p
109188
INSIDE ROME
WITH THE GERMANS
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY"
NEW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO DALLAS
ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
LONDON ' BOMBAY * CALCUTTA MADRAS
MELBOURNE
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
OF CANADA, LIMITED
TORONTO
INSIDE ROMS
WITH
THE GERMANS
By JANE SCRIVENER
O Roma nobilis
Orbis et domina
Cunctarum urbium
Excellentissima.
Ancient pilgrim chant
NEW YORK
THE MACMBLLAN COMPANY
1945
Copyright, 1945, by
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
All rights reserved no part of this book
may be reproduced in any form without
permission in writing from the publisher,
except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief
passages in connection with a review written
for inclusion in magazine or newspaper.
Second Printing.
A WARTIME BOOK
TRII COMFUTX JUtttOH B nOOQCXB
m FULL COMPLIANCE VTJTH TOW GOTO*.
MINT'S MCUtATX*fS FOR COfOTHVINO
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OP
To E. C. H.
I promised to write this diary for you.
Here it is, with love.
FOREWORD
By CARLTON J. H. HAYES
Late American Ambassador to Spain
How fortunate that among the very few Americans who re-
mained in Rome throughout the war there was an alert and
talented lady who had a literary flair and kept a diary! She
writes under the pseudonym of Jane Scrivener, but this, as I
shall presently explain, is the only "pseudo" thing about it.
It is an eyewitness account, as authentic as it is vivid.
As background, one may recall that Mussolini and his Fascists,
in concert with Hitler, had plunged Italy into war against
France and Great Britain in June, 1940, and against the United
States in December, 1941. By the spring of 1943 Italy was over-
whelmed by misfortunes at home and abroad. Axis rout in
North Africa was being followed by Allied invasion of Sicily,
while within Italy the masses of the population were suffering
intensely and Mussolini had become a mere puppet of the Ger-
mans who already occupied and terrorized the country.
"Jane Scrivener" was an old friend of my wife and myself,
and while we were in Spain we received letters from her giving
us lively impressions of what was transpiring in Rome. She
described with special vigor the Allied air attack of July 19,
1943 the efficacious bombing of railway yards and freight
station, the wrecking of a populous workingman's quarter, the
ripping up of a cemetery, the demolishing of the famous did
basilica of St. Lawrence-Outside-the-Walk She conveyed a
sense of the thrill of horror that immediately ran througfc the
city, of the increasing tension of the ensuing "hot July days,**
and of the historic character of the tea-hour session of the Fascist
Council on July 24th and the King's announcement two days
later that Mussolini had been dismissed and Marshal Badoglio
[vii]
was prime minister. Of the scene on this day, she wrote: "The
joy of the Italians on being rid of Fascism gives Rome a carnival
air. Torn fragments of Mussolini's portraits lie like snow on the
pavements. People laugh and talk in the streets as they have
not done for years. Perfect strangers greet and congratulate
one another. 'Now we can say what we like, with no fear of
spies/ they joyously exclaim. Fascist emblems are hacked from
public buildings to the accompaniment of cheers and applause.
The city is covered with posters: 'Ewiva il Re!' 'Evviva Bado-
glio!* 'Evviva la liberta!' Rome, in her long history, has never
known quite such a day."
Forty-five days passed, and on September 8, 1943, Marshal
Badoglio concluded the armistice with the Allies. But this did
not mean the delivery of Rome. Quite the opposite. It was the
Germans and not the Italians who were in effective military
control of the city, and the Germans had no intention of sur-
rendering it or treating it as an "open city." Nor were the
Allies in any position then, or for a long time afterwards, to
liberate Rome. For months their offensive bogged down many
miles south. It was not until June 5, 1944, after a lapse of nine
frightful months, that "Jane Scrivener" saw in Rome the first
Allied soldiers four American boys in a jeep and knew that
at long last the Eternal City was free and secure.
It is the day-to-day events of those nine months from the
Armistice of September, 1943, to the Allied arrival in June,
1944, which the diary, now published, records. They were
months of dreadful suspense, of alternating hope and despair,
and of steadily increasing misery. Food and fuel grew ever
scarcer, while refugees and escaped war prisoners overcrowded
the cold, hungry city. Looting and assassination, and dire Nazi
reprisals, added to the terror and havoc wrought by Allied
bombs which missed their military targets. And occasionally,
amid so much tragedy, the occupying Germans unwittingly
provided a comic touch.
All this is depicted in "Jane Scrivener's" diary with imme-
diacy and spontaneity, and with an excellent eye for both fact
and form. Appropriately depicted, too, is the role of the Pope
and the Vatican as Rome's bulwarks during the whole trying
time. The Vatican found food for the starving. It eased physical
[* >.
vrn]
and spiritual hardships. It guarded treasures of literature and
art. Pope Pius XII stood forth against the Nazis as, centuries
earlier, Pope Leo I had stood forth and saved Rome against
Attila and the Huns.
For an understanding of the Pope's position vis-a-vis the Nazi
forces in Rome, and of the diary's frequent references to it,
one should bear in mind that the Lateran Treaty which the
Italian Government had concluded with the Holy See on Feb-
ruary 11, 1929, and which therefore was binding in international
law, accorded to the Pope certain temporal rights and jurisdiction
in Rome. Consequently, when the Germans took full and un-
disguised military possession of the city in 1943, they were
obliged not only to repress local agents and supporters of the
Italian Government of Marshal Badoglio, which they could do
with their armies and police, but also to deal with a Pope against
whom they hesitated to employ force and yet whom they dis-
covered to be adamant about his rights.
By the terms of the Lateran Treaty, that part of Rome which
comprised the Vatican and St. Peter's the so-called Vatican City
was an independent sovereign state of the Pope's; and in it,
throughout the war, resided diplomatic representatives of almost
all the United Nations as well as of the Axis. But this was not all.
In addition, the Treaty provided for papal governance, through
the international usage of "extraterritoriality," of a considerable
number of properties in Rome and its environs outside of Vatican
City. These included the basilicas of St. John Lateran, St. Paul's-
Outside-the-Walls, and St. Mary Major, together with all build-
ings connected with them; the palace of St. Calixtus in Traste-
vere; the papal summer residence and farms at Castel Gandolfo;
the Augustinian college of Santa Monica and other buildings on
the Janiculum; the old Church of St. Michael and its neighboring
convent; the Jesuit headquarters and house of retreats; the Col-
lege of the Propaganda; the church and convent of St. Onofrio;
the Bambin Gesu hospital; the Ukrainian and Rumanian col-
leges; the palaces of the Chancery and the Datary in the center
of Rome; that of the Propagation of the Faith in the Piazza di
Spagna; that of the Holy Office near St. Peter's; the Vicariat in
the Via della Pigna; and "Raphael's House" in the Via delk
Condliazkwae.
Besides these "extraterritorial" properties, certain others were
stipulated in the Lateran Treaty as being free from expropriation
because owned by the Holy See, although otherwise subject to
the jurisdiction of the Italian State. These were the buildings
attached to the basilica of the Twelve Apostles and to the
churches of St. Andrew and St. Charles; the Gregorian Univer-
sity; the Biblical, Archaeological, and Oriental Institutes; the
Russian Seminary; the Lombard College; the two palaces of St.
Apoilinarius; and the House of Retreats of Saints John and Paul.
The papal properties, thus scattered all over Rome, made it
no easier for the Nazis there. Indeed, had it not been for the
Lateran Treaty and the Vatican's neutrality during the war,
the German occupation might have been much worse than it
was both for the anti-Fascist Italians and for the Allies. "Neu-
trality on the part of the Pope," the author of the diary has
written, "did not signify any sympathy by him for Fascism or
Nazism. These totalitarian doctrines already stood condemned,
(a) by the moral law, which he constantly preached, and (b)
by such specific papal encyclicals as Non Abbiamo Bisogno and
I/Lit Brennender Sorge. It has always been the policy of the
Holy See to observe neutrality towards whatever Power might
have effective military control of the city of Rome, in order to
maintain contact with its own representatives abroad and with
the Catholic hierarchy in all parts of the world. It was only
because of this neutrality that the Pope was able to carry on
multitudinous good works for suffering mankind during the
course of the war, works which ranged from supplying war
prisoners everywhere, regardless of race or nationality, with ma-
terial and spiritual help, to providing aid for devastated areas and
feeding the starving in Rome* (When the Allies entered the
city, the Holy See was furnishing daily meals for 15,000.) For
the well-being of Christian peoples, the Holy See has always
negotiated even with the worst pagan rulers."
A few final words about "Jane Scrivener" herself. Her pseu-
donym should not arouse any apprehension. I have known her
and her family for a goodly number of years. She is an American
citizen and a cultivated lady, who has engaged in numerous
educational activities in Europe, especially in France and Italy.
For many years she has lived in Rome, and I remember weu,
when I was last there in the spring of 1938 how disgusted
and ironical she was about* the preparations then being made by
Mussolini to welcome Hitler on a visit to the capital of Christen-
dom*
She is a staunch American, as the diary amply demonstrates.
She is also a Catholic religious, and it is this fact which explains
her remaining in Rome during the war and her having the
intimate knowledge which she has recorded. She knows her
Rome thoroughly, and she has had many contacts through the
religious house where she lived, and likewise through the Vatican
where she worked on "prisoners* relief/* Every night she would
write what in the daytime her attentive eyes and ears had learned.
She began and continued the day-to-day writing in her diary
without any thought of its ever being published. But the parts
of it which she put in personal letters to my wife, and managed
to get through to Spain, so fascinated us that we urged her to
let the public have access to the whole story. She finally agreed,
and despatched the manuscript by special courier from Rome to
Madrid, whence I brought it to the United States, I am delighted
that it now becomes available to the many who, I feel sure, will
find it a most interesting and illuminating "inside** story of cru-
cial war months in Rome.
Wednesday September 8, 1943
We have seen and heard many things these days. Here is my
diary for what it is worth.
The whole city shuddered with fear of a repetition of the
bombings of July and August when, at midday today, the siren
wailed and the boom and thud of distant explosions were heard.
However, word soon went round that it was Frascati, as the
attack was clearly visible from the Janiculum. Of course for
months the Castelli had been overflowing with German troops,
and sooner or later were bound to be bombed. This, then, was
it. Flying fortresses poured explosives on all the neighbouring
townlets: Albano, Marino, Castel Gandolfo, Lanuvio, Genzano,
Velletri, Ciampino and its airport, but most of all on FrascatL
It went on for an hour and ten minutes, and at the end of that
time Frascati lay in ruins. Dear, ancient, crowded, noisy, gay
little Frascati was wiped out. One thousand of its inhabitants
lay dead, as against 150 Germans. Was it worth it? Marshal
Kesselring, the German commander in chief, crawled from under
the ruins of his quarters unharmed. Yes, they got that house
too. The Cathedral, the square in front of it, Cardinal of York's
fountain and the shops surrounding it, the church of Gesu and
that of St. Roch, several convents, the bank, the Bishop's palace
and the Salesians' big school at Villa Sora suffered severely. The
historic villas, Frascati's most aristocratic feature, were nearly
all damaged. The famous Jesuit College at Villa Mondragone was
out of the line of the attack, so members of the community there,
together with the Salesians and the Catnaldolese from Tusculum,
came down into the town, dug survivors out of the wreckage and
buried the dead. The buildings around Piazza Roma where the
railway and tram terminus used to be were swept away, as weH
as the three hotels, the Roma, the Tusculum, and the Park,
Desolation and a thick cloud of white dust settled on Frascati,
as the departing planes were lost in the blue. It is gone, and
[1]
forever, I think; gone with its dark little shops, its grocers and
bakers, its umbrella mender who also sold mousetraps, its one
electrician and its solitary watchmaker (who always said "a
Roma 39 when you wanted anything), its hard- working winter
population, its patient postmistress, its swarms of school children
and its crowds of riotous villeggianti in summer. It is all silent
and dead. There it lies. The wreckage of war.
At half past seven the news of the armistice broke. The Roman
radio broadcast Eisenhower's statement and Badoglio's short
dignified address to the Italian people. Armistice! A sigh of relief
went up from the crowds around the loud-speakers. Then a
pause. People looked at each other questioningly Armistice or
Armageddon? What about the Germans? In country places, such
as Cori, up in the hills, where there were no Germans, the re-
joicings knew no bounds; bonfires were lit, and the peasants and
village folk rioted to their heart's content. But Rome was quiet.
Martial law was still in force, and by 9.30 the streets were de-
serted. But there were plenty of celebrations indoors. In more
than one place the health of the Allies was drunk. The Germans
in the city lay low that night, distinctly apprehensive; there
were not many of them, and they awaited orders.
Thursday September 9th
One awoke with a stab of anxiety. True, the burden of thirty-
eight long months of war had been lifted, but what would the
day bring forth?
News came in hectic gusts hour by hour. In the papers there
was a chorus of approval of Badoglio's measures. The German
radio let loose a flood of invective against the "vile treason of
the Italians." People overflowing with optimism began to talk
English freely on the telephone. Yes, it was all over. The Italians
would have to hold out for just one week and then the Allies
would be here; they had dropped leaflets to that effect. Every-
thing was lovely. Suddenly we heard the booming of big guns.
'The British fleet off Ostia," said friends who had come in to
discuss the situation. "No, it's the Germans blowing up their
ammunition dumps because they can't take it away with them."
But are they? It is strange to be in the heart of these things and
E2]
to know really nothing about them. The radio makes no allusion
to them.
In the afternoon it clouded over, and the morning's optimism
clouded over too. By 3 P.M. shops were shutting uncannily.
Afraid of looting? But by whom? The Italians aren't going to
start that, surely? And the Germans? But they say the garrison
of Rome is strong, and then there's Cadorna with his whole divi-
sion out at Bracciano. Surely the Germans are well in hand? . . .
By six, knots of people collected in the streets and word went
round in horrified whispers that the Germans were marching
into Rome. "They are at Ponte Milvio." "They're in Piazza San
Giovanni/' A lot of Italian soldiers hastily put on civilian clothes.
The Roman barracks were evacuated. Rumour said that Badoglio
had escaped from Rome and had sent his daughter to Switzer-
land. Civilians went home and shut the great doors of their
houses those portoni y the characteristic feature of Italian build-
ings, which serve them in the office of a wall or as a moat defen-
sive to a house, and dose their porte-cocheres hermetically.
10 P.M. The siren: sinister, depressing. Then bombs. So that
was the German answer to the armistice. Thud. Thud. Thud. On
Rome. Near the University; near the Vatican City in Via Sisto
Quinto; near Via Cassia and near the Madonna del Riposo. In
half an hour it was over, and the silence of the streets was broken
only by rifle and revolver shots. Rome slept as best it could.
Friday September 10th
The 8 o'clock broadcast announced that Badoglio had placed
General Caviglia in command of the city. He is a man past sev-
enty, upright, incorruptible, capable and universally admired
and respected; as a non-Fascist he used to be suggested as the
only possible substitute for Mussolini in the days when anti-
Fascism was living underground. One felt confident that, with
him, all would be well.
Guns sound in the far distance. Some German soldiers pass
down Via dei Mille, handcuffed and under guard. So much the
better. It seems that the Gran&tieri met oocoming Germans out
near La Cecchignola on the Via Ardeatma. Ve knew that in the
[3]
open country beyond La Cecchignola, there had been a large
German camp for over a year.
By 1 1 o'clock it was made known that Caviglia had negotiated
with the Germans for their withdrawal to a point farther north,
and that they would, in consequence, not enter Rome. Excellent.
We should now be free of them without further fighting. Every-
body was hopeful. One knew that Caviglia would manage them.
How wise of Badoglio to have appointed him. The firing died
down in the distance.
By midday St. Peter's was shut. When, in the memory of man,
had it been shut in the daytime? Still, of course it was wise.
If a panic-stricken crowd had rushed into it for protection,
the situation might well have become complicated. It looked
very desolate. The same with the Vatican City: Porta Santa
Anna was hermetically closed. At the Arco delle Campane gate
a Swiss with businesslike rifle and bayonet, instead of his medie-
val pike, guarded the entrance; in like manner there was one
at the closed Portone di Bronzo. Palatine Guards reinforced the
Swiss, who are not very numerous. The commander of the Noble
Guard placed six of his men on duty night and day, in turns,
near the Pope's person, and a number of them moved into resi-
dence in the Vatican so as to be close at hand, as anything might
happen in the little Pontifical State.
At 1 o'clock, the siren again. The siren? Yes, the siren. But
we thought Bombs seemed to fall close beside us. Then the
whistle and thud of shells echoed over the city. It was unmis-
takable: they were using artillery and shelling the heights of
Rome. Roman artillery answered from the Aventine, the Pal-
atine, the Caelian, the Janiculum, the Pincian. A German shell
screeched across Ponte Cavour and crashed into the Palazzo di
Giustizia. Via Frattina, the Trinita, S. Maria della Pace were also
hit. On the line of the Tiber, at San Gregorio, on the hills, Italian
gunners were hard at work.
By degrees the fighting moved in from the country, down Via
Ardeatina and Via Laurentina, past Tre Fontane, and neared
St. Paul's. Machine guns, rifles and hand grenades came into
play. When the fight was hottest, wounded men were carried
into Santa Sabina, the great Dominican convent on the Aventine.
Italian soldiers appeared in disorder, straggling in along the
[4]
Lungotevere, dusty, hungry and bedraggled. But there were
no officers. The men reported that their officers said: "We have
no more ammunition. Do what you can for yourselves, boys,**
and left them. As might have been expected, the Germans had
used their negotiations with Caviglia as a blind, and instead of
withdrawing, advanced firing on the Italians. They had also
obtained possession of the cipher used in giving army orders to
Italian officers, and a large number of the latter received instruc-
tions not to fight if they met the Germans; others were directed
to present themselves at headquarters in mufti. The men were
ready to fight the oncoming Germans, but they were not led.
This elimination of officers was characteristic of German meth-
ods; it was achieved principally by their Fifth Column in Rome.
The Roman artillerymen, however, knowing nothing of what
had happened at Cecchignola, replied fiercely for nearly two
hours when the Germans shelled the city. Armoured cars rushed
through the streets to meet the enemy, only to be turned back at
the gates.
But it was merely outside Porto San Paolo that the treacherous
orders were obeyed. Inside the city fighting went on practically
everywhere. The Hotel Continental, near the station, was at-
tacked by Italian troops and civilians armed with machine guns,
and defended by Fascists and Germans firing from the windows.
Observers crowded roofs and terraces. On the narrow gallery
at the top of the tall bell tower of San Camillo, a slender figure
was visible outlined against the sky. In his dark cassock, with the
vivid red cross on his breast, that Camittmo priest stood watch-
ing, watching, and praying; he seemed the embodiment of a
guardian spirit mourning over the strife below.
A ferocious encounter took place near the Ministry of the
Interior in Via Agostino Depretis, with Fascists and Germans
inside, Italians attacking from the street. Near the Circus Max-
imus a platoon of Germans took advantage of the newly con-
structed tunnel for the underground railway, dived into it and
emerged at the Colosseum, only to find resolute Italians at the
other end, awaiting them with hand genades and revolvers.
It all recalled those lines in Le Cid when the hero is describing
their battle against the Moors, in the dark:
[5]
Et chacun sevl temoin des grands coups qu'il donnait
Ne pouvait discerner ou le sort inclinait.
Certainly the isolated groups engaged in the disorderly struggle
knew nothing of what was happening to the others. Blood ran
in the streets near the railway station, particularly in Via Massimo
d'Azeglio and Via Cavour, as well as in Via Nazionale, Via del
Tritone, Piazza Venezia and Corso Umberto Primo. Wherever
Germans were seen they were set upon. Clashes were violent
in the old Trastevere, home of violence in all ages. "When it had
subsided somewhat an old Trasteverino stooped over a dead body,
looked about helplessly, then went across the street and com-
mandeered a fruit seller's handcart, laboriously placed the corpse
on it and wheeled it off to the nearest hospital. Many handcarts
in Rome today were used in a like manner.
