Italians ROME, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- A German World War II veteran has been charged in Italy with taking part in the execution of 117 Italian military officers after Italy changed sides in 1943. Alfred Stork, 89, who served as a corporal in the Wehrmacht on the Greek island of Cephalonia, was indicted Friday by a military court in Rome, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. Marco De Paolis, the prosecutor in Rome, says he has evidence of Stork's involvement in the massacre. Stork allegedly told German prosecutors he was part of an execution squad. Gen. Antonio Gandin, after learning Italy had signed an armistice with the allies in September 1943, told the soldiers under his command on Cephalonia off the west coast of Greece they should follow their consciences. He said they could continue to fight with the Germans, fight against them, or surrender their weapons and remain neutral. In the next eight days, more than 1,000 Italian soldiers died fighting the Germans, 5,100 were executed after being taken prisoner and 3,000 were killed when a ship where they were held prisoner sank. "Captain Corelli's Mandolin," a 1994 novel made into a movie seven years later, was based on the events on Cephalonia. The Italian news agency Adnkronos reported the case against Stork will go forward Dec. 19.