Armoured cars seemed to be everywhere at the same time,
some manned by Italians, some by Germans, and all of them
firing. The whole thing was a mixture of riot, civil war, real
war and anarchy. Shops were shut and doors were closed, but
that did not prevent looting, particularly along the line of march
between Porta San Paolo and the Circus Maximus. The Central
Market was stripped bare. Over in the Testaccio quarter store-
houses were broken open, and not only did the Germans them-
selves loot, but they encouraged the bewildered populace to
follow their example. Some of them took photographs of the
poor creatures carrying away cheeses and parcels of pasta. Worse
still, they broke open the wine cellars beneath the Testaccio hill,
drank all they wanted, and then invited the public to do the
same. The submerged tenth flocked to the spot with cans, bottles,
saucepans, anything that would hold liquid, and took full ad-
vantage of the opportunity. Two Dominican Fathers who
happened to be passing tried to summon the police by telephone
but, as might have been expected, no police were forthcoming.
They had taken cover indoors. The two priests did what they
could, unaided, to stem the tide of theft and drunkenness; and,
strange to say, their words were listened to and they went home
unharmed
The Germans, at last, in rather straggling formation, marched
down Via dei Trionfi, past the Arch of Constantine and down
Via del Impero to Piazza di Venezia, where machine guns had
been barking all afternoon. Another detachment of them came
in by Porta San Giovanni, and down Via Merulana. They
passed beneath the walls of St. John Lateran, making toward
St. Mary Major's (Santa Maria Maggiore), and I think those
ancient walls remembered old unhappy far-off things, very like
those of today: Guiscard's Normans wrecking that neighbour-
hood in 1084, and Bourbon's Lutheran hordes in 1527, were
after all, not so very unlike Hitler's Huns riding in on their
tanks and lorries, driving the defeated Romans before them as
they went.
Unconscious of what had really taken place, university stu-
dents dashed through the streets shouting: "Come on to Piazza
Colonna, to cheer for our men!" When they got there they
found themselves looking into the muzzles of machine guns.
Rome was occupied.
During the fighting in Piazza S. Maria Maggiore a priest was
wounded and was carried into the Oriental Institute, which is
directed by the Jesuits. Rumour went quickly round that "they"
had shot a Jesuit.
By six everything was ominously quiet. Shops and houses
were shut. There was no traffic except an occasional swif dy mov-
ing German car. People collected in little knots everywhere in
the streets, dismayed, depressed, wondering almost in whispers
what would happen next. Some had seen the fighting, some
had stayed indoors for safety and had seen nothing. Each group
had for centre one who professed to know what had really
happened. Here and there the speaker was a bedraggled and
hungry soldier, telling the tale of betrayal His hearers made
little comment. What was there to say? They had been tricked,
and now the city was occupied. A nightmare had come true.
What would it all mean? Anything was possible. Darkness fell
and they went home dejectedly.
About seven o'clock we had news by telephone that an "agree-
ment" had been made with the Germans, under the terms of
which they were to remain outside Rome with the exception
of three places only, which they would occupy. The places T^ese:
the German Embassy, the Roman bircadcastiag station, and tU
German telephone plant. They furthermore recognized Rocae
as an "open city," whatever that might mean. It all sounded
better, and hope flickered up for a moment. Perhaps they might
really retreat farther north; there isn't any particularly good
line of defence near here, and they have already made two in
the north, one from Ancona to Pistoia and the other on the Po.
Yes, perhaps they would.
Again all night long we heard rifle shots in the streets.
Saturday September llth
It was like a city of the dead. No shops open. No policemen
about anywhere. No one going to work. No buses. No trams,
or rather, the trams, a weird sight, were there motionless and
empty, standing on their tracks exactly where they were yester-
day when the siren sounded. Rome had been stunned and did
not react. The shining exceptions to the general state of apathy
were the bakers, who, out of sheer public spirit and on their
own responsibility, opened up and made bread; somewhat late,
but still by dinner time, there was the usual meagre ration of
150 grammes of bread for everyone. Those who had no provi-
sions in reserve went hungry, for the looting of the Central
Market and the closing of all the shops made food unprocurable
all that day.
There were no street-cleaners with their brooms and hoses;
and pathetic pools of blood lay on the pavement, blackening
in the hot sunlight. The city was left to its own devices. During
the morning, however, animosity roused itself and shooting
began again in the streets. German soldiers who were sniped
from windows retaliated with machine guns, particularly in Via
Nazionale, Via del Tritone, again near the Ministry of the In-
terior and near the Station. Torn awnings, smashed brickwork,
piles of loose plaster and broken glass testified to the violence
of the clashes. More looting went on. Most people kept indoors.
At 1 o'clock the Roman radio, now German-controlled of
course, broadcast the following:
Yesterday an armistice was agreed upon by the commanders of the
German and Italian troops in the Roman area. Since then the behaviour
of Italian soldiers has been such that the following measures have been
taken:
1 It is forbidden to carry arms. Soldiers bearing them will be arrested
and disarmed.
2 Anyone killing a German soldier will be shot. Otherwise the armis-
tice remains in force.
So it was an armistice. Or wasn't it?
In the afternoon two newspapers appeared on single sheets:
the Giornale d'ltalia and the Avvenire* They carried a proclama-
tion which repeated the conditions of die "armistice," and
ordered all soldiers, of whatever rank, to report at their barracks
within twenty-four hours, bringing their weapons with them and
all civilians to deliver any firearms in their possession at the
nearest police station immediately, and reminded them that
obedience to the military authorities must be prompt and abso-
lute. Court-martial would follow breaches of these orders. The
document was signed "General Calvi di Bergolo," and was
posted everywhere.
Calvi di Bergolo? Where was Caviglia? Caviglia, on whom
we had placed our hopes was he done away with already? And
as for the Germans occupying only those three places in Rome
the German Embassy, the German telephone central and the
Italian broadcasting station well, it was just silly, as well as
treacherous, to say so. The whole city was swarming with them.
They were going about in armoured cars with machine guns
pointed significantly at the passers-by, and on foot with revolvers
and rifles and a swaggering air. There were men from the
air force, infantrymen, gunners, Afrika Korps, S.S. men and
railway men too. German engine drivers had been hastily brought
in because the commanders did not trust the Italian ones. And
they were right, because nothing could please an Italian mechanic
better than to drive his locomotive with a load of Germans be-
hind it straight off the rails. They kept the Italian brakemen,
however; but these had already made their plans. As soon as
the Allies should be within striking distance of Rome there
would no longer be any Italian brakemen on the trains; they
would have vanished only to reappear when the Allies would
need their services. It was all nicely organized.
Calvi di Bergolo is the husband of Princess Yolanda of Savoy,
eldest daughter of the King of Italy. He is a fine shot, an ex-
cellent horseman and a good cavalry officer, but a strong pto-
Nazi. It was obvious that he had been made responsible for
order in Rome on account of his German sympathies. His picture
appeared in the papers, three-quarter-face, looking back over
his shoulder* "To hide his German decoration/* was the general
verdict. He had an infantry division at his command with which
to keep order. The Germans had not gone to the length of putting
their own men on police duty. But whoever might be in com-
mand or not in command, no police showed themselves today.
By evening there was another set of placards on the walls.
The placards were making news. This one was even more arrest-
ing than Calvi di Bergolo's. It was signed "Feldmaresciallo
Kesselring," and ran as follows:
1 The Italian territory under my command is declared to be war
territory. It is subject throughout to German martial law.
2 Any crime committed in this territory against German armed forces,
will be punished according to German martial law.
3 Those organizing strikes or sabotage, as well as snipers, will be shot
immediately.
4 Italian workers who will volunteer for German service will be
treated according to German principles and will be paid according
to the German scale of wages.
5 The Italian Ministers and Justices will remain in office.
6 Until further orders private correspondence is suspended. All tele-
phone conversations should be as brief as possible, and they will
be strictly supervised.
7 Italian civil authorities and organizations are responsible to me for
the maintenance of public order. They will prevent all acts of
sabotage and of passive resistance to German measures, and they
will co-operate fully with the German organizations.
The curfew will continue to be at 9.30 P.M.
So that was that. It was well to know. No letters, incoming
or outgoing, and they would listen in on our phone calls. No. 5
meant that no quislings had been put in office yet. But prob-
ably it wouldn't be long before they were. There was also a
notice in the papers to the effect that efforts were being made
to bring food into the city; but the shops stayed shut and the
Romans stayed hungry. An "agreement" and two proclamations
in one day gave much food for thought, but none for the body.
In the preamble to his proclamation Calvi di Bergolo had
[10]
referred to Rome officially as an "open city." Perhaps it would
keep us from being bombed, and again perhaps it wouldn't.
How soon might the Allies be here, coming up from Cosenza,
or making a landing somewhere? Conservative opinion said about
two weeks. Could we manage to stick it out for all that time?
There was no alternative.
We heard that Italian officers had already been arrested by
the Germans and put in prison or in concentration camps. The
men had been disarmed and told to go home until further
orders. Army officers who had been arrested in Rome were
offered their freedom on parole not to leave the city. It was
perfectly clear what was afoot. How would it work? Life was
apparently going to be punctuated with notes of interrogation.
Sunday September 12th
The day dawned hot and damp, with a white mist covering
the city as if to stifle its angry dismay. It was one of those regular
September mists like a fleecy blanket, above which emerged
the dome of St. Peter's and the pylons of the broadcasting station
symbolizing the fusion of old and new above the cloud, to
bring about a happier future. But for us, the present was just
chaos.
Last night Hitler made a wild "proclamation" saying that he
had the whole of the Italian army in his hands; and that Italy
would pay dearly for her base betrayal.
A plane or two drifted lazily across the sky, going nowhere
in particular it would seem, but merely to show that they were
there. They were German, of course.
By midday a few newspapers were on sale. They were interest-
ing mainly for the blanks in their columns made by last-minute
censorship. The Popolo di Roma, in the uncensored scraps of an
editorial, spoke eloquent praise of the men in the street. It said:
Today, at last, the town authorities are moving. For four days we
have witnessed an extraordinary phenomenon: that of the Rjonoaa people
governing themselves, in the old classical sense of the verb **to govern.**
The feeling of civic responsibility has shown itself in inverse proportion
to the eminence of the individuals. The more lowly the townsman and
the more unofficial his character, the more initiative he showed, "We
[in
refer particularly to the bakers who baked, and the staffs of papers who
published some news for the bewildered public. We say "some news"
because its paucity was lamentable. The citizens of Rome have deserved
well of their country.
For once, there was truth in what the Popolo di Roma said.
A new proclamation by Calvi di Bergolo appeared in heavy
type in a "box" on the front pages of the papers. It ran:
A MESSAGE TO THE ROMAN PEOPLE:
Romans, as commander of the
open city of Rome, I hereby confirm my previous proclamation. Be
calm and confident. The times through which we are passing are both
serious and painful for all of us, but they might easily become more so,
should your sense of responsibility and your patriotism waver. The
authorities are doing all in their power to restore normal conditions in
the city. I am dealing with the food problem. The public service will
be regularly resumed. Each one of you should remain at his post and
do his duty without unjustified anxiety.
People shrugged their shoulders. His intentions were good. It
was a gesture. But did it mean anything? Mainly, it seemed to
mean "Don't shoot the Germans." And that was just what they
couldn't stop doing. Certainly there was some justification for
it. In Via Veneto, in front of the Hotel Excelsior, a German
tried to take a motor cycle away from an Italian soldier. The
latter resisted, whereupon the German discharged his revolver
into the petrol tank. The Italian fired at him and several other
Italian and German soldiers having come up, the fight became
general. It was stopped only by the arrival of some officers.
Pedestrians fled down side streets as armoured cars rattled to
the spot.
Monday September 1 3th
There were, if possible, even longer faces in the streets today
than yesterday. Radio and newspapers proclaimed that Mussolini
had been freed from prison by Hitler's parachutists. Anyone
who thought, as the Germans did, that at die name of Mussolini
Italy would rally again to the Fascist standard, ought to have
seen those faces. They showed not so much anger or resentment
as plain disgust. Mussolini and his party were finished forever on
July 25th, and no amount of galvanizing would raise the Fascist
corpse to life. The whole thing is cordially hated. Yet there
was some anxiety as to what violence might be encouraged
by the Germans on the part of a few tough Fascists who had
been hiding since July. They were ready to hand as willing in-
struments.
A few shops begin to open here and there; some food is on
sale but not much. There are no police about. Rome is getting
used to regulating its own traffic and keeping its own order, at
least during the daytime. At night it is different. There was
plenty of shooting in the streets last night, together with ex-
plosions of hand grenades.
The Germans are all over the town, and they have begun
looting in earnest. They stop people in the street and take their
jewels, rings, chains, watches and money from them at the
muzzle of a revolver. They are also stealing bicycles and motor
cars. They simply stop the cyclist or motorist, take the machine
and leave the owner afoot. There is no redress. Their attitude is:
"Well, and what are you going to do about it?" They alone are
armed. It will be death for anyone else to be found with any
weapons now, as there are orders for them to be given up to the
authorities. The Germans surpassed themselves when they stopped
Mgr. Rossignani (formerly secretary of the Pope when he was
Cardinal Pacelli) and took the motor car he was driving. The
Pope's physician, Dr. Galeazzi-Lisi, was wounded in the head
by a German machine gun, when he was on his way to visit his
patients. Duca Aquarone's magnificent villa was thoroughly
looted last night; he is the Comptroller of the King's household
and reputed tQ be one of tike three (together with Grandi and
Badoglio) who persuaded the King to have Mussolini arrested.
He escaped with the King.
As a gesture toward keeping order, an Italian infantry regi-
ment is camping in the Villa Borghese under the command of
General Cappdlini, but it seems to be more ornamental than
useful.
G. came in this morning to warn us that a rmaoor is going
round that 100 English people had been arrested and sent ofi to
unknown destinations it's ugly if it's true, but one never
knows. The Germans are masters here, and can do what they
like. A good many arrests will probably be made.
People are going back to work, by degrees. The trams and
buses are running, heavily overloaded possibly by the people
whose cars and bicycles have been stolen.
The King and Badoglio are at Palermo, and the latter has
directed the Italians, by radio, to join actively with the Allies in
every way possible.
Yesterday St. Peter's was opened after remaining shut for
two days. It was a relief for the Romans when they saw the big
gates of the portico thrown back once more.
This morning a perfectly new type of khaki uniform appeared
in the streets. The wearers carried Tommy guns, and wore tropi-
cal helmets. "The Americans are here!" The news ran through
the city, and was even telephoned by friends. For the moment
optimism was uppermost. But the matter was soon explained.
The P.A.I. (Polizia Africa Italiana, Italian African Police),
being a fine body of men highly trained and out of a job, had
been called in to help in the policing of the city. Hope died again.
Tuesday September 14th
The days continue to be very hot. After a long spell of
drought there still seems to be no hope of rain, and this long-
drawn-out heat makes everything else more trying; it seems
so unnecessary, in a way.
Last night the head of one of the great Roman families,
famous for his charities and his uprightness, was attacked in
his own palace. The fact that he never joined the Fascist party
made him the object of their hatred. German soldiers, 1 led by
a Fascist, broke open the door of his apartment with the butts
of their rifles and forced their way past the servant who tried
to stop them. He and his family escaped through another door
with only a few seconds leeway. In this case the German soldiers
were genuine, in some others they have been Fascists disguised
in German uniforms.
The situation all round is still very obscure. The press is
gagged; pro-German editors have been appointed for all the
papers. German commands have been established all over the
city. They are also beginning to name new "commissioners"
instead of the Ministers. M., who is on the staff at the Ministry
for Foreign Affairs, went to his office in Palazzo Chigi as usual
yesterday, and was met on the staircase by a squad of German
soldiers who tried to arrest him, saying that the Ministry was
occupied. He doubled back and escaped by a private staircase.
General Stahel is in command of the German forces in Rome;
he is under Kesselring, who commands in "Central and Southern"
Italy. Rommel commands in the North. Both Stahel's and Kessel-
ring's signatures come out on the decrees which are continually
posted on the walls of Rome. Some of these documents are
printed both in German and in Italian. One wonders why. They
apply only to Italians, who don't know German and wouldn't
learn it if they were paid to do so.
The evening papers carry a statement of Stahel's saying that
"Requisitions and sequestrations in the city of Rome" not
"open city" this time "are only permitted on exhibition of a
written document of authorization, signed by the German Com-
mand." Perhaps the rank and file overdid their highway robberies.
The "Command" has, by now, taken practically every motor
tire in Rome (when they have not taken the cars themselves)
and all the bicycles they require, for the present.
Stahel has also issued another proclamation today stating
that, after the armistice signed by Badoglio followed by the
usual vituperation of the latter the German armed forces had
assumed the protection of Italian soil, that "criminal elements"
had opposed this action of theirs, but that "order being now
re-established" the Italian authorities under General Calvi di
Bergolo were henceforward responsible for the surrender of all
weapons possessed by the people of Rome. "Therefore, after
midnight on September 1 5th, anyone found in possession of arms
will be shot." In concluding he remarked that "these disorders"
had "imperilled innocent lives as well as the food supply of die
city.*' Would he really cut off all food, if people continued to
snipe Germans?
The Jews are in a panic, and trying to leave the city. They
fear being sent to Germany as hostages. No one is safe. Nothing
is certain. We might as wefl be back in the Dark Ages,
[15]
And down there ours are edging their way north of Salerno,
they really be here in a few days?
Wednesday September Uth
The town is, on the whole, quieter, and there seems to be some
hope of food, green vegetables, if nothing else, after a week
without them. They say that the Germans are getting no sup-
plies from the Vaterland and so must live on us. That being
true, the outlook is fairly grim. Certainly they have looted
enough food shops already, both officially and unofficially. Al-
though this wholesale theft is in no way amusing, it'has a funny
side occasionally, or rather, the humourous aspect of it is pro-
vided by appalling stupidity in their efforts at propaganda.
Yesterday they were taking photographs. German soldiers on a
"commandeered" cart were distributing food, also "com-
mandeered,** to the crowd while a movie man made a reel of the
scene. Farther on they gave a number of those big round country
loaves of bread to some poor women, photographed them holding
the loaves, then took back the bread and sent the women about
their business.
Everyone is hiding whatever valuables can be hidden. Some
bury theirs, others wall them up. When going out in the street
they leave at home watches and anything else worth stealing.
Women wear gloves over their rings, and men carry very little
cash.
During the night numbers of the German proclamations on
the walls were torn down under cover of darkness. As soldiers
do not want to report at their barracks and civilians don't want
to go to the police authorities to turn in their arms before mid-
night, weapons are being dropped about everywhere. A revolver
and some cartridges turned up in our garden. A good many
armoured cars are still cruising the streets.
In spite of the German domination here, neither shops nor
banks will exchange German currency. Our dentist took care
of a German with a bad toothache and was paid in marks. He
went die rounds of the city to get them exchanged, but no one
would look at them. Having failed everywhere, he won't accept
marks again, toothache or no toothache.
The papers today give four columns of their poor single sheets
to an effusion of Hitler's, the publication of which was "ordered
by the German High Command of Southern Italy." Der Fuehrer
spoke from his General Headquarters, and at his customary
length, on the defection and the vileness of Italy, and on the
entire course of the war. Among other things he said:
The loss of Italy has no real importance to us. For months the weight
of the struggle there has been borne by us ...
Perhaps he had in mind the way in which the Germans fired on
the Italians in Sicily when they were being driven back by the
Allies. He went on:
The attempt of international plutocracy to weaken German resist-
ance is childish. . < . Their hopes of bringing about a collapse in
Germany like that of July 25th in Italy spring from their fundamental
error concerning my own personal position. . . . The German Gov-
ernment is more than ever fanatically united. ... I am infinitely
proud of being the leader of the German people and I thank God for
every hour He grants me so that I may, by means of my own work,
bring the greatest struggle in history to a victorious conclusion. The
measures taken to safeguard German interests in Italy are very severe,
but they have gone into effect and are now being carried out method-
ically. . . . The fate decreed for Italy should remind all countries
that they should stand by their obligations to their allies. To the German
people, now bearing this trial, Almighty God will, in the end, give the
laurels of victory as a reward, and with these laurels the preservation
of its own life.
The Ministers who were still in office have been removed
today, and quisling "Commissioners" put in their places. They
are all pro-German, of course. Nevertheless the son of the
Commissar at. the Ministero delle Comunicazioni, also pro-
German, or at least he was sluch, who is an Italian officer, got
locked up immediately after the armistice and is not out of
prison yet. Numbers of Italian officers, especially in the neigh-
bourhood of Rone, got locked up that way, just in case . . .
The pro-Ally Italian officers have simply disappeared; that is to
say they have gone into mufti, left their Roman residences and
live, under assumed names, anywhere except where they would
be identified. Rome offers plenty of hiding places for them;
[J7]
after all, it is a place with a million and a half inhabitants, and
you can't search every house every day, not even if you are an
"S.S." or a Gestapo agent. Then they don't often stay in the
same hideout for long; some of them move every night.
Thursday September 16th
Rome is quiet and sullen. The weather is very hot and the
food situation is bad. Public opinion is pessimistic. The Germans
are supposed to have mined the gas, water and electric plants,
and intend blowing them all up before leaving. They apparently
intend to blow up also several bridges, the Ministries of Foreign
Affairs, of the Navy, of War and of Home Affairs, as well as
some of the big hotels. We know what their destructions are like
before they leave places; their policy is the famous "scorched
earth," and they are adepts at carrying it out. At the same time
they are enacting the farce of the "Open City" in all seriousness.
When planes approach the siren does not sound; cars have ap-
peared placarded with "Polizia Roma Citta Aperta," and the
same words are printed on armlets worn by some soldiers and
by the regular police.
Optimists are saying that the Germans will be taken by sur-
prise by the quick arrival of the Allies, and wiU have to leave
Rome in such haste that they won't have time to blow things up.
Or else they argue that as the Germans have got everything they
wanted, that is, practically all the motors, motor tires and petrol
that Rome has to offer, they will depart northward to hold the
line of the Po, or perhaps the "Arezzo line" in Tuscany. They
add, in confirmation of their opinions, that German trucks and
motorized units have been leaving Rome going northward by
the Via Flaminia. Of course the pessimists reply: "Oh yes? And
how many more were coming in from the south by the Via
Appia as your lot was leaving by the Flaminia?" Numbers of
stray soldiers are wandering about still. Officers have been told
that if they reside in Rome they are to go to their houses, give
their word of honour not to leave the city, and report daily at
headquarters. Each time they did report, of course they would be
asked if they would volunteer for the German army, and each
time they would say "No." In the long run they would
[18]
probably be arrested and sent to a concentration camp, so they
prefer not to pledge themselves by any word of honour, and
simply to vanish.
The "suicide" of Marshal Cavallero was announced this morn-
ing. A man of 62, of great military ability, he was one of the
finest officers in the Italian army. He had been in contact with
Badoglio before the fall of Mussolini on July 25th, and was
anxious to save Italy from the abyss toward which Fascism was
driving her. The Germans arrested him after the armistice. The
official statement says "He was freed from arrest, but unable
to bear his country's dishonour he put an end to his own life."
The truth is that the Germans sent for him, and explained that
they wanted his help in forcibly raising recruits for them, and
in other jobs of the same type. He knew what was coming, and
said to his wife, as he left his house to go to the German head-
quarters: "I don't think that I shall come back from there."
To the Germans* astonishment he refused their demands. As he
now knew too much about their intentions and methods, there
was, for them, only one way out of the difficulty, so they shot
him then and there. In spite of the fulsome praise in the press
notice of his "suicide," the truth was known. The German au-
thorities summoned his wife at once, and with many expressions
of sympathy showed her the body with the right hand still
raised as if in the act of firing a revolver. She stood there for a
moment, then said quietly: "You forget, gentlemen, that my
husband was left-handed."
More restrictive measures appeared today. All permits to be
about after the curfew have been cancelled; they had previously
been given to priests, doctors, nurses and journalists. Police head-
quarters are established at the Ministry of War, and no permis-
sion is given to keep even sporting guns or ammunition.
The Vatican City is "protected" by German troops, although
they have made no attempt to occupy it. The idea seems to be
that they are "protecting" it from the Allies. Two German para-
troopers slouch in a dispirited manner near the colonnade of St.
Peter's, carrying Tommy guns. They wear battle dress, that is
helmets resembling tortoise-shell basins in colour and design,
and short green-and-brown-streaked camouflage overalls on top
of their summer uniforms of buff cotton. la bearing and outline
[W]
they suggest penguins. Sometimes they stand in the colonnade
out of the hot sun, but they never go inside the white line whicl
marks the boundary of the Vatican City, In fact, whether on oj
off duty they are forbidden to enter it. Inside the Vatican Cit]
serious police measures have been taken and the commanders o:
the Vatican forces are very much on the qui vive. A large num-
ber of extra Palatine Guards have been taken on, the numbers o:
Swiss Guards and Gendarmes on duty have been doubled, an<
ten Noble Guards are on the watch night and day outside th<
Pope's private apartments. Many of the latter who lived in Ronn
have taken up their quarters in the Vatican so as to be withii
call.
Naturally, if the Germans chose to occupy the Vatican Cit]
by force, the Pontifical guards would be powerless, and thes<
new measures are taken mainly to prevent any sudden inrush o:
a mob. It is quite possible that, if panic-stricken by some actioi
on the part of the Germans, the Romans might surge into th<
Vatican for protection. The Swiss carry rifles now instead o:
pikes, but they would never fire on a crowd of that kind; all the]
could do would be to close the gates and hold them. Extra gate
have been added where convenient and all the entrances ar
sedulously watched. Those having business there must presen
credentials and receive a special pass before they are allowed in
Fortunately my Vatican Library reader's identity card is accept
able to the plain-clothes police agent who issues the passes. O
course spies of every shade and colour could easily make th
little Vatican City their happy hunting ground unless precaution
were taken. As a matter of fact the Library is closed, althoug]
one may keep one's card of admission for future use. There wa
a good deal too much talking in the Library lobby and courtyard
and a few spies and "agents provocateurs" did make their way ii
there under pretence of study. There might have been seriou
trouble had not both the spies and the imprudent talkers beej
firmly excluded.
Even to enter St. Peter's, lay folk have to show some sort o
identification card; that is to say, when it is open. Sometime
they shut it altogether. Yesterday a German truck pulled U]
near the colonnade, having brought food for the paratroop sen
tinels; a tripod was erected on it, bearing a powerful telescope
[20]
nd through it, all comings and goings at the Vatican City were
^served. Today the sentinels are not there, bored probably by
he prosaic happenings they sighted during their vigil.
Certainly the Germans, whatever their motive may be, are
rying to make friends with the Vatican. Their Ambassador to
he Holy See, Baron von Weiszacker, is extremely courteous and
hows every consideration to the Pope. There has been no looting
n churches or religious houses, and apologies were made for
dealing Mgr. Rossignani's car. Probably, when their inevitable
lebacle comes, they want to have friends at the Vatican to sal-
vage what may be salvaged. The atmosphere inside the Vatican
City is one of great peace and calm. I was struck this morning
by its apparent remoteness from the struggle. It was also very
pleasant not to see German uniforms about. The Pontifical postal
facilities are cut off, but the broadcasting station, one of the most
powerful in Europe, is functioning, and there is no interference
with it. Shortly before his death Marconi personally supervised
its installation, and it is of inestimable value at the present
moment. Motors with the regular "S.C.V." Vatican City license
plates pass freely in Rome, and all the "extraterritorial" Vatican
premises there are unmolested. They all have a placard posted
on their doors bearing the words "Property of the Holy See"
both in Italian and in German. Cardinals Massimi and Pizzardo
have left their usual residences and have gone to live in the
Vatican City, as have some of the Jesuits connected with the radio
station. It is simpler to do so, and avoids complications. The
Palatine Guard will take over the policing of the Lateran Palace
and of the Pontifical property at Castel Gandolfo. Food and
provisions of all kinds come straight into the Vatican City by
their own railway line, and thus the authorities can feed their
own "citizens" and give a helping hand to some of the religious
houses in Rome. But of course they cannot achieve the impos-
sible, and, as some people think they do, feed all the convents
and monasteries in Rome.
Today Mussolini, from his secret residence in the north of
Italy, has issued "Orders of the Day," re-establishing Fascism,
naming it "The Republican Fascist Party," directing all officials
tx> resume the positions from which they were ousted by die
Badoglk) government, giving orders to "help the people," to
[21]
punish traitors and, above all, to support the Germans in Italy,
The wording of these messages is unlike his style, so it looks as
if he were either dead, or so ill that he is nothing but a figurehead
useful to the Germans.
The last placard on the walls today prohibits meetings of
every kind, under the usual severe penalties. It is signed by
General Stahel, who, by the way, is a very decent man, an
Austrian and a Catholic. Perhaps it is part of their policy toward
the Holy See to have put him here. He is supposed not to see
eye to eye with Kesselring, who is in command of "Central and
Southern Italy/'
This afternoon Mrs. Arthur Strong died in a nursing home in
Via Mecenate. She was certainly the most learned woman ar-
chaeologist of our day. She was a C.B.E.; M.A. Cambridge; Life
Fellow of Girton; LittJD. Dublin; Hon. LL.D., St. Andrews;
Hon. Litt.D., Manchester; Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries;
Fellow of the Scottish Society of Antiquaries; Vice-President of
the Hellenic Society; Hon. Member of the Archaeological So-
ciety of Athens; Hon. Member of the Archaeological Institute
of America; Member of the Pontifical Roman Academy; of the
Societa Italiana di Storia Patria; Foreign Member of the Reale
Accademia dei Lincei and of the Reale Accademia di S. Luca;
Member of the Arcadian Academy and of the Accademia dei
Virtuosi del Panteone. From 1909 until 1925 she was Assistant
Director of the British School at Rome. From that period until
the outbreak of the war her flat in Via Balbo was the meeting
place of intellectuals, students, litterateurs and diplomats of
every country, drawn to Rome as by a magnet; but particularly
English and Italian scholars met there. Her masterly work on
"Roman Sculpture" was followed by other books, treatises and
articles in English, French and Italian, and she was at work on
a history of the architectural development of the Vatican Palace
when death took her. One of her last utterances was: "My book!"
The loss to British scholarship is irreparable. Her friends were
consoled by the thought that for the last eight days of her life
she had been unconscious, and never knew that the Rome she
loved so well was occupied by the Huns. She was buried accord-
ing to her wish in the habit of a Dominican Tertiary, and rarely
have I seen a more fitting framework for a noble face and form
[22]
than those austere folds of black and white. She was buried in
the Anglo-Saxon plot in the "Veran Field," Campo Verano
the cemetery where, not quite two thousand years ago, St.
Lawrence was buried by the Christian matron Lucina. The place
still shows signs of the devastation wrought by the bombing of
July 19th, and numbers of coffins are lying about awaiting re-
interment; fortunately the Anglo-Saxon plot of ground was not
damaged.
Friday September 17th
Our men are fighting their way through at Salerno, and
there is no sign of a landing in these parts. Well, it's only a
week since the Battle of Rome and the occupation, and one
mustn't get impatient.
Unofficial looting has decreased. Shops and warehouses that
had anything left in them are being emptied systematically, but
private soldiers don't rob you in the streets any more.
Another "Order of the Day" signed by Mussolini appoints
Renato Ricci commander in chief of the Milizia Volontaria di
Sicurezza Nazionale, which is to Fascism what the S.S. men are
to Nazism. Pavolini, one of the Fascist Ministers, says in a foolish
speech made today that Fascism is coming into its own again.
Everyone believes that Mussolini is dead and that the whole thing
is a put-up job.
Arms and hand grenades are scattered about disconcertingly,
just where their owners dropped them instead of returning them
to the military stores. Children pick them up and play ball with
them, but not for long. They burst, and the players are killed
or wounded, In the suburbs a cow swallowed a small one that
was lying in the long grass, and of course the poor animal ex-
ploded.
Last night we heard loud detonations in the distance, and
thought it must mean a landing at Ostia or Pratica di Mare, It
turned out afterward that someone had placed a bomb under
the barracks of the Fascist militia and had succeeded in blowing
them up.
This is our tenth day without mflk. The Germans have com-
mandeered the cows in the neightxmrikoexL Some green vegetables
[23]
are coining in, but very few, on account of the lack of transport
facilities.
Notices in the press and posters on the walls direct all soldiers
from the class of 1885 to that of 1905 to report at headquarters.
But they're all in hiding, and no one turns up. Calvi di Bergolo
has published orders to hand over all motor cars which have
not received a special license, and the Germans have begun to
search garages for them. It is hard to hide them successfully, yet
some owners have achieved it.
Saturday September 18th
Terrific explosions last night. Were they the Littorio airfield?
The Centocelle one? The Ciampino one? All are quite close to us.
Or were the Allies bombing one of those endless German columns
that are always coming and going on the roads near Rome?
Travel of any sort is definitely unhealthy at present. Of the few
trains that start, many are either bombed or machine-gunned
before they arrive. Lorries meet the same fate, however much
they are camouflaged with grass nets.
This afternoon there was good news from Salerno. They seem
to be out of the woods, but, judging from the British radio, it
was touch-and-go there for a while. Everyone hangs on the
B.B.C. reports, which are broadcast almost continuously in
Italian, English, French and other European languages. This in-
furiates the Germans. Orders are published and penalties threat-
ened, reports are printed of people fined and imprisoned for
listening to "enemy broadcasts," but they have no effect what-
ever. Outside aerials are banned and everything is done to stop
the listening, short of searching all houses and confiscating every
radio.
Sunday September 19th
Mussolini spoke on the German-controlled Italian radio last
night. It did not sound like his voice and it was not his style.
The Roman populace immediately said: fr 47, morto che parla"
They all gamble in the public lotteries and buy the book of
omens which assigns numbers to everything seen or dreamt of.
Now in that book if a dead man speaks to you in your dream,
it means that you must gamble on number 47. So they went
and staked their lire on the fateful number.
Twenty-three Germans were murdered at Monte Mario last
night. Resentment against them is growing. "They are starving
us," say the people, "and they ought to be killed." On account
of these murders the officials at the German Embassy, where they
have taken in a large number of extra officers and clerks over
and above their usual staff, seem to be growing nervous. A
severe ordinance came out today forbidding anyone to pass along
the streets which bound the house and garden during curfew
hours, that is from 9.30 P.M. to 4.30 A.M. Not even persons liv-
ing in those streets may go in or out. The Embassy occupies what
is known as the Villa Wolkonsky, a princely house with a won-
derful garden near St. John Lateran. The neighbourhood is
policed by German soldiers with guns.
Monday September 20th
Kesselring was received by the Pope yesterday ff m forma pri-
vatissima" They say he is a good Catholic. What passed? Not
the best of the "best-informed" will ever be able to tell us*
But there is the fact, and that's enough for twenty hopes and
fears. Possibly it had something to do with the paragraph which
appeared afterward in the official Vatican newspaper, the Qsser-
vatore Romano. It ran as follows:
Many rumours have been spread regarding conditions in the Vatican
City and the person of the Holy Father, since the German occupation
of Rome. As we have already stated, from the afternoon of September
13th, German soldiers have been posted in Piazza San Pietro, in Italian
territory, outside the boundaries of the Vatican City. This action was
preceded by a telephone call from the Italian Command of the City of
Rome to tie Governor of the Vatican City, who gave notice to the
authorities. Two Vatican officials were directed to present themselves at
the time appointed, 4 P.M., at the boundary line of the Vatican City to
make sure that the territory of the neutral Pontifical State was respected.
These officials verified the fact that the said boundary line had not been
transgressed.
The Vatican officials referred to were the commanders of
Swiss Guard and the Palatine Guard.
[25]
Strong articles appeared in the press against those who "fail
to collaborate with the German forces," especially by murdering
them, is implied.
Forced labour was instituted here today. Men from 23 to 28
are mobilized "for important work needed by the German Com-
mand and for provisioning the city of Rome." In other words
they are to mend roads and bridges for the Germans, dig trenches,
build fortifications and lay railway tracks for them. They count
on getting from the city of Rome alone about 6 5 000 young men.
Those who do not report will be court-martialled. "Volunteers"
are also asked for among men outside the given age groups.
They graciously "suspend military service" for those mobilized
for labour. Boys from 18 to 22 are also called up for military
service today. So run the placards.
The sentinels on duty at night in the streets surrounding the
German Embassy have orders to fire without warning on anyone
approaching from any direction. Last night one of them, rather
the worse for drink, saw figures on an adjacent roof, seemingly
beckoning to each other. Outlined against the sky they pro-
vided easy targets. He fired, with no result. He fired again.
Again no result. A platoon rushed to the spot and identified the
"beckoning" men as the stone figures of Saints which surmount
the f agade of St. John Lateran.
Tuesday September 21st
The German High Command ordains that black market prac-
titioners shall be punished by death, or by imprisonment for
lesser offences in thit line. They also order that the portoni of all
houses must be closed by 8 P.M. They don't want to run the risk
of people leaping out on them in the dark, and rushing indoors
for refuge.
More and more people are hiding, moving their lodgings or
taking to the hills. It is still warm and mild, and the Allies are
expected here shortly but suppose they delay? The people in the
hills will die of hunger and exposure. You are considered a pes-
simist if you think that the Allies will not be here until the
middle of October. If only they could make it. ...
[26]
"Wednesday September 22nd
Our plumber has been here, crying quite openly. His only son,
a boy of 18, was called up in July and reported for military
service. He was sent to Cremona with some others from Rome.
After the armistice, they realized that they would have to fight
for the Germans, and planned to escape. His mother, receiving
no news at all, went to Cremona to investigate. There were no
signs of Antonio, but the people there told her that six boys from
Rome had tried to get away through a drain that ran underneath
a cemetery. When the Germans got wind of it, they walled up
both ends of the drain, with the boys inside. Their only ray of
hope is that their boy may not have been one of the six. No one
can tell them.
There is a persistent rumour that Franco has told the Ger-
mans that if they do anything to the Pope, he will open Spain
to the Allies. It doesn't seem likely, but there may be something
in it.
Thursday September 23rd
are burying our valuables, having a nice little garden
which affords scope for such activities. We buried them darkly
after supper, aided by a small electric torch until somebody said:
<c Douse the glim/* for fear of neighbours watching us. They're
in a tin box, wrapped in oilcloth, so perhaps they won't be
ruined by the rain when it comes. It was quite Stevensonian and
romantic, in spite of the sound of German army boots in the
street outside.
Mussolini has constituted his Ministry, the names are published
today. Graziani is Minister for Defence. People are horrified, for
Graziani is a great soldier, though a butcher by reputation; it
seems impossible that such a man should have put himself at the
service of such a gang. Was it just for a handful of silver, or
on account of his long-standing rivalry with Badogllo? Possibly
this was his weak spot. His mental powers are supposed to be
somewhat erratic. Those who defend him say that probably he
was, like Cavallero, threatened with a revolver and gave in.
But Cavallero went on refusing and died.
[27]
Friday September 24th
All men born in 1921, '22, '23, '24 and '25 are called up for
"labour service," which means that they will either be taken
to Germany or be put to building and repairing roads and dig-
ging trenches for the Germans in Italy; they are to present
themselves at the Labour Office at once. Of course, no one in-
tends to do so.
The Germans are also trying desperately to get volunteers for
their army among Italians, particularly specialized workmen,
such as mechanics, interpreters, electricians, tailors, shoemakers,
cooks. They have not yet grasped the fact that everyone is hiding
from them, although they offer "privileges," good food, lodgmg
and pay. The posters are ridiculous in their solemn stupidity;
some are just proclamations, some are coloured drawings; one
of the latter shows a group of brutalized-looking workers, smil-
ing helplessly, like tame orangoutangs. The posters come straight
from Germany, and one recognizes the work of a man who has
already provided Italy with other equally repulsive drawings,
especially on the outbreak of war. They are naively meant to
work up enthusiasm. If the Germans would only look at the
faces of the Italians when they see these efforts at persuasion . . .
A long printed proclamation by Kesselring, appearing today,
points out to all Italian officers that their oath of loyalty to the
King of Italy is no longer valid, and that, as men of honour, they
must now join the German forces or take a command in the
"labour service." No one dares laugh openly at these proclama-
tions, but under cover of darkness many of them are torn and
defaced. The other day I walked behind a woman who carried
a bunch of keys in her hand, and all the way down Via Bon-
compagni, as far as the Hotel Excelsior, where Germans are
lodging, she ran those keys across a new set of posters, still wet
with paste. I expected her arrest every moment, but nothing
happened.
The Fascists are coming forward in the pose of saviours of
the people, saying that they are "the buffer between the Germans
and the populace/' They have re-established the headquarters of
their Roman group, the Fascio Romano, at Palazzo Braschi, where
they used to be before their fall from power on July 25th. It is
a very handsome building, erected by Pope Pius VI of the House
[28]
of Braschi, situated on Corso Vittorio Emanuele, near Piazza
Navona. It now contains offices for "social relief," for enlistments
and for all Party activities. The black pennons of the Fascists
have been hung from the balcony, together with the Roman
standard and the Italian flag, but the latter has been stripped of
the royal coat of arms in the centre. Some truculent-looking
youths with black shirts and rifles were lounging in the doorway
today when I passed there, and the bunting was all hanging down
disconsolately in the September drizzle. The press says: "The
old Fascist offices are in full activity, combatants, Party members
and the Roman people are flocking to them." There was very
little flocking this morning.
Saturday September 25th
Graziani spoke today on the radio, and if people were dis-
gusted when they heard that he had taken command of the
Fascist forces, they were nauseated by what he said. The speech
was one long tirade against Badoglio's person. He called him a
coward, a liar, a traitor, a deserter, a slave driver, blamed him
for the Italian reverses in the present war, and referred to Capo-
retto in the last war. Of the many undignified public speeches
that have been made since 1939, this was the most undignified.
After all there are limits to the washing of dirty linen in public.
Poor Graziani.
Calvi di Bergolo has been arrested and deported to Germany.
He refused to give up 3,000 hostages for the labour service whoa
the Germans ordered him to do so; his wife, Princess Yolanda,
is with the rest of the women of the royal family in Switzerland.
General Presti has been appointed to command the police of
Rome, so the Germans are policing us in all but name.
The Swedes, the Spaniards and the Swiss are in a slightly diffi-
cult position at present, as their governments do not recognize
the Fascist Republic. "Pinocchio's Republic" is its popular
name. The Swiss Minister could not get his passport in order to
consult with the authorities at Berne. It is a good thing he is aot
leaving, for the Swiss are now taking care of the diplomatic
interests of twenty-five countries. Here in Italy, stranded for-
eigners owe them an unbounded debt of gratitude. Their effects
[29]
to kelp and to make conditions easier for those who are in trou-
ble are as unfailing as their courtesy and consideration. When
the war is over, the merits of these Swiss functionaries should
be made known throughout the world.
Sunday September 26th
Private looting continues mildly; official looting, the regular
searching of premises, continues steadily. This is what happens
in the milder way. A party of Germans will go to a restaurant,
eat and drink heartily, and when the bill is presented will tear
it up saying: "Badoglio pays for this."
The Pope has discontinued all public audiences, those long ones
which lasted from 9.30 A.M. until 1.30 P.M., in the course of
which people of every kind and degree used to come to get his
blessing. This is not the moment for crowds to assemble, and
even if it were desirable there would be no means of doing so as
the buses are fewer and fewer, and the trams are hopelessly
crowded. They are indescribable. I have seen people trying to get
in by the windows.
Monday September 27th
Kesselring's decree of today concerns motor vehicles. All those
who possess them are to bring them to the Macao barracks, if
not they will be severely punished. It is added that they will be
paid for according to German valuation. This order includes not
only private cars, but lorries, taxis, and a given number of
motor buses. For a city of more than 1,500,000 inhabitants, this
is going to make things almost impossible. Bicycles cannot be
bought, and the Germans have already stolen numbers of them.
The requisitioning of lorries will make the food question more
acute than ever; supplies are already very low, as it is.
The Fascists have begun changing the names of streets.
Piazza Montecitorio (the old Mons Accettorim of the Roman
Republic) is to be Piazza Ettore Muti, in honor of one of their
heroes who was killed in a fight with the police. Corso Umberto
is to be Corso del Popolo, and Corso Vittorio Emanuele is to be
Corso della Costituente. But no one pays any attention to thesa,
[30]
and the old names cling. The royal coat of arms on the letter boxes
has been painted out with black. The Fascist Republic is making
an effort to imitate the doings of July 25th, when their emblems
were torn down all over Rome, in the first fine careless rapture
of the people on the fall of Mussolini. It is a very feeble imitation
indeed, for then it was a joyous riot or popular enthusiasm, now
it is a half-hearted daubing of black paint here and there on the
Cross of Savoy.
More orders have been published, with added emphasis, that
those called up for labour service MUST present themselves at
once. So far, out of the 3,000 who should have joined up in the
city of Rome, 60 have put in an appearance.
It is reported that Calvi di Bergolo wrote to his wife saying
that, whatever happened, she might be sure that he would never
commit suicide.
Tuesday September 28th
They're at the Jews. One wondered when it would come.
Yesterday, the German authorities sent for the Chief Rabbi and
told him that unless by midday today the Jews delivered one
million lire and fifty kilogrammes of gold, some of them would
be deported and others shot. It was a terrible moment, but they
managed it. At the very last, they appealed to the Pope, who
helped them to complete the amount. Now that they have paid
their ransom, the Rabbi ought to destroy his register of Jewish
residents in Rome. Although the Germans said that on condition
of this payment they would leave them alone, how can they be
trusted? The Romans are shocked and depressed; now that this
sort of Jew-baiting has begun it has come home to them that they
are really under the heel of the enemy.
Wednesday September 29th
The Fascist Republican Government announces that it has
been functioning as from September 27th, and that it will
shortly summon a Constituent Assembly to decide cm details
of its organization.
Kesselring's proclamation of today is unusually remarkable.
[31]
It is a development of his generalized appeal last Friday, to urge
Italian officers to join the German army. This one says:
The enemy has, for the time being, taken possession of Italian soil,
and he must be driven out. It is imperative to reassemble the disbanded
Italian troops, in order that they may continue the war in the ranks of
the German army. . . . Those who enlist will have the same rights
and therefore the same duties as German officers and soldiers.
All the Roman papers carried this proclamation. The Italians
simply loathe the Germans, but the latter do not seem to have
grasped the fact. German brutality to Italian soldiers when re-
treating in Russia and in Tunisia will never be forgotten in Italy,
apart from their resentment on account of the Germans cutting
down the Roman food supply while themselves living on what
is left of the fat of the land.
Thursday September 30th
Even Graziani saw that Kesselring had overshot die mark, and
urged him to withdraw his proclamation. So the Roman papers
published today in heavy type: "Suspension of the proclamation
regarding enlistment of Italian soldiers. Marshal Graziani, Min-
ister of National Defence, in agreement with General Stahel,
German Commander of Rome, announces that the statement of
the German Command concerning the enlistment of Italian
soldiers, as published in the Roman press yesterday, is suspended."
On the other hand, Kesselring indulges in a whole column of
persuasion for Italian workers to go to Germany, with alluring
promises of pay and prosperity, and pointing out that "they
will thus contribute materially to the final victory and to the
future of a better Europe." Just that. The appeal is reinforced
by lurid posters of sleek workers with suitcases walking toward
a horizon bounded by an enormous eagle and a swastika.
Friday October 1st
One of our friends has a villa at Grottaf errata. He went out
to see what was happening there, and found the Germans in
possession. They told him blithely that they had selected it be-
[32]
cause it was heated, and they would be there for the winter.
They had stolen most of the things he had left in the house, and
shot up a good many cupboards which they wanted to open.
But for the winter? We are already battering at the suburbs of
Naples and Foggia. Naples is only three hundred kilometres from
Rome, and an army can advance at the rate of ten kilometres a
day if all goes well. Must we wait the whole winter? Surely not.
Saturday October 2nd
The Germans are taking up the railroad tracks on the lines they
do not want to use, and are sending them to Germany.
Naples is taken. Thank GoA
Sunday October 3rd
We are constantly asked to suggest possible hiding places for
men who are trying to escape from military and labour service
with the Germans. Everybody seems to be hiding. Some of the
Germans are deserting and trying to hide also; they are mainly
Austrians. The common soldiers are sick and tired of the war,
but not the officers. If you get into conversation with the former
they make no bones about saying that five years of fighting is
too much of a good thing, and that they want to get back to see
their families. They are having practically no mail here in Italy,
and that makes it worse for them. Not all Hitler's toughening
can desentimentalize them.
Monday October 4th
"We are now receiving directions through the press and tie radio
to accumulate supplies of drinking water, with minute instruc-
tions how to sterilize and preserve it. The Germans are expected
to blow up the water supply plant when they leave Rome. If
they also blow up the electric plant we shall have to grope about
in the dark and go to bed at dusk, because candles &x unpfocw-
able and there is no kerosene or petrel; they disappeared long ago.
There is talk too of a "state of emergency** which will be an-
nounced by the ringing of the church beds and the sound of
[33]
sirens. During it no one will be allowed out of doors. It would
probably precede the Germans' withdrawal, and they would be
enabled to rifle houses, deport men, do whatever they chose, and
depart without being disturbed by the populace.
Tuesday October 5th
Foggia is taken at last. Now we can use those airfields for
the Balkans. We shall get much less wheat up here, of course, as
the plains round Foggia were the granary of Italy. It is not a
pleasant prospect, because the food supplies are quite low enough
already.
The Fascist Republican Party published a manifesto today
in which they said that they would punish traitors severely, and
could have no mercy on those who had made Fascists suffer dur-
ing the 45 days following July 25th. They are nothing if not
violent.
Wednesday October 6th
More preparations for the "emergency days." Bakers are to
supply their clients with enough "biscuit bread" to last three
days. It is ordinary bread sliced and dried in the oven, and is to
be kept carefully until the moment comes when it will be ur-
gently needed.
This morning the King's bodyguard, those superb six-foot
Corazzieri, were arrested and taken away, just as, in the same
way, the Carabinieri were disarmed and removed from their
barracks in lorries.
The Queen's ladies-in-waiting and the Roman aristocracy
generally seem to have aroused the anger of the Germans, or
rather, that of the Fascists; the Germans probably don't mind so
much, only of course they have to back the Fascists. Today they
tried to arrest Princess Colonna. A plain-clothes policeman called
at the Colonna Palace and told her that she was under arrest and
must go with him. She asked if she might get her hat and coat
and left him sitting there, escaping from the palace by another
door. After some time, Prince Colonna came in casually and
asked the man what he wanted. When he said he was waiting
[34]
for the Princess, Prince Colonna answered that she was not in
the palace and he had no idea where she was. In retaliation, he
has been placed under house arrest. Fortunately it is a big build-
ing with fine gardens, so he has plenty of room for ranging
about.
Friday October 8th
The belated autumn rains have set in, the Tiber is rising, and
with it, the southern rivers like the Volturno must be rising too.
The Pope received the German Ambassador to the Holy See
today. Optimists suggest that it is a good sign.
Saturday October 9th
Man-hunting has begun. The Germans placed sentries with
machine guns on some of the bridges this morning, and cordons
cutting off some of the streets in the Prati quarter then rounded
up all the men they found inside the enclosure. They were put
in lorries and taken away; no one knows whether they were for
Germany, for work on the roads in Italy, or for prison as hos-
tages.
Sunday October 10th
Every parish priest in Rome today told his congregation that
the Pope had summoned them recently and had said that they
were to urge their parishioners to be calm and self-possessed in
whatever circumstances they might find themselves; to point
out that self-control and moderation were needed above all in
times like these, and to say that he relied on them to take this
advice to heart and to act upon it. This was necessary because
word has come through regarding the way the Italians behaved
when the Germans left Naples, firing on them, and throwing
boiling water and missiles of every kind down on them from the
windows. There is even a story that the owner of a flat, finding
nothing else heavy enough to hand, dropped a piano from the
second floor. This was the sort of thing that caused such terrible
reprisals in Naples.
[35]
Yesterday Villa Savoia, the King's private residence, was
looted, officially and thoroughly. Furniture, paintings, statues,
carvings, marbles, bronzes, tapestries, silver, bedding, linen,
private belongings of the royal family, everything went, includ-
ing the nails in the walls. The Quirinal has not been touched,
being ranked as "national property."
Monday October llth
There is something very obscure about the whole situation
here. In Piazza Colonna, where the Fascists have reoccupied the
central building ornamented with the famous portico from Veii,
there are tanks, machine guns and young Blackshirt swashbuck-
lers lounging about ostentatiously.
Having polished off Villa Savoia yesterday, the Germans are
looting the pawnshops today, taking the wretched little be-
longings of the poor as well as the more valuable stuff.
Tuesday October 12th
The recent landing at Termoli was a splendid achievement.
If only they can go ahead, take Chieti and Pescara, they can
come on to Rome by way of Avezzano and Tivoli. It would be
a pincer movement from the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian. The
Romans are getting depressed. "But do they know what it is like
in Rome? "Why don't they hurry up and get here? Why don't
they land all over the place as well as at Termoli and finish it off
quickly?" In their anxiety they are like children. We are mis-
erable and anxious too, but we cling to the sheet-anchor convic-
tion that the Allies know what they're doing, and that there are
bigger issues at stake than Rome and us.
We hear that the Appian Way has been blown up from
Capua to Velletri.
Wednesday October 13th
The German Command is angry. In Torpignattara, one of the
slum suburbs, where their lorries pass continually, people took to
throwing little triangular spikes in the road; they are about two
inches long, and however they fall, there is always one point
uppermost. The effect on motor tires may be imagined. Several
unfortunate locksmiths who live in the neighbourhood were
arrested and the Germans threaten reprisals on the whole quar-
ter if more of these spikes appear.
Thursday October 14th
They're angry again. Telephone wires have been cut, particu-
larly some that were essential to them. They are not able to
identify the cutter, so they threaten to punish everyone who
lives near the spot.
Friday October ISth
In the Vatican the Palatine Guard is being considerably en-
larged. This is necessary, because the other pontifical armed forces
cannot be increased, and more guards are needed in the Vatican
City and in all the extraterritorial pontifical property throughout
Rome and at Castel Gandolfo. There have been sixteen thousand
applications, for it is a heaven-sent opportunity of escaping from
Rome into the Vatican City, where there will be no man-hunt-
ing. But only 2,500 can be accepted. Their uniform was not
particularly attractive, as it had been unaltered since 1870, with
a peaked French shako piped with magenta. However they have
changed all that, and a dashing magenta beret is worn, very wide
and floppy, caught up with the pontifical cockade of yellow and
white, and instead of a stiff coat they wear a swirling military
cloak of dark blue. One does see some of them with civilian
trousers beneath this glory, but you can't have everything with
the present shortage of materials. They also carry rifles and am-
munition.
Two thousand Gestapo and S.S. men have arrived to spy on
the German soldiers in case they are not behaving as Humnler
would wish, to carry out the dirty work connected with the
Jews, and to make themselves generally usef ul. So now, we have
here three groups of German authorities, quite independent of
one another: first, the German Embassy to the Holy See, headed
by Baron von Weiszacker; second, the German Military Cora-
[37]
mand under General Stahel; third, the Gestapo and the S.S. men
exclusively subject to Himmler. A number of the latter are
lodged at the big Pensione Sta. Caterina in Corso d'ltalia.
Saturday October 16th
""Writing on the wall" is showing itself here with a vengeance.
Overnight hundreds of inscriptions in red paint appeared in
praise of communism, of Russia and of Stalin. Viva la Russia!
Viva Stalin! Viva il Communismo! Abasso i Tedeschi! Abasso
Mussolini! Abasso il Fascismo! with the Hammer and Sickle ac-
companying them. They were everywhere, in the Trastevere, in
the shopping quarters, in the expensive residential quarters, and,
most conspicuous of all, in huge letters on the steep wall of the
Tiber embankment. The wide sweep of the Trinita steps did
not escape, for they appeared across Cardinal de Polignac's
commemorative inscription in the centre of the terrace landing.
The Fascist police fell over themselves trying to obliterate them,
and daubs of grey paint hide the lettering, but proclaim loudly
what is underneath. A policeman rang our bell one day and
said in a hoarse whisper: "Have you seen what is on your wall?"
Forgetting about the possibilities of inscription I said "No,
whatever is it?" Sinking his voice still lower he said, "The Ham-
mer and Sickle." Together we went out and inspected a small
Hammer and Sickle in chalk. "Have you any whitewash?" he
whispered, still in awed tones. When I said no, he quite content-
edly said that he would get a friend to attend to the matter, and
went off. Anyway, he didn't blame us; in fact he was rather by
way of sympathizing with us for having such a terrible thing
happen to our wall.
Sunday October 17th
The S.S. are doing exactly what one expected, and at 4.30 A.M.
began to round up the Jews in their own houses. The Rabbi did
not destroy his registers, and they know where every Jew lives.
And this, after the promise made when they produced that ran-
som. . . . Some Jews escaped, others were herded into open
lorries in the rain, and we know nothing about their destination.
[38]
It is a nameless horror. People you know and esteem, brave, kind,
upright people, just because they have Jewish blood, treated like
this. Some of them are heroic. They came for the father of a
family we know. He was out. The Germans said in that case they
would take his wife. Whereupon the daughter said: "Where my
mother goes, I go too" and although they did not want her
particularly, she was taken as well.
Monday October 18th
The Leaflet Bogey stalks through Rome. Our Teutonic masters
have a deadly fear of leaflets, of unkind remarks, of critical
words. There is simply no end to their childishness in some cases,
as there is none to their brutality in others. Here is a warning
published today:
In the letter boxes of various apartment houses there have been
found leaflets calculated to spread alarm and to give a bad impression
of the German authorities. They were slipped in with the knowledge
and consent of the porters. While we condemn the absolute untruth
of the statements in these leaflets, we warn porters that under the
Civilian Mobilization Act they are subject to military law. Should
such leaflets be distributed again, the porters will be arrested and sent
to a concentration camp. Private citizens are reminded that if they
should find any of these leaflets it is their duty to inform the police of
the Open City of Rome immediately. Those who do not do so will be
held responsible in the same way as the porters and will be reported
immediately to the military tribunal."
Oh, why didn't we get one? We've been cheated of a fine
souvenir.
Tuesday October 19th
It is understood that the Pope has asked the German Ambas-
sador to make an effort to help the Jews. It is difficult for TOG
Weiszacker, of course, as the S.S. are independent of him. How-
ever, he did have some measure of success, for we hear that the
women and children will be released*
[39]
"Wednesday October 20th
Numbers of shops are boarding up their windows to save the
glass from German or Fascist exuberance in street fighting, also
to discourage looting. Others, not content with boarding, are
bricking up both windows and doors and finishing them off with
a coat of plaster. It gives the city a sinister look; while the pres-
ence of the German troops makes everything seem blighted and
withered. People, too, are rather shabby, and, even when the
shop windows are not boarded up there is next to nothing in
them. Here and there some brave trades-people make a gesture,
as the grocers, who show mainly shoe blacking and bug powder.
Some jewellers show elaborate ornaments made of tin composi-
tion, and in the china shops you see bottles and plates made of
wood. Via Condotti is desolate. No traffic goes down it except
German cars and lorries; there are no chattering crowds near
the shops, and no atmosphere of pleasant interest in life. The
flower sellers on the Trinita steps make an effort to keep going,
but it is daily harder, as there are no means of getting flowers
by rail. Then too, prices are soaring. It is the same story as in
Germany: there is too much paper money combined with a
shortage of all goods, particularly food. The lira is worth next
to nothing, six hundred being offered for a pound note, and
2,000 for a gold sovereign.
Thursday October 21st
The presence of Allied prisoners, escaped from their camps
after the armistice, is worrying the authorities considerably.
Being active and resourceful they scattered in every direction,
and have done remarkably well, considering their difficulties.
Some have returned to the Allied lines, some are hidden in the
hills and some in the towns. Everywhere they are treated like
brothers. The peasants feed them, hide them, accompany them on
their way, accepting no payment and often at the risk of great
personal danger. One hopes that after the peace these peasants
will get the recognition they deserve. There are plenty of ex-
prisoners in Rome, and they are most efficiently taken care of.
The civvies they wear are fearful and wonderful. I met one in
Italian reach-me-downs with a fawn plush overcoat. He looked
[40]
much thinner than one would have wished. In spite of his fancy
dress he had Sandhurst written all over him. He was going about
Rome quite calmly*
An agitated official column in the press today reminds every-
one that those who harbour Allied prisoners will be shot.
Friday October 22nd
A report which one can hardly believe says that the regular
German troops are going and that we shall be left to the tender
mercies of the S.S.
If you haven't got brains then hire some. The German failure
to secure people for the labour service has not daunted them-
They've had an idea. In the Messaggero a small advertisement
has appeared in the "Situations Vacant" column: "German civil
authorities want a specialist for propaganda and publicity, one
familiar with the psychology of the workingman and who un-
derstands trade-union conditions. Apply Room 106, Albergo
Ambasciatori from 9 to 12. Highest references required."
Saturday October 23rd
Another brave attempt was made today to get hold of Italian
officers. On October 25th at the latest they must report at head-
quarters. After that date they will be court-martialled pro-
vided they can be caught. "After that date," continues the
proclamation, "a court-martial will deal with all those persons
who hide them, feed them or give them any help whatsoever.
All pensions hitherto paid to members of their families will be
discontinued immediately." No stone is left unturned in this
process of trying to discover where they all are. Plenty of people
know, but won't tell.
Sunday October 24th
A perfectly new form of sabotage has been invented by the
Roman patriots. It is decidedly inconvenient and puts everyooe
in a bad temper. Small change has disappeared from dreubticm,
and rumours have been set afloat that the 1000-lire aad 500-lire
[41]
notes are counterfeit and will not be honoured by the Bank of
Italy, so it is impossible to get them changed. And here the black
market geniuses turn their usual dishonest penny: they offer you
900 lire in exchange for your 1000-lire note and 450 lire in ex-
change for a 500-lire note. The Republican "Government" is
making a great fuss about it all, and is exhorting the Romans
to pay no attention to reports, etc., etc. . . . They arrested the
manager of the local telephone company, because he was found to
have 133,000 lire in small change, and had ordered his personnel
not to use it. The arrest was made by Guglielmo Pollastrini,
himself one of the outstanding Fascist gangsters belonging to the
Palazzo Braschi group.
Monday October 25th
And there was evening and morning one day. Gen. 1,5.
Tuesday October 2th
As we are past the 25th, date fixed as the last possible one on
which Italian officers might report at headquarters, they are now
allowed an extension of time until the 3 1st. If tragi-comedy has
never been enacted in Rome before, it is taking place now.
A comprehensive programme of punishments to be meted out
to civilians is published today. Here it is, in brief:
For harbouring or helping escaped prisoners of war; death.
For making contacts with them: hard labour for life.
For printing or publishing or circulating news derogatory to the
prestige of the Axis Forces: penal servitude for life.
For owning a wireless transmitter: death.
For instructing wireless operators: hard labour for life.
For looting in evacuated areas: death.
For desertion of work, or sabotage: death.
For not fulfilling labour obligations: death.
For not acquainting the authorities of change of address: twenty years*
prison.
For taking photographs out of doors: hard labour for life.
"The above sentences," continues the statement, "will be passed
by court-martial." So now we know.
[42]
Wednesday October 27th
A good many of the S.S. have left. It seems that they are
wanted in Berlin, where civil troubles may break out.
Some Italian patriots attacked German soldiers; ten of them
were shot in reprisal.
Kesselring has been recalled to headquarters to report, and
Stahel is to be replaced as commander of Rome by General
Melzer. Stahel was, on the whole, a very decent man who tried
to do all he could to keep his men under discipline in Rome,
and disobeyed a number of Hitler's orders for "frightfulness."
He was said to be a Catholic, but he is really an "Old Catholic,"
a sect founded by Dollinger in the 19th century. He was ex-
tremely respectful to the Pope. The newcomer may be worse.
The wireless from London tells us of some Allied progress in
the South: Campobasso certainly was a valuable conquest. And
we are moving forward along the Adriatic coast too. When will
they get to Rome? We can only go on answering our Italian
friends' desperate questionings with the confident assertion:
"They know what they are doing." It will be awful if the Ger-
mans confiscate our wireless sets. They are the one link we have
with the outside world, the one true source of information. Peo-
ple in the hotels have had to give their radios to the manager,
who has them locked up under seals. Here we have one which
could not be hidden, as it is registered, but we have a smaller
one which could be concealed if a search were made; it isn't as
powerful as the other, but it would be better than nothing. I
suppose those broadcasters know what their news bulletins mean
to us. One would like to say "thank you"; after the war is over
we shall.
Thursday October 28th
The Germans have confiscated a Vatican truck with a trailer,
and both sides are upset about it. It was bound for Pescara, full
of empties, to collect flour and spaghetti, as the Vatican City
has a right to provision itself independently of Rome* The truck
had the Vatican license plate and flew the Vatican colours, but it
was simply held up, the driver ordered to leave it and make his
way home as best he could. The German Ambassador was sent for
[43]
by the Secretary of State, Cardinal Maglione, who made a strong
protest. The Ambassador made profound apologies, and there
the matter rested. The truck was never traced, as von Weiszacker
has no grip on the military. However, it probably will not hap-
pen again, as it seems that the Germans are anxious to propitiate
the Vatican as much as possible; it looks as if they realized that
when their collapse comes the Pope's would be the only voice
which could be raised in their favour always supposing he were
willing to do so.
Friday October 29th
The difficulty of hiding patriots and Jews is becoming more
and more acute. Time goes in seeing people who come streaming
in for advice or introductions. It is physically impossible to hide
anyone in this house of ours, but one can help in other ways.
We might have expected it. The S.S. men tried to search the
Oriental Institute, the great centre for study of questions con-
cerning the Eastern Churches, run by the Jesuits. The Rector
speaks German fluently and forcefully; he met the S.S. group
squarely.
"We have come for the Jewish workman in your employ," said
the leader.
"He isn't here; he left us months ago."
"That's all right, we know all that of course, and we're going
to search your premises just the same," was the rough answer.
"You're not going to search my premises. Are you aware that
you are attempting to violate diplomatic immunity, and that this
is extraterritorial property of the Holy See?"
At this the officer wilted ever so slightly, and muttered that
he did not know it was pontifical property.
"By the way," continued the Rector, "are you under General
Stahel's orders?" At this he looked a little more embarrassed and
said:
"Er no, we have our own special command," and withdrew,
defeated.
It shows, strangely enough, that the S.S. have some respect for
pontifical extraterritoriality, for all that they are Himmler's
private army,
[44]
There is no salt and there are no matches. Such odd things to
be suddenly lacking. Both salt and sulphur come from Sicily, so
there you are. They are going to be rationed whatever we shall
get by that means. For it is one thing to have a ration card, and
quite another to find the article in the shop where you are en-
titled to it. Sometimes the "rations" for one month are several
months in arrears, and occasionally they skip out a month alto-
gether. Lack of matches is hard for those who cook on gas (and
most people do at present), because the gas goes on only for a
brief period three times a day, and that means lighting up three
times. There is talk of the ration being ninety matches a month
generally one third of them don't lignt. Smokers, who are
to be allowed three cigarettes a day, will be allowed a few more
matches. But of course the black market here comes into its own.
Salt is to be had at 1 50 lire a kilo its original price being 1 lira
a kilo. Matches and cigarettes are any price you like to name.
Saturday October 30th
A tempting offer is made now by the men of the hills, peasants
from the Abruzzi, who know the Apennines and are familiar
with all sorts of mountain by-ways. For 8,000 lire they under-
take to accompany you to the British lines in Southern Italy,
seeing to everything on the way, food, lodging and travel. Of
course you may have to do a good deal of the trip on foot so as to
dodge the Germans, but, like any serious tourist agency, they
promise to get you there safe and sound for the price. Sometimes
they will take you to Terracina by land and then secure a fishing
smack as far as Naples. A little while ago there was a regular
service between Terracina and the Neapolitan and Sicilian ports,
and on the Adriatic side there was one between places like
Chioggia and Pescara to Bari; unfortunately the Germans dis-
covered it, and their planes are on the lookout to machine-gun
the ferry service; so at present it is much more risky than it used
to be. If you are not inclined for travel, then they will take a
letter for you to Naples and guarantee to bring back the answer
for 500 lire really a reasonable charge. In order to encourage
mutual trust, with no nonsense about payment, when yon give
the peasant the letter you cut a 500-lire note in two, give htm
[45]
one half and keep the other. When he returns with the answer
you stick both halves together and hand them to him. So every-
one is satisfied.
Sunday October 31st
R., who is attached to the Swiss Legation here, returning from
Spain, has just brought us a parcel from a friend in Madrid. He
said he had three more little parcels for us, but that they were in
his luggage, which had been stopped at the frontier by the Ger-
mans. They don't mind who or what they stop at present. Con-
sidering that the parcels for us contain tea, I doubt if we ever
see them. Oh, well "pazienza" as they say locally.
Monday November 1st
The German authorities are being very, very kind to the
Romans and have fixed the curfew from midnight until 5 A.M.;
it was at 11 P.M., and has been as early as 9 P.M. The curfew,
of course, has nothing to do with the blackout, in spite of the
original meaning of the word; it simply indicates that everyone
must be indoors. If you are out during it without a special permit
you are either shot or arrested, probably the former. The black-
out varies with the length of the days. Not that the blackout
seems to matter as much as it used to; they are not anything
like so particular about it as in the times when if the smallest
gleam of light showed through a window, voices would be heard
shouting "Luce! Luce!" until it was extinguished.
Tuesday November 2nd
As it is All Souls* Day the public is admitted to the Campo
Verano, the great cemetery next to St. Lawrence-Outside-the-
"Walls, where so much damage was done in the first bombing of
Rome on July 19th. No one had been allowed in since then,
except two members of each family, because so many of the
graves had been ripped open. It was one of the best cared-for
cemeteries in the world, with superb flowers and plants of all
kinds, kept up by the city authorities. They say that it will take
ten years to get it back to its original condition. For today they
erected barriers round the most damaged portions, and it all
looked very desolate.
The Hotel Regina in Via Veneto has been requisitioned for the
use of the Germans. It was quite full, and one can't imagine
where all the guests have gone. The order was drastic and ad-
mitted of no delay.
Wednesday November 3rd
The Jth Army has not taken Isernia yet. They do seem very
slow. Perhaps Isernia will really be a turning point, as they say,
and we shall advance rapidly afterward. Tilings must move
soon, surely.
Benedetto Croce, the hoary philosopher, is making himself
heard loudly in demanding the abdication of the King. This isn't
the moment for political shifts of that kind, and, after all, Italy
will never succeed in being one republic. Only a monarchy can
unite its divers provinces, in spite of all the philosophers and
politicians.
Thursday November 4th
This morning a column of Germans passed down the Corso
and went northward by the Via Flaminia; they held up the
traffic for two hours. People stood looking at them in a dazed
way, not daring to show their real feelings as the tanks and guns
went by. Their columns are led by an officer in a small touring
car who stands, holding up a red disc to show the way. The
German radio made what some people consider to be a significant
remark today. Speaking of air war in Italy, the broadcaster said:
"If, in the heat of combat, bombs should fall on the Vatican
City, we should be accused of wishing to murder the Pope,
whereas in reality we would be defending Rome." It certainly
provides matter for thought.
Friday November 5th
The Allied air force got that German column that left Rome
yesterday. It was bound for Chritavecchia, and there was not
much left when we had finished with it.
[473
More hotels are being requisitioned by the Germans; they are
of course taking them among the best and most comfortable,
such as the Flora, the Excelsior, the Savoia and the Ambasciatori.
Sometimes they take the whole building, sometimes a pan of it.
There are German sentinels at the doors. They have their court-
martial as well as various offices at the Flora.
A tremendous propaganda effort is now being made regarding
the art treasures and the archives of Monte Cassino. The Ger-
mans claim that they have put them in a secret place of safety,
and that by so doing they are the saviours of civilization, etc.,
etc. Some say Spoleto is the place. They brought most of the
monks by car and lorry to Rome, where they are lodged at the
International College of Sant* Anselmo on the Aventine, and
at the Abbey of St. PaulVOutside-the-Walls. The Abbot and
six monks have remained at Monte Cassino.
Saturday November 6th
They've done it. The Vatican has been bombed. Yesterday
evening at about ten minutes past eight a plane flew low over the
Vatican City and dropped four bombs in a more or less diagonal
line running southeast to northwest. The damage is said to be
extensive, but one can judge best at first hand; I hope to go
there myself on Monday. The papers, naturally, publish columns
of hysterical condemnation of the brutality of the British in
daring to attack the Pope's own property and to endanger his
life, not to speak of endangering the art treasures and the Ba-
silica of St. Peter's. But in spite of all the printer's ink, and all
the radio propaganda, the people of Rome are already saying
with conviction fr i Tedeschi"
Soon after it happened several important German officers
presented themselves at the Vatican, full of concern, and ready
to conduct a thorough investigation on the spot. Although the
press stated that they did so, it was untrue, for their services
were politely declined and they were not admitted. The strongest
probability as to the identity of the pilot is that he was Farinacci's
secretary flying a German plane. Farinacci is the old Fascist
enemy of the Church, leader of the anti-clericals, and, at the
present moment, uncrowned King of Cremona and Northern
[48]
Italy. He is acting as Mussolini's representative to the German
authorities, and they do not mind what he does, provided he
leaves their military arrangements undisturbed. Everybody
knows that the Germans have numbers of English bombs in
reserve for cases exactly like this. It seems fairly clear that they
wanted to get the radio station, the only means by which the
Pope can communicate freely with the outside world. But they
missed it so completely that even the instruments were not
damaged.
This morning, from half past ten onward, large groups col-
lected in Piazza San Pietro beneath the windows of the Pope's
study, cheering and shouting rf Ewiv* U Papa!" and "II Papa! Il
Papa!' 9 until at last he appeared at his window and gave them his
blessing. He did so again at eleven and at half past eleven, as the
crowd increased in numbers and in enthusiasm.
In the meantime, Cardinal Canali, President of the Pontifical
Commission for the Vatican City; Prince Pacelli, Councillor, and
Commendatore Galeazzi, Director of the Technical Department,
made a thorough examination of the damaged premises.
Sunday November 7th
This morning all the parishes of Rome sent large groups of
parishioners, each one headed by the parish priest himself , to
Piazzo San Pietro, as a demonstration of sympathy and affection
to the Pope. It was a dull rainy morning, but the crowd paid no
attention to the weather. The Pope, at his accustomed work in
his study, heard the cheers from the Piazza and told his secretary
to look out of the window and report. On hearing what numbers
of people were below he had his study window opened, the one
which is directly behind his writing table, fifth from the end on
the third floor of the great block of the Vatican Palace. When he
was seen, all the umbrellas closed as if by magic and all the faces
were raised toward him with a roar of cheering. As he held up
his hand in blessing, a sudden silence fell and the words: "Bene-
dicat vos omnipotens Deus Pater et Fflius et Spiritus Sanctus**
were distinctly audible. Then the cheering broke out again. As
yesterday, so today he came back to the window twice at inter-
vals of half an hour.
149}
St, Peter's was open this morning. It had been closed on Satur-
day so that all the broken glass might be swept up, for the win-
dows had suffered a good deal from the blast. There was no
structural damage whatever to the dome or to the walls, contrary
to a current report. Most glass was broken in the apse and the
left transept. The great golden window with the dove, symbolic
of the Holy Ghost, which occupies the centre of Bernini's "glory"
in the apse, and which is the only stained glass in the entire
church, was pierced by about twenty splinters, themselves of
glass, blown in from its own large protecting window in the
outer wall. The windows in the drum of the cupola whose heavy
metal frames were strengthened quite recently, were fortunately
slightly open for ventilation and were not harmed. On the other
hand, some of the windows of the lantern of the cupola were
blown in, although they are at a height of 120 metres.
The walls and dome may be safe, but one other thing has
suffered severely in St. Peter's, and that is its climate. For the
first time in histpry it was desperately cold inside the Basilica.
The building is so vast and the ventilation managed with so
much skill that it was always pleasantly cool in summer and
warm in winter in comparison with the air outside. It will take
some time to recover that Petrine climate, I fear. It was quite
a shock to feel the cold on entering, not so much physically as
psychologically. People crowded in this morning to hear the
Masses which were being said as usual at the various altars.
Monday November 8th
The damage in the Vatican City was well worth investigating
for oneself. Considering what it might have been, it was slight;
considering the havoc wrought, it is not slight at all. One million
lire worth of glass has been smashed, not to mention damage to
dwellings; the destruction in the mosaic studio will take months
and months to remedy.
Two of the Palatine Guard on duty on Friday evening saw the
plane circle low over the Vatican City several times. It was flying
at about 100 metres when it dropped the bombs. Although no
public statement has been made everyone is convinced that it
was a German plane; it was too dark at the time to recognize
[50]
any markings it might have borne. It did not drop cither in-
cendiary or penetration bombs, but fragmentation bombs. The
first one fell about thirty metres away from the building where
Cardinal Canali lives, and fairly close to the city wall. All the
Cardinal's windows were broken, naturally; his doors and shut-
ters were blown in, and much damage was done to the interior
by splinters. The windows in the courtyard of the neighbouring
Palazzo Sta. Marta were broken, and, in the Palazzo dei Tri-
bunali, just across the road, a big fragment of a bomb fell in the
flat occupied by the Brazilian Ambassador* Numbers of diplo-
mats took up residence in this building as the war became more
widespread; they are those from China, Cuba, Peru, Bolivia,
Venezuela, Uruguay and Ecuador.
The second bomb made a direct hit on the roof of the mosaic
studio, which is half way between the apse of St. Peter's and the
Vatican railway station. The damage here was very serious. The
costly steel filing cabinet which was forged in Strasbourg and
contains thousands of compartments for mosaic cubes of all
shades was hit and the cubes were scattered; several unfinished
pieces of work were destroyed; doors, windows and roof were
smashed, and numbers of paintings damaged.
The most far-reaching explosion was that of the third bomb,
which fell behind the Governor's Palace: besides windows, doors
and shutters being destroyed, plaster fell from all the ceilings
and inner walls and furniture were broken up. The retaining
walls were, however, unshaken. The flat occupied by Mgr. Tar-
dint, Secretary of the Congregation for Extraordinary Affairs,
suffered severely, as did also the apartments reserved for visiting
sovereigns.
The fourth bomb fell between the Ethiopian College and the
radio station, and did no harm except to the reservoir. Windows
were broken in the Vatican Museums, particularly in the Raphael
Rooms and the sacristy of the Sistine Chapel. One Palatine Guard
was wounded, otherwise there were no casualties.
Numbers of dignitaries called at the Vatican to express their
sympathy; most of them were genuinely concerned, some were
merely officious. Among the latter was the well known Gino
Bardi, Federate di Roma, leader of the Roman Fascists, who came
from his headquarters at Palazzo Braschi to offer his condolences.
Tuesday November 9th
Der Oberbefehlshaber General FeldmarschaU Kesselring has
issued an impressive list of "Orders for the Protection of the
German Armed Forces," which runs as follows:
Information must be given at once to the .German authorities
(Militaer-Platz, oder Qrtskommandantur all in German) of:
a The existence of or possession by anyone of arms, ammunition,
or explosives of any kind.
b Persons who are planning or who have executed acts of violence
against members of the German armed forces, or against German
organizations. Also of persons who have knowledge of the fore-
going, together with their names and addresses.
c The presence anywhere of members of enemy forces, and the
names of those who harbour and assist them. The death penalty
is established for those who do not give the foregoing informa-
tion.
Moreover: for unlawfully wearing a German uniform or insulting
or belittling the German armed forces the penalty is imprison-
ment.
Those who do not carry out or who neglect the supervision duties
assigned to them by the Higher German Command will suffer the death
penalty.
Thus one goes to prison for belittling a sensitive German
soldier.
Wednesday November 10th
The telephones of all who reside in the streets nearest the Hotel
Excelsior have been cut off, because of the German Command
having quarters at the hotel. It looks as if they were afraid of
spies.
The Vatican has sent a lorry north to get some glass to replace
their million lire worth broken by the bombs the other day. In
Rome glass is beginning to be on the black market.
Three more classes are called up for military service: those
born in 1923, *24 and '25. They must report between the 15th
and 30th of this month. That means that three more large groups
of young men will go into hiding. Feeling against the Germans
increases daily, and the idea of being forced to fight for them
[52]
drives Italian men desperate. One does not count the infinitesimal
but noisy neo-Fascist pro-German minority. They are out simply
for what they can gain for the time being.
The British have broadcast today that they have now the
complete report of the whereabouts of all Allied planes last Fri-
day evening. None of them was near Rome.
Probably by way of illustrating German "protection" of the
Vatican, last night the Vatican radio reported the fact that, since
September, no mail has gone either in or out of Vatican City. It
is an illuminating comment on the Germans* claim that they are
facilitating everything for the Vatican authorities. And yet, they
do clearly hope to propitiate the Pope as much as they can. There
is no truth in the stories that they want him to leave Rome. Some
individual Germans may have said so unofficially, but it is not the
general view.
The Swiss press has stated that, on account of Friday's air
attack, the families of the diplomats in the Vatican City had
been directed to leave and were preparing to do so. The report
is quite unfounded. No one is thinking of moving. The diplomats
and their families are somewhat bored by the confinement and
the limited resources of their place of residence, but would not
think of leaving it.
The four reasons suggested by the British commentators for
the bombing of the Vatican City by the Germans are unconvinc-
ing. They are: 1 To show the need for German "protection."
2 To show that it is unsafe for the Pope to remain there and
thus have him removed elsewhere. 3 To give a pretext for tak-
ing away the art treasures of the Vatican, in order to put them
in a safe place. 4 To induce the Pope to issue a protest against
the bombing so worded as to cause misunderstanding between
him and the Allies.
Thursday November llth
The B.B.C. reports today that the whole quarter of Rome
round Via Veaeto has been mined by the Germans. If that is
true, then this house, together with this diary, wiD soar sfcy*
ward. We are definitely ia the Via Vesoetx) quarter.
From today onward there are BO mane taxis to be had on any
pretext whatever. Those wbo still hare bkycles are tacky.
]
Well, the Allies liave crossed the Garigliano and have reached
the German "winter line." Here the Germans are beginning to
say: "We shall spend a happy Christmas in Rome and a happy
Easter in Naples." Vedremo: we shall see.
Friday November 12th
Our enemy is determined to be comfortable here, anyway.
Large truckloads of coal are being delivered at the hotels they
have occupied; they seem to be very particular about heating.
The rest of us can get no coal, and the weather is beginning to
have a decided nip in it. In fact, by now, it is already a good
deal colder indoors than out. These Roman houses with their
marble or tiled floors, high ceilings and big windows are deadly
cold when there is no means of heating them. The sun, when it
is out, warms only the exact spot on which it shines.
Yesterday, in Via Regina Elena a crowd collected round a
house from which came a desperate voice shouting: "Help!
Help! I am an Italian officer!" There was no point in waiting
until the shooting should begin, so one does not know the end
of the poignant incident.
Saturday November 13th
Comic relief was provided by the London broadcast today.
They said: "In Rome Italian patriots have occupied the catacombs
and thence harry German troops." From the beginning everyone
has known that the catacombs would be useless as hiding places;
they could be smoked out like a badger's earth. It was thought
at one time that the Germans would use gas if they considered
it worth while to investigate the catacombs with it, but no one
hid in them. And there is no harrying of German troops here.
It would only lead to the bloodiest of reprisals, and would
achieve nothing. The Roman patriots are wise enough to wait
until there is immediate hope of the Allies occupying the city,
and then they will come out in force, organized and armed. It
is different in the North, where they are much more numerous
and the Germans are less concentrated.
[J4]
Sunday November 14th
Interesting information came in today about the escaped
British prisoners in the hills outside Rome* There is a regular
service which takes them parcels of clothes, books, food, medi-
cines, etc., run by friendly Italian officers. Arrangements are
made for their shelter, and the peasants build huts for them in
the woods when it is too dangerous for them to stay in the vil-
lages. In some places each peasant going out for his day's work
in the fields takes food for two people, enough for himself and
enough for an Allied ex-prisoner. We know of an old peasant
woman who always has one of them in her house, in honour of
her son, who is a prisoner with the British. One enterprising man
walked all the way from Verona to his own lines at TermolL
With the colder weather, however, which is corning on rapidly,
they will have a good deal to suffer.
People arriving from Frascati tell us that they have not yet
finished digging corpses out of the ruins after the air attack on
September 8th.
Monday November ISth
The Germans have started arresting Poles in Rome. Possibly
because the other day their President, speaking in London, re-
ferred to Polish friendship with all nations, and with "their great
Eastern neighbour/' Suspicion has, moreover, been brought on
them by the espionage activities of a Polish lady and her two
daughters. They were discovered, arrested and sent to the Man-
tellate, the prison for women, where they had a very hard time.
Finally influence was brought to bear by some of their friends,
and they were transferred to another place. One hopes that the
other Poles will not be locked up on their account. It is a plati-
tude to say "You never know what Germans will do.**
Tuesday November
Crossing Ponte Vittorio this afternoon we saw two superb
rainbows over Castello Sant'Angelo against a sky of steely g*y;
symbolic perhaps of tie good fortune that awaits both the idi
and the 5th armies.
War correspondence quoted by the B.B.C. says: "It will be a
tough job to take Cassino, but when we have done so then we
shall be truly on the road to Rome." Yes, certainly. But first
catch your hare. The Germans know the value of Cassino. Our
electrician remarks pessimistically: "They will try to hold the
Allies down there until they have finished robbing us in these
parts, and when there is nothing left here to steal, then they
will withdraw." This appears to be the general opinion in his
circle.
A few Jews have been allowed to return to their homes, largely
on account of action taken by the Pope. Is it possible to hope
that the man-hunting is over?
Wednesday November 17th
No, it isn't possible to hope for what I wrote yesterday. The
Germans have caught three thousand men who were hiding in
caves in the campagna near the Madonna del Devin'Amore at
Cartel di Leva. They intend to make round-ups whenever they
can. These people were not Jews; the Germans wanted them for
their "labour service,"
Thursday November 18th
It now takes ten days for the news of the death of a Bishop in
Umbria to reach the Vatican, in spite of what the Germans call
perfect freedom of communication. This was the case with the
death of Mgr* Estorre of Nocera Umbria who died at Sassofer-
rato.
Friday November 19th
Strange statements are made by the Swiss press. They have
correspondents in Chiasso who apparently cannot verify Roman
news. L* Ukertt of Fribourg reports that the Governor of the
Vatican City has caused the following notice to be affixed to the
three entrances:
The Governor of the Vatican City by order of Cardinal Luigi
Maglione, Secretary of State, declares that this place is a way of access
to the Vatican City, a sovereign, independent and neutral state. In
consequence it enjoys the right of inviolability.
Under this notice, in Italian, continues La Uberte, is a Ger-
man translation of it, and a declaration by General Stahel, the
commander in Rome, forbidding members of the Wehrmacht
to enter the City.
None of this is authentic. The three entrances have no notices
but at each stand two Swiss Guards, one of whom carries a rifle.
All who wish to enter have to give full proof of their identity
and their business before a pass is issued. This pass is examined
at frequent intervals by officials in uniform and in plain clothes,
as the bearer goes on his way. The pass must be given up at the
exit.
No German soldiers may cross the white line outside the
colonnade which marks the Vatican City boundary. There are
often groups of them assembled at that point, waiting to be
shown round St. Peter's; they are taken there by priests who have
special qualifications for the purpose. When the visit is over they
are punctiliously escorted back to the boundary line by their
ecclesiastical guide.
The mistake about the notice was probably made because all
buildings in Rome which are "extraterritorial," that is, the prop-
erty of the Holy See and therefore enjoying diplomatic immu-
nity, bear a placard in Italian and in German: "Property of the
Holy See. Extraterritorial zone," and they also have one of the
Palatine Guards on duty at the entrance. Each religious house,
other than extraterritorial, has been given a document signed by
both the Vatican and the German authorities to the effect that,
being such, it is not to be searched; but these documents are not
displayed. The only building which bears a notice in German
only, forbidding the Webrmacbt to enter, is the Quirinal Palace.
Saturday November 20tb
It is pouring rain. The Sangro and the Gariglkmo are in flood.
We've had days and days of this, and k looks as if we -would
[57]
have more* One can't blame the Americans in the 5th army, who
say that the first thing they will do on reaching home is to go to
the Italian tourist agencies and tear up all the posters that repre-
sent Italy as the Land of Eternal Spring. The Allies seem stuck
in front of Cassino. Leros has surrendered. There is that un-
necessary trouble with the French in the Lebanon. Everyone is
horribly depressed. "The Allies won't be here before Easter,
mark my words." "The Germans are planning to retake
Naples." "Why can't we get a move on?"
A futile "Constituent Assembly" presided over by II Duce
was held in the North the other day, although many say that
Mussolini is dead.
Yesterday Frau Kesselring was shown round the Vatican
Museums by the Director, Professor Nogara, It was a great
compliment to her, as the Museums are closed to the public at
present.
The Austrian soldiers have been deprived of their revolvers and
are left with their bayonets only. Numbers of them have deserted
already and are wandering about in the hills. It appears that a
large band of them, together with Allied ex-prisoners and Italian
patriots, under the command of a former German officer, are in
the hills near Spoleto conducting guerrilla warfare. It may quite
well be the case, though one has no means of being certain of it.
Sunday November 21st
We have begun to take refugees into our house; it is simply
impossible to refuse. These are Sicilians from near Syracuse, and,
as they were bombed by the Allies, I suppose we ought to do
something about it. The food question is the crux. We made a
strong appeal to the Vatican for help in feeding them, and got
* sack of flour and a sack of potatoes* The latter are almost a
luxury.
Provisions are increasingly hard to get. Nearly everything is
rationed, but no one could live on the quantities allotted in the
rationing, and even then, the shops where one has registered un-
dbr the rationing scheme often do not have the things one has
* right to. At present we have had only half the pasta (macaroni
or spaghetti) which was due in October. None of the November
rations has been available yet, with the exception of bread (ISO
grammes a day) and a small amount of lard. Very little sugar is
allowed, half a pound per month per person; and the tenth part
of a litre of oil. Green vegetables are difficult, if not impossible,
to find, and there is no question of fruit, fresh or canned. Flour
and rice are to be had in the black market at terrific prices. Pota-
toes can be got in the same way, but rarely. Even the black mar-
ket has hardly any jam; and milk, fresh, condensed or desiccated,
is next to unobtainable. There is no meat or fish, fresh or pre-
served, nor eggs, except the latter on the black market. Tea,
coffee and cocoa just aren't there, unless you are prepared to pay
a couple of thousand lire a kilo.
However, we and our refugees manage to get along and to find
enough for two meals a day (one hesitates to count breakfast as
a real meal here and in these circumstances), even if they do
lack some of the dishes we might be having in peace time. We
have great hopes of the Allies helping with our commissariat
when they arrive; we hear that in the south they have brought
plenty of tinned things, which we shall welcome heartily. One
seems to notice the absence of tea and coffee most of all. The
substitutes used for coffee are pathetic; the best of them is barley
roasted and ground. The colour is all right and it is wet, but that
is about all that can really be said for it, unless it contains a little
sustenance, as the experts claim. Imitation tea is made of camo-
mile, lime leaves or blackberry leaves, or else dried orange peel,
roasted and grated. Like the coffee, when you get it, it is hot
and wet and very, very unconvincing, particularly when there is
no milk nor sugar to go with it.
It stopped raining today, and optimists are foretelling a big
action somewhere soon. Magtri: would that it might be true.
Monday November 22nd
The Turkish Embassy is leaving Rome, This may mean that
Turkey intends to enter the war, or it may be that they axe
following the "Government** to die north of Italy. There is a
great fuss about the departure of the Ministries; and function-
aries who prefer to await the coming of the Allies in Rome rather
than follow the precarious fortunes of Mussolini's exalted yes-
[59]
tncn have lost their jobs. Pressure even is brought to bear to in-
duce them to travel, and much higher salaries are offered to those
who will consent to go to Verona or Venice or Cremona, wher-
ever the particular organization happens to have settled.
The Germans are still fiercely searching houses for hidden
arms, motor cars and men.
Tuesday November 23rd
War, as has frequently been said before, involves all sorts of
unexpected consequences. In Rome, the steady deterioration of
buses and trams is one of them. There are no spare parts, rubber is
lacking for tires, brake linings wear out and stay worn out, more
vehicles are scrapped, more people try to get on the remaining
ones, and the strain breaks them down sooner than usual. Yes-
terday evening there was a horrible accident to the tram that
passes below the Pincio, beside the outward-sloping piece of the
old city wall known as Muro Torto. Before reaching Piazza del
Popolo there is a long slope and a curve, and the track passes
close to a low brick wall that surrounds Villa Borghese. It was
dark, and the heavily laden tram had gained such momentum
that the brakes would not act. It reached the curve at full
speed, swung off the tracks, crashed Into the wall and collapsed
on its side among the debris. The wounded passengers lay there
helpless until another tram came along.
The Germans are making "scorched earth" of Fregene, cutting
down the pines and destroying the olives. It is one of the most
charming seaside places within easy reach of Rome, with famous
pine woods near the beach.
Wednesday November 24th
Yesterday we heard very heavy explosions in the distance, and
we learned today that it was the Allies bombing out all that was
left of the big airfield of Ciampino, about fourteen kilometres
from here, on the way to Frascati. The planes that came over
looked like dragoa-flies in the sun. It is doubtful if it will be pos-
ble to use the airfield again, even after several months of re-
p*iring. The field itself , the hangars, the repair shops, the sheds
for stores, everything was blown up. The anti-aircraft guns were
very active, but not the Luftwaffe.
Thursday November 2Jth
Our spell of fair weather was deceptive. It is raining in tor-
rents here, and they say it is worse in the South and on the
Adriatic.
Mussolini and his Council of Ministers met again yesterday,
somewhere in the North, The papers came out with big head-
lines about it, which is a consideration, when there is only one
sheet to the whole paper. Their decisions were published in full.
The name of the Italian State in future is to be "Italian Social
Republic,*' and workers' salaries are to be raised by 30 per cent.
They have, of course, no hope of stemming the tide of inflation
as they had at the beginning of the war, so as prices rise they raise
salaries, hoping for the best and prepared to stand from under
when the crash comes. They have also established a special court
to try the members of the Grand Council who voted against
Mussolini on July 25th. It will go hard with the latter if they
are caught. Some, it seems, have left the country.
Friday November 26th
Once more the Jews: all objects of art belonging to them are
declared to be sequestered by the nation.
The Pope has received the British Minister, the American rep-
resentative, and the German Ambassador. In consequence ru-
mour says that Hitler is trying to negotiate peace. The probability
is that these audiences are merely routine, or rather war-routine
ones.
A humourous feature of the present situation is the avalanche
of requests for English lessons. Today alone five sets of people
have called to ask for information about where they can be had,
Fortunately we have the addresses of several hard-working teach-
ers who are delighted to get extra work. Some of the applicants
say quite frankly: w We want to know tow to welcome die Al-
lies when they come,**
Saturday November 27th
German truck and motor drivers are reckless beyond ail de-
scription. They killed Renato Cialente, a very popular actor,
yesterday evening, and the Romans are furious. He was coming
away from the Teatro Argentina with some friends; they were
walking quietly down the Corso, not in the road but on the pave-
ment, when a German lorry dashing along swerved and knocked
him down, fracturing his skull. Death was instantaneous. The
city was shocked by his tragic death, and everyone loudly blamed
the Germans for it. German trucks are the only ones allowed on
the Corso, so there could be no question of the driver's national-
ity. One paper raised its voice with no uncertain sound, and
although censorship is rigid here, its protests were printed. The
Voce d'ltali* said:
This unhappy death throws fresh light on the brutal irresponsibility
of driven who speed recklessly, even during the blackout, without the
slightest regard for the safety of pedestrians. A recent military ordi-
nance limited the speed of vehicles, particularly in the more central
quarters; we do not know if the orders have been withdrawn, but ap-
parently drivers of motors, and particularly of trucks, care nothing
about them, judging from the increasing number of street accidents.
We witness accidents of this type daily because careless drivers, even
msUtcry omes, disregard pedestrians crossing the streets. Human lives
seem no longer to be of any account, if the first motor driver who comes
by, though he be wearing * military uniform, can thus butcher foot
passengers. Ve beg for energetic action in this matter on the part of
both civil and military authorities. [The italics are mine.]
Sunday November 28th
Ve arc all encouraged by the message General Montgomery
has sent to his men: "The time has come to drive the Germans
north of Rome. They have been outfought, and we can now
go forward," Certainly the time has come. In fact we feel it is
* trifle overdue.
Monday November 29th
The High Command at the Hotel Excelsior is bright and
dbeerfuL Officers of incredible elegance make their way in and
out, sentries snap to the salute, and a good time is had by all.
General Maelzer gave an entertainment on quite a large scale
there yesterday evening, with the help of Italian actors and
singers. It was organized by a producer from Berlin, distinguished
for the management of the "Komiker Kabarett." Elaborate re-
freshments for all and plenty of flowers for the ladies were
forthcoming.
They're losing men by the hundred in Italy and by the thou-
sand in Russia, but the Komiker Kabarett must go on. One
wonders if that sort of revelry by night is inseparable from war.
Perhaps so.
Tuesday November 30th
The neo-Fascists are causing themselves to be despised and
hated somewhat more than previously by what has just come
out about the doings at their headquarters in Palazzo Braschi.
Having got wind of something unusual going on there, the Ger-
mans, direct and forceful as usual, sent for some members of the
Italian police, and together they raided the place. The resident
Fascists were dumbfounded, so was the raiding party. In the cel-
lars they discovered a number of non-Fascists, men of good
standing and reputation, in a pitiable condition from imprison-
ment, starvation and torture. Some details of the torture are too
revolting for description. Some of the prisoners had died and
their bodies had been disposed of inside the building. Several,
who could still move, jumped from the windows when the raid
began, and were taken to the hospital with broken limbs. Be-
sides their victims, the Fascists had also concealed quantities of
gold, silver and jewels which they had "sequestered" by entering
houses and demanding diem at the point of the revolver. They
also had, as might have been expected, large supplies of food-
stuffs, flour, ham, cheese, wiae, oil and other things which are
severely rationed.
No mention was made in the press of the immediate arrest of
the Palazzo Braschi gang, bat in less than twenty-four hours the
whole of Rome knew about it and feeling ran high. Forty in aH
were taken off to prison and shipped to the North for trial. The
ringleaders were the famous 'Tederale dellTJrbe" Gino Bardi,
who had hastened to present condolences to the Pope on behalf
of the Roman Fascists when the Vatican was bombed; the two
Pollastrini, father and son; Carlo Franquinet; Guido Strappa-
felci; Eros Conti; Mario Caruso; Cesare de Paolis and Sante Mar-
chetti. The general comment was: "Well, anyway, the Germans
have done one good deed in arresting those blackguards."
Wednesday December 1st
More posters today telling us what not to do. The prohibition
was published long ago, but as the public paid no attention what-
ever, they have now put it on the walls. We are informed that we
MUST NOT listen to broadcasts from countries that are not
occupied by Germans. This is a new way of expressing it; they
used to say "enemy countries." Moreover we MUST NOT spread
anti-German news. They don't specify just what anti-German
news is; anyway, we mustn't spread it. The penalty is a heavy
fine and/or imprisonment.
It is coming out by degrees that the Germans are less and less
enthusiastic about the Fascists, and that, if they possibly could,
they would get rid of them altogether. Unfortunately II Duce
is Der Fuehrer's friend, so they can't. If it were not for that
"friendship" Fascists would have disappeared some time ago, and
the Germans would be governing occupied Italy in name as
well as in deed.
Thursday December 2nd
The "Republic" has abolished all titles and honours conferred
by the "ex-King of Italy," but graciously allows Pontifical titles
and honours to be recognized and used, in the same way as
foreign titles are recognized. In all probability there is going to
be a slight hitch concerning this and various other things before
long, as the Pontifical Government has not recognized the
"Italian Social Republic" and the latter is sore about it.
Friday December 3rd
We cling to straws here. Everyone is excited and pleased be-
cause there is a persistent rumour of the Germans 9 withdrawal.
It originated in the fact that there are lots of Germans in the
streets, and some of them are asking their way. Because they
don't know Rome it was concluded that they were passing
through on their way to the North. Also, they have forced the
evacuation of Cassino, as if they were going to destroy it before
leaving. The Cassinese people had no choice and no time. At
the point of a gun they were told to leave or be shot, so they
climbed into the German lorries and were taken off. Numbers
of them arrived in Rome and were dumped in the suburb of Tor
Pignattara, bewildered, cold, hungry and exhausted. No provi-
sion had been made for them, so they just stood there. Convents
came to the rescue and the nuns took the refugees in, at least
for the time being and until something definite could be ar-
ranged.
The nuns here have been magnificent in the midst of bom-
bardments, evacuations and other tragic circumstances of war.
With superhuman strength of mind and body, in the teeth of
chaos they have organized, and in the teeth of famine they have
fed the hungry and harboured the shelterless. Indeed mute and
inglorious they have been and are. Individuality is hidden be-
neath the uniforms they wear; they are not out for medals or
ribbons or recognition; but if people in the Allied countries
salute women in uniform, they certainly ought to salute women
wearing the religious dress, when they get here, at last. The
salute will have been earned.
Today the Vatican daily, the Osservatore Romcno, publishes a
strong protest against the treatment of Jews; it is called forth by
the new directions issued by the "Republic" to the heads of the
Provinces, to the effect that all Jews must be sent to concentra-
tion camps. The order was issued obviously at the instigation of
the Germans. The Osservafore points out that it is unreasonable,
unchristian and inhuman. Times are bad enough, it says, with-
out our creating fresh sources of suffering and anxiety; we arc
sorely in need of God's help, which we can gain by exercising
charity toward His creatures, and all of us, nations as wdH as
individuals, are in need of that today. Let us take care to be just
and merciful, it concludes, and to pay CHIT own debts so dbat
God may remit ours with both justice and mercy.
It was a bold protest, courageously made, The Oss*n*tfor* is
sold regularly on all the Roman news-stands, and, strange to say,
it continues to be sold, even after publishing articles as outspoken
as this.
Saturday December 4th
The Roman German-controlled press answered the Qsservatore
by asserting that Jews were considered foreigners, and as such
they were potential enemies and therefore might with perfect
justice be sent to concentration camps. This evening's Osservatore
replies firmly that no decree issued by any political party can
change the status of an Italian-born citizen, possessing his na-
tionality by the existing laws of the land; and that, even if
enemy aliens were to be sent to concentration camps, the old and
infirm, women and children, are exempt. The article is both
judicious and moderate, and ends with the words: "We shall
continue to place our trust in wisdom and good will, in justice
and mercy; if these are carried into effect all will be spared fresh
cause for anxiety, and the end will be equally well attained. From
good deeds done, good will accrue to all."
Sunday December 5th
The Osservatore protests once more, this time on both sides.
The editor deplores the murder, which took place yesterday, of
Colonel Gino Gobbi in Florence; he was the Fascist commander
of the city police. But, as "reprisals," ten anti-Fascists were exe-
cuted immediately. Condemning this ferocious act of revenge,
the writer says: "If this method is followed, then the numerical
increase of reprisals and counter-reprisals will end in mass execu-
tions of men by the hundred or even by the thousand, and will
lead to absolute disregard of human life as such."
Yesterday, for the first time, mention was made in the Roman
press of the crimes committed at Palazzo BraschL It was stated
that the police had completed the arrest of "individuals guilty
of grave indiscipline and of illegal activities, of disturbing
public order and of bringing discredit on the local Fascist group."
Monday December 6th
Our baker's boy arrived this morning with his hand and arm
bandaged. When asked what had happened he said laconically:
"A German truck."
Roads in and out of Rome are carefully guarded by armed
German sentries, and a list of roads which may be used is pub-
lished. The larger ones are open day and night; smaller ones only
in the daytime, and footpaths may not be used at all. They want
to put a stop to cross-country escapes.
Tuesday December 7th
There is nothing really amusing about being robbed, thought
the Trappists, whose monastery lies between Rome and Albino,
when the Huns swept off their livestock consisting of a horse, a
cow and a pig. Being vowed to perpetual silence, they just said
nothing and carried on as best they could without the animals.
Twenty-four hours after the theft, in the dawn's early light,
they saw a strange procession returning to their house: the horse,
followed by the cow, followed by the pig, all alone, and, like
their masters, in silence. The Germans are still wondering wist-
fully what happened to them, being particularly partial to f resh
pork.
Wednesday December 8th
The news man whose stall is opposite our house is poorer than
most, having a family of five to support on what he makes or
doesn't make. This morning when he opened up, he found several
children in a basket awaiting his arrival, while two adults stood
guard over them. It turned out that they were relatives of his
from Cassino, evacuated by the Germans, and like those dropped
in the road at Torpignattara, stood waiting until some hdp
should be forthcoming. They had no food, no shelter, no ration
cards, and very few clothes. The news man simply took them
into his own overcrowded lodging. We managed to help oat
with bedding, food and money. On occasions like this the charity
of the poorest to one another is an example to us all.
[67]
Thursday December 9th
Rumours grow with the speed and facility of mushrooms. The
latest one is that the German Command has had no news from
Hitler for four or five days, and that, if his silence continues
for two days more, they will take it upon themselves to with-
draw from their positions here. They have concluded, so says
the rumour, that Hitler was either caught in the air attack on
Berlin or has fled.
Friday December 10th
Strangely enough the Germans have made good their boast
about saving the treasures of the Abbey of Montecassino. It is
difficult to understand their motives, after their wanton destruc-
tion of the great library at Naples. Anyway, here are the treas-
ures in countless cases and boxes: archives, manuscripts, books,
pictures, engravings and illuminated missals. There are about a
hundred thousand volumes in all, not counting the manuscripts.
The sight was striking and picturesque when the long line of
heavily laden lorries came down the Tiber embankment and
passed beneath the battlemented walls of Castel Sant'Angelo
and through the gate into the court of the old fortress. German
officials made a speech or two, somebody answered them on be-
half of the "Ministry of National Education," and the transfer
was accomplished. These precious things will all be housed in the
Vatican Library as soon as it is convenient. It is providential that,
at the present moment, the Vatican Library should be closed to
readers. The members of the staff are thus free to deal with these
incoming books and manuscripts. Moreover, an increasing num-
ber of Roman princes are giving their family archives to the
Pope for the Vatican Library, and this makes still more work
for the staff. The donors follow the example of Don Gelasio
Caetani who, shortly before his death, presented the vast Caetani
archives to Pope Pius XI; they now occupy one entire room in
the Library. It is felt that all these archives will be in safe
keeping, that they will be classified, catalogued and made avail-
able for research. No other Library can compare with the Vatican
Library, and if anything should happen to it in this war the loss
to civilization would be inexpressible. A movement is on foot at
[68]
present to reproduce all their existing manuscripts on microfilm
as a precaution against possible destruction.
Saturday December llth
There is a new German way of dealing with men who dodge
the labour service. They will get no ration cards. These cards are
issued every four months; probably a census will be taken before
they are due next time, and all who are not working will have
to starve quietly. On the other hand, so little is available at times
of what is apportioned by the cards that some say frankly: "Keep
your card, we don't want it for all that we get to eat by means
of it we might as well be without," and they are untouched by
the new penalty.
Sunday December 1 2th
The city authorities hope to remedy the food shortage, or so
they say, not only by obliging all producers to sell their products
to the general store of food, at the established prices of course,
but also by forbidding provisions to be brought into Rome with-
out a special permit. The sentries on the roads leading to the city
will be responsible for carrying out the new regulation* Indi-
viduals may bring in three kilogrammes of food for personal
consumption. This legislation constitutes a well meant effort
to stop black market transactions. Of course it will have no
effect on the black market except to send up the prices.
Monday December 13th
Today we are faced with another attempted remedy foi
another increasing difficulty. The remedy is comparable only ta
King Canute's gesture ordering the waves to recede. So as to
relieve the violently congested condition of the buses, it is ar-
ranged now for the bus stops to be five hundred metres farther
apart than formerly. The authorities point out hopefully that
this will make people willing to walk all the way, as they would
have to go so far to get the bus. The answer is simply that they
won't, and the buses will be as bad as ever or probably worse.
Tuesday December 14th
The German Ambassador to the "Republic" has presented his
credentials personally to II Duce somewhere in the North. He is
the truculent Dr. Randolph von Rahn, a specialist in "occupa-
tions'* accompanied by drastic measures. He was very active when
Paris was occupied, and was Charge d' Affaires here before the
armistice, when the Ambassador was absent.
We found it necessary to dig up one of our boxes of buried
valuables today. It contained money and securities. Setting out
light-heartedly, we dug. No box. We dug farther around the
spot. No box. Feverishly we tried to remember if any thief could
possibly have seen us at the job when we buried the box. Had
the gardener discovered it accidentally and made off with it?
We dug on. The ground was rooted up as if by a maddened ter-
rier. No box. Darkness fell, and we gave it up for the time being.
Wednesday December 1 5th
After a sleepless night we went on digging. No box. We gave
ourselves up to the resignation of despair, but made one more
try, deeper and yet farther from the spot. The box! And the
moral of that is, when you bury valuables in time of war, mark
the spot carefully.
Food transport is becoming so difficult that the old method
of using the Tiber for the purpose is being advocated on all sides.
If only they could organize it properly, the thing would work
admirably, Barges loaded with produce from Umbria could be
brought down with the current and return upstream empty.
There will be a real famine here soon if they don't do something
of the sort.
Thursday December 16th
The Roman Fascists have moved their headquarters to the fine
building in Via Veneto which used to be the seat of the Ministry
of Corporations. They have thus shaken the dust of Palazzo
Braschi, of evil memory, from their feet forever, and to white-
wash it as far as possible, it is to be turned over to evacuees from
southern Italy. These are the personal directions given by the
[70]
new Federate, Giuseppe Pizzirani, who succeeded Giao Bardi, ttr
leading gangster, now under arrest.
We were talking today of the slow progress of the Allies both
on the 5th and the 8th army fronts, and someone pointed out
that in over two thousand years of its history Italy had never
been invaded from the south, except by Belisarius in the sixth
century when he overthrew the Gothic kingdom. It is the slow-
est and most difficult way of conquering the country. And, more-
over, the Germans are defending their positions with grim deter-
mination, apparently in order to have something to compensate
for their debacle in Russia.
Friday December 17th
The Montecassino treasures are being moved from Castd Sant'
Angelo to the Vatican. We saw some of them going this morn-
ing as we crossed Ponte Vittorio.
There are so many German cars of every description and so
many German soldiers going about the streets that it looks as if
the soldiers marched round and round for propaganda purposes,
and the drivers of cars were told to show themselves as much
as possible. Via Sistina is the headquarters of their Transport
Command, and it is alive with them. Among us it is known as
Brighter Berlin. Piazza delta Trinita, at the upper end, is blocked
with their conveyances, from smart stolen cars for the officers to
trucks for the men. The printed notices there are all in German,
and there is a German military traffic policeman at the lower
end, where Via Sistina runs into Via Francesco CrispL
Saturday December 18th
Minor repairs to the Vatican radio apparatus on account of
some slight damage caused during the air raid of November Sth
have now been completed. The experts in charge there have de-
cided to set up an emergency station in case of more attacks of
the same kind. Thus there should always be the possibility of
communicating with other countries by means of one station
or the other.
We have just learned that on Thursday night there was a big
[71]
explosion in the Fascist barracks in Viale Romania, near Piazza
Ungheria. It was presumably a time bomb, but the Fascists don't
seem to be able to trace the man who put it there. They always
say "communists" when these things happen.
This morning another bomb went off in a little eating house
in Piazza Risorgimento, where some Germans were having din-
ner; they were all killed. Two Fascists were murdered yesterday;
one of them was shot, as he was walking along the street, by a
cyclist who came up from behind, fired, and was off at full speed.
This evening, more explosions. At about six o'clock, a time
bomb which had been placed in the elevator shaft of the Hotel
Flora went off, killing one German soldier, and one woman, and
injuring several others. The Flora is being used as headquarters
by the Germans at present, and Kesselring lodges there when he
is in Rome. He was there today and escaped as if by miracle, as
he escaped during the bombing of Frascati; he seems to have a
charmed life.
Considerable injury was done to the hotel by the explosion,
particularly to the heating plant. Hot water oozed from the walls
and poured from damaged pipes, in all directions. The Germans
were very particular about having their rooms well warmed in
this chilly weather, and they wanted hot water. Well, they got it.
There was tremendous excitement in Via Veneto when it all
happened. Every passer-by, whether on foot or in a motor, was
arrested and hustled into one of the ground-floor rooms of the
hotel. No one was allowed to telephone home to say why they
were detained, and they were not told how long they might be
kept there. All were interrogated minutely, and those who were
considered suspicious were kept all night. One of our friends who
was there got away at 8.H, because she could talk German. The
Spanish Ambassadress to the Holy See, who was passing in her
motor at the time, was stopped and brought into the hotel like
everybody else. It was some minutes before she was allowed to go.
Voluble apologies followed, and it was explained that she had
been led into die hotel for safety. But that was a lie*
[72]
Sunday December 19th
This morning another time bomb went oflf in the cinema in
Piazza Barberini and killed a civilian; it naturally caused a panic
as well.
Today's papers publish orders from the German Command of
Rome that the curfew, instead of beginning at 11.30 P.M. and
ending at 5 A.M., will now begin at 7 P.M. and end at 6 A.M. This
is the city's punishment for bomb-throwing. We are "confined
to barracks" after 7 o'clock. That means that the trams will
start their last trips at 5.30. It dislocates everything, especially
for the unfortunates who do not eat in their own houses; their
evenings will be hungry ones indeed.
There are barricades and sentinels in front of the Flora and
the Excelsior hotels, and the former is provided with machine
guns as well. No one may pass on the pavement in front of them.
Residents in the upper part of Via Veneto, that is between Via
Ludovisi and Porta Pinciana, are punished worse than most, be-
cause for them the curfew begins at 5 P.M.
The work-people explain these murders by saying: "Well,
what can you expect? The Germans are starving us."
Monday December 20th
The press passionately urges all citizens, in the name of w ri-
sponsabilita e ctvismo" to treat the Germans nicely and not to
attack them. We hear hand grenades and rifle shots at night
around the new Fascist headquarters close by in Via Veneto, but
they are mysterious shots and we never hear either the exact cause
or the results. Of course it is a strain on the Romans, wrought
up as they are against the Germans and possessed by political pas-
sion, not to shoot when a good occasion offers. They do not stop
to consider that, apart from other things, they will briag down
on that feUow^tizens far heavier penalties than their action
would warrant, and that they are doing nothing thereby to win
the war.
[73]
Tuesday December 21st
The German Command today forbids the use of bicycles be-
tween 5 P.M. and 7 A.M. This is a blow for the working men who
used to cycle to and from their work, that is, those whose ma-
chines had not been stolen by the Germans. Of course those
cyclist murders brought this on everybody.
It is announced that the Pope will broadcast on Christmas
Eve. What can he say? Everyone wonders. And it is also an-
nounced that the Midnight Masses which used to be celebrated
on Christmas Eve wiH be anticipated and said at five o'clock in
the afternoon.
Wednesday December 22nd
Unpleasant news this morning. The patriots and Jews who have
been sheltered in religious houses all over Rome will probably
not be safe any more. The Fascists not the Germans this time
are raiding them. Back in October, when the S.S. men first got
here, they tried to search the Oriental Institute, but desisted on
learning it was pontifical property. The "Republican Fascists," on
the other hand, are quite free from such scruples, and enjoy
breaking into anything belonging to the Pope because they are
so very, very sensitive at not having had their "Government"
recognized by the Vatican. As far as the Vatican is concerned,
politically the "Republicans" simply aren't there, and it, as it
were, just looks over their heads when they come up to shake
hands. They are terribly upset about it, now adopting the atti-
tude: why-should-x^-recognize-the-Vatican-anyway? coolly
brushing aside the Lateran Treaty, signed by Mussolini in 1929*
This, their first venture, was on a fairly large scale, includ-
ing three neighbouring establishments. The Lombard College,
founded by Pope Pius XI for Church students from his own
Province, the Oriental Institute run by the Jesuits, and the Rus-
sicum, the College for Russian Church students, form one large
block of pontifical property close to St. Mary Major's.
There was a spy among the patriots at the Lombard College
who arranged everything for the entrance of the Fascists. A
number of the patriots were arrested, though several got away
by the back stairs. The house was thoroughly searched, and the
leader of the gang confronted the Rector with a revolver and
a letter from a girl to whom one of the refugees was engaged.
[74]
"These are nice things to be found in the table drawers of your
so-called church students," he sneered.
Some of the patriots are unquestionably imprudent, as in the
case just mentioned. We heard of another incident in which an
Italian officer, hiding from the Germans, was taken in by some
friends of ours at their own great risk. Toward evening his wife
rang him up to know how he was. Every telephone in the city
is supervised. One may imagine the result of such indiscretions.
At the Oriental Institute, the Jesuits had sheltered three Jews.
The Brother porter faced the Fascists and said: "You have no
right here, this is pontifical property. Where are your papers?"
"Here," was the answer, and the Brother found himself look-
ing into the muzzle of a revolver. During the search one of the
Jews escaped. The second was suffering from heart disease, and
collapsed from shock of being discovered. The third was a doctor,
and although he could have escaped quite easily he would not
leave the man who had fainted. They were both taken.
Only three were caught in the Russicum, but it was searched
like the other two houses. As he was going, the leader of the gang
turned to the Rector and said: "Why did you hide these men?"
"For the same reason for which we shall probably be hiding
you before long," said the Rector.
As the "Fascist Republic" has no representative at the Vatican,
the only way in which the latter can protest against this flagrant
violation of diplomatic immunity is through the German Am-
bassador. As a matter of fact, the Germans are thoroughly sick
of the Fascists, and if it were not for the personal friendship
whatever it may amount to between Hitler and Mussolini,
they would have got rid of them long ago and ruled without
them. Just when the Germans are doing their best to conciliate
the Vatican, the Fascists go and upset everything. There is no
doubt whatever about this desire on the part of the Germans.
Thursday December 23rd
The "Midnight" Masses which were to be said at 5 PO*. to-
morrow have been cancelled in all the parishes, cm account of
the curfew and in order not to have crowds collecting in die
afternoon.
Most of the patriots on the run in Rome hardly enrer spend
more than a night or two now in the same place. Their wives
and children also go to live away from home, because otherwise
they might be taken as hostages. The porters tell enquiring
Fascist and Gestapo agents that they have gone and they have
no idea where they are. The way they escape arrest is wonderful,
under the circumstances. Naturally they all have false papers.
The police had the happy thought of taking the list of addresses
of friends hanging near the telephones when they searched the
houses, but even those were destroyed by the prudent ones.
Some of the police force are patriots at heart and do a good
deal to help the others. One of them began his conversation
with an anti-Fascist's wife by saying significantly: "Your hus-
band is not here, is he?" "No," said she. "Then that is all," he
answered, * e l have done my duty," and went.
An order, published today, is intended to prevent this per-
petual flitting of patriots or Jews. Here it is:
1 All changes of domicile in the city of Rome are forbidden, without
special authorization of the police.
2 House owners or their responsible agents must make a full list of all
persons resident in each house, floor by floor, and place it in a con-
spicuous position in the entrance.
3 Anyone giving hospitality to persons other than those included in
the above-mentioned lists will be punished according to German
military law.
The census of the population of Rome is to be taken at once.
Friday December 24th
At ten o'clock this morning the Pope received the Car-
dinals of the Curia, who presented their Christmas wishes to
him. As a rule, in his answering speech he mentions any matters
of importance which he wishes to make known. Today he made
a brief review of the damage done to Rome and to the Vatican
City from the air, and urged his hearers to use all their influence
in order that the citizens might keep calm and self -controlled in
whatever trials might await them in the future.
At a quarter past twelve the Pope made his broadcast to the
world. Seated at the table in his private study, he spoke clearly
[76]
and distinctly. The Italian stations relayed his speech, so that
everyone heard it, both inside and outside Italy. The speech was
dignified and penetrating, on the evils of war and the need for
peace on the sound basis of Christian principles, and it carried
conviction in unexpected quarters. But will the conviction be
acted upon?
The Germans, out of the kindness of their hearts, are giving
the Romans a Christmas treat: on the 24th, the 25th and the
26th, so runs the proclamation, the curfew will begin at 9 P.M.,
instead of at 7 P.M.; in other words, they are allowing the chil-
dren to stay up for two hours more. Do they expect Rome to
rejoice wholeheartedly under the present circumstances?
Saturday December 25th
that with whims and sects and wan
Have wasted Christmas Day.
G. K. CHESTERTON
Sunday December 26th
The German commander of Rome, General Maelzer, surpassed
himself yesterday in a propaganda stunt. It happened that late
on Christmas Eve news came through on the radio that German
prisoners in England were to have special services and a very
exceptional dinner on Christmas Day. Accordingly in the morn-
ing Maelzer sent to the Swiss authorities asking if they could
arrange for a service and a dinner for 150 British prisoners from
a camp near Rome, in the course of the day. It was appallingly
short notice, but the Swiss are never to be outdone as go-getters.
They opened up the American church in Via Nazionale ami
had it dusted. As it had been closed for over two years the dust-
ing was a fairly elaborate process. Next, where could they dis-
cover a parson? After combing the city they found that the
only one who could speak English was the minister from the
"Waldensian church in Piazza Cavour. It was short notice for
him too, but by three o'clock he had prepared a service for die
men. They arrived in motor buses and ptkd out at the church,
[77]
to the great excitement of onlookers. Service over, they were
taken to the Hotel Regina in Via Veneto and given a dinner
consisting of pasta, Irish stew, potatoes, vegetables and cakes, to-
gether with a pint of wine and a packet of cigarettes each.
There was some music, also a Christmas tree in the middle of
the room; and General Maelzer and staff looked in during the
festivities.
Today the columns of the papers are filled with praise of the
Germans' generosity and magnanimity, their kindness to prison-
ers and so on. Certainly, 150 of them had the drive, the service
and the dinner, but in comparison how many thousand Germans
in England got their special Christmas celebrations? Naturally
the papers accompanied their photographs of the men arriving
in the buses, and their descriptions of the event, with the re-
mark: "The British boasted that they would be in Rome for
Christmas: well, they have been here." So there!
Monday December 27th
Another German was murdered today by a cyclist who got
away without being caught.
Somehow, one thinks of agents provocateurs as characters who
appear in the pages of thrillers, and there only. "We've had a
real one. He rang the front door bell, and with no further pre-
amble said that he was helping British prisoners who had escaped
and could we give him any assistance in his work. We said that
we knew nothing about them and were not interested.
Tuesday December 28th
In consequence of yesterday's murder the use of bicycles in
the city has been absolutely forbidden at any time. Cyclists will
be shot at sight. Obviously this will throw a greater strain than
ever on the already overworked tram service, and will cause
real hardship to those who depended entirely on that means of
locomotion.
At about 12 today we heard heavy bombing in the distance.
Some slum-suburbs of the city were hit, lying as they do near
the railroads. Pietralata, Via Appia Nuova, Centocelle, the Garba-
[78]
tella and Tor Marancia all suffered; there were a good many
casualties and some damage to houses. They got the railway in
several places and the airfield at Centocelle, but nothing can
ever accustom one to the sadness of civilian casualties. It is
horrible.
The 5th army has gained some more heights near Cassino.
But we aren't advancing much, apparently. Here we are at the
end of the year, and last September we thought that it was going
to be all we could do to bear with this German occupation for
two or three weeks. Will it ever end?
Wednesday December 29th
There has been a lot of talk since the raid on the three extra-
territorial religious houses, and Fascist propaganda has tried to
whip the matter up into a scandal, professing horror that priests
should hide "traitors," and so on. But the propaganda fell flat,
and will probably be killed outright by an article, aimed straight
at the Fascists, which was published today in the Otttrvatore
Romano, a courageous paper, if ever there was one. And, as the
Germans really control everything here, it is significant that no
dire consequences followed, such as the suppression of the edition
with the article, or its being torn from the hands of readers in
the streets, as happened in May, 1940, just before Italy entered
the war. It looks as if the Germans were not sorry that the
Fascists should have received this reproof.
The Osserv afore article is entitled Christian Charity. Here is a
summary:
"With whom does the Church side?" I am often asked this question,
sad to say, even by those in good faith. I answer that the Church is for
everyone and she is for no one. She will never consent to be identified
with any "party." The Pope and the Church do not side with portions
of the human race. They are for all mankind, and for each indifidual
man, who, before he is a party member, is a son of God; before he is
a member of this race or that, is the possessor of an immortal souL
The Church, therefore, does not require passports, party membership
cards or any other documents. Then are no police, secret or otherwise,
surrounding her altars. ... X said that the Church is for no one, tad
yet for everyone. She is for no one wfaea a group stands for some special
[79]
and exclusive interest; and she is for everyone, that is for all mankind.
Men who are bound to one special group or party will not under-
stand what I have just said. They will not understand, for example,
that anyone (be his opinions utterly divergent) may go to the house of
a Catholic priest to find hospitality there. They will not understand that
priests have room even for their enemies, both in their hearts and in
their dwellings. They may be called weaklings in consequence, and
efforts may be made to hinder them from acting on these principles.
But if the right of giving sanctuary is denied to Catholic priests, then
one of their fundamental rights is denied to them, and, worse still, an
attempt is thus made to force the Church to de-Christianize herself by
restricting her charity within the narrow bounds of private interest
and of hatred.
A law which aims at preventing the exercise of charity (charity
being in itself above all human institutions, since it comes directly from
Goid) is more harmful than centuries of persecution. It is a point on
which the Christian and the priest can never give way without betray-
ing the Gospel as well as their own consecration to Christ.
"And this is no secondary matter: it is the boundary line between
good and evil*'*
SERGIO PIGNEDOLI.
There was an added sting in this for the Fascists, on account
of their having adopted the attitude of being champions of the
Faith because they are anti-communist and anti-Freemason; or
so they say.
Thursday December 30th
Yesterday evening a time bomb went off at the entrance to
the Penskme Santa Caterina, at the corner of Via Po and Corso
d'ltalia. As this pension is occupied by the Gestapo, there was
a great commotion about it. No one was hurt, but some windows
were broken and some brickwork smashed. It might have been
much worse of course, as it was only by accident that there was
no one going in or out at the time. The people in the street were
stopped, and those in the neighbouring houses were not allowed
to come out for quite a while. The author of the disturbance was
not discovered. The Germans are beginning to be a little nervous
over these time bombs.
[80]
Friday December 31st
At 1 o'clock this morning planes passed over us, flying low;
they were probably German ones taking supplies to the Cassino
front. There was a good deal of machine-gun fire in the neigh-
bourhood, I think it was near the Pensione Santa Caterina, where
they are very much on their guard on account of that bomb
exploding in the doorway. They are taking no risks, and executed
three men this morning who had attempted to murder some of
them.
The Fascist efforts to make the best of both worlds would be
funny if they weren't so violent, and pathetic if they weren't
so futile. This morning's papers published a Stefani dispatch to
the effect that Giovanni Roveda, a well known communist, had
been arrested in a Jesuit establishment, thus once more trying
to show up priests as people who shelter "traitors," communists
and the like. The Giornale d'ltalia, however, this evening, ate
its words and printed: "The Roman Radio Bulletin was inexact
in broadcasting the news of the arrest of Giovanni Roveda, a
report which we published word for word. "We have been assured
since doing so that the arrest did not take place in a Jesuit house."
Then this afternoon after the great end-of-the-year function
at the church of the Gesti, the Fascist official who acts as Gov-
ernor of Rome presented a handsome chalice to the Vicar General
of the Jesuits. This has been the custom for some years, and the
"Republicans" made a point of keeping it up, if only as a gesture.
The Jesuits seem to be bearing the brunt of things at present
in both rain and shine.
Saturday January 1, 1944
May 1944 bring us peace!
Last night the young barbarians at play had a marvellous
time. Everyone else was indoors by 9 o'clock on account of the
curfew, so they gave a big party at the Exoelrior, and a litde
before midnight, being fairly drunk, they began to shoot up
the town. Rifles, revolvers, machine guns, anything that would
make a noise was fired off. All around the Excelsior they kept it
going until well after midnight, and they did the same in Via
Nazionale near the Albergo Quirinak. It aeeoas that it is a pretty
custom of theirs to "Kill the Old Year" in this whimsical manner.
Under present circumstances it appeared to be rather a waste of
ammunition.
The papers are full of Hitler's New Year's proclamation. It is
very long and says nothing new, using as keynote the claim that
this war is a war for existence, so victory is bound to be theirs.
Goebbels and Goering followed suit as usual.
Sunday January 2nd
A cheery broadcast from London tells us that "the curtain is
rising on the last act" and that we shall see victory soon. Maybe.
But the depression in this city is deepening daily. We all had such
high hopes of being delivered by the New Year. Strategists say:
"Perhaps at Easter." Three months more of this? We shall be
dead of starvation long before then.
Some observers say that there is a gleam of hope today, all
the same, in the fact that Turkey shows signs of entering the
war on our side. The Turkish Ambassador in London has gone
hastily to Ankara, and von Papen saw the Turkish Minister
for Foreign Affairs immediately after a secret session of Parlia-
ment. Von Papen is a stormy petrel, but his political ability
amounts almost to genius. Hitler did well to place him at Ankara,
for he can manipulate situations, convince hearers and save lost
causes with untold patience and skill. If he remains at Ankara,
Turkey will probably not come to our aid. Those who were in
Washington in 1916 know something of his methods.
I can't close today's record without adding that Hitler and
Mussolini sent each other affectionate New Year's greetings by
telegram.
Monday January 3rd
"Nessuno comanda 9 * nobody exercises authority is the
slogan of those who, at the present moment, would like to make
a little profit on the side. Sometimes the ensuing disorganization
is funny, and again sometimes it isn't. When we went off to our
usual place, beyond St. Peter's, to get a little wine no, nothing
[82]
exciting, just plain Frascati we found that we did not have to
trouble about going on afterward to the customs office, as we
always used to, in order to pay duty on what we had bought.
The cellar to which we have access is hollowed out under the
Janiculum; it looks like something on the stage and it smells of
old-fashioned cider and mice. A long line of casks stretches away
before you and loses itself in the shadows beneath the vault. A
little old man in overalls presides over the casks, most of them
empty by now. He is particular about his job, and when he has
filled your fiaschi you bring your own of course he sits down
at a rickety table between a pile of planks and a dusty wheel-
barrow and makes out your bill in purple ink, shaking sand over
it to dry it. We asked about paying the duty as usual. "You
don't need to go to the office this time," he said, "ncuuno
comanda, no one gives orders any more." But we noticed that
what would have been paid to the customs had gone down in
that purple ink on our bill.
War is hard on the wine merchants. One of them said to us:
"You understand, I am not going to run the risk of having a
million lire worth of bottled Marsala or Moscato struck by a
stray bomb on the railway." And that is why there isn't any,
the Germans having polished off the already existing stocks.
Tuesday January 4th
There is quite a lot of firing in the distance today. In fact,
now it is heard both by day and by night, and at each thud one
wonders if it couldn't possibly mean that the Allies are landing
near here.
Two minor German achievements today. They have given
permission for tricycles to be used in delivering goods between
6 A.M. and 5 P.M., and a bicycle with a cumbersome trailer will
also count as a tricycle. When you come to think of it, it has
three wheels, so it is a tricycle after all. In their thoroughness
the Germans are accustomed to split hairs, and we are getting
used to it.
Secondly they surrounded and cleared everything from a small
but well known lingerie and woollen goods shop in Via Tritooe
[W]
called Nido Rosa. A crowd gathered while the contents were be-
ing loaded onto a lorry, but they did not dare express their
indignation openly.
Wednesday January 5th
More books and art treasures have be,en brought here; they
are from the Museum and Library of Naples. Many of them had
been sent to Teano for safe keeping, but when the fighting drew
too near, they were brought to Rome. About six hundred cases
were delivered at Palazzo Venezia, where they will be tempo-
rarily. As soon as time allows some will go to the Sapienza, former
seat of the University of Rome, and some to the Vatican.
Fascists have entered another religious house: this time it was
a Franciscan convent, where they arrested General Caracciolo
di Feroleto, who commanded an army of thirty divisions before
September 8th, and as he was one of those who accepted the
armistice, the Fascists have been trying to find him ever since.
It is feared that he may have been shot.
Thursday January 6th
Feast of the Epiphany. The Palatine Gliard was reviewed this
morning. There are about two thousand of them, including the
new recruits. They paraded to the Hall of Benedictions, the
largest in the Vatican Palace, where they heard Mass celebrated
by Monsignore Castellani. The commander, Conte Cantuti di
Castdvetri, and the officers occupied special places near the altar.
During the sermon the preacher reminded the newcomers of the
honour conferred on them in being permitted to serve as body-
guard to the Sovereign Pontiff. After Mass they went to the
Cortile del Belvedere, where they were reviewed by Monsignore
Tardini, Secretary of the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesi-
astical Affairs, who is also their chaplain. In his address he wel-
comed the new recruits and reminded them of the noble tradi-
tions of loyalty, discipline and fidelity maintained by the
regiment. The recruits were then sworn in and marched past the
saluting base. A number of the Vatican diplomats came to look
[84]
on. It was an inspiring sight as well as a historic occasion, because
from five hundred they have now been increased to two thousand.
Friday January 7th
Another clothing shop was entered this morning. It was in
Via Volturno, which leads from the Ministry of Finance to the
station. This time the crowd was less indignant against the Ger-
mans than as against the proprietor who, unfortunately, was a
Jew and who had held his goods back until prices should rise,
refusing to sell and pretending that he had not got them. Some-
one reported him to the Germans and they arrived in force with
a truck, delighted to punish a Jew and at the same time get hold
of more stuff.
There is a sinister sound about the announcement that the trial
of those who dared to vote against Mussolini at the meeting of
the Fascist Grand Council on July 24th is to begin tomorrow at
Verona. The neo-Fascists are out for revenge, the fiercer the
better.
Saturday January 8th
Some interesting statistics have come our way. There are at
present four hundred escaped British prisoners in Rome; they
are lodged and looked after very thoroughly, and each one
receives a hundred lire a day. Even now, one cannot or rather
should not give the names of those who are concerned in this
splendid organization, which has its office with card indexes of
the men, its assistants and its collecting agents. There arc afao
a few escaped British prisoners in the Vatican City. One of them
is an airman who bailed out in the fields beyond Rome, walked
toward the city, saw a great dome in an area enclosed by walls,
concluded that it was St. Peter's, climbed over the wall and
delightedly reported himself to die British Minister.
Sunday January
German civilians have been told to leave. Tbejr are to go oo
the 16tk Why? Is it poeribie that they expect the Allies to enter
Rome soon?
The feverishly fervent Fascists of the Farinacci type have
asked Mussolini to make an address in his old way to the Italian
people, to rouse them from torpor and to get their support for
the "Republic." II Duce has made terrible mistakes, but, for all
that, he is intelligent. His answer was brief: "Does a dead man
make an appeal to forty-five million decaying corpses?" He is
living in a villa on Lake Garda, surrounded by S.S. men. They
are ostensibly there to do him honour, but also possibly to see
that he stays where Hitler wants him to stay. He appears some-
times in the weekly news reels, though it is hard to understand
why he allows movies to be made of him. He looks a broken
man, with bent head and dejected bearing, much thinner and
more lined than he was last summer. The course of events,
coupled with his illness, has taken heavy toll of his strength.
Monday January 10th
The O*rt/*/orr Romano published two articles today in close
proximity, on the front page, and the significance of each seems
to be heightened by the other.
The first article deals with the Nobel Peace Prize, which has
not been awarded since 1939 and has accumulated considerably,
amounting now to 618,000 Swedish crowns. Should Sweden
oppose the award in 1944, the stipulated five years will have
elapsed without anyone receiving it, and both capital and interest
will go to the heirs of the Nobel family. Naturally, the Osserva-
tot makes no mention of what must be in the minds of many,
that if the prize is given for effort rather than for success, then
it should most certainly be awarded to Pope Pius XII, for his
efforts to bring about peace have been and are continuous, exe-
cuted by his many diplomatic agents in all countries.
The second article is a strong protest against the Fascist and
German practice of shooting "hostages" as a punishment for
murder. Before power politics prevailed hostages were entitled
to humane treatment and enjoyed diplomatic immunity-; they
were held by one ride as a guarantee of the good faith of the
opposing side. Today they are simply a group of defenceless and
innocent persons executed in retaliation for the murder of one
individual. International law lays down the inviolability of
CM]
honour, of family rights, of human life, of private property,
and forbids collective punishment for individual crimes. These
collective punishments of today in their magnitude and cruelty
merely add fuel to the flames of vindictiveness, and weight to
an avalanche of human lives. The article concludes:
In this land of ours, where Roman law originated and where chivalry
was at home, some of us are ready to proclaim the utility of crime as a
punishment for crime, and of butchery for butchery. Those who do
this are neither genuine Italians nor Christians.
Tuesday January llth
A special reward is offered to the first person who reports a
grounded plane, whether a German or an Allied one. The sum
advertised is 300 lire. At the present rate of exchange that would
be about fifteen shillings, or three dollars. They must be expect-
ing numbers of planes to come down near Rome, if they can put
the price as low as that. At current black market rates it would
buy a pound and a half of butter, or two quarts of olive oil.
Wednesday January 12th
Ciano is dead. They shot him as a traitor yesterday morning.
The news came from Verona today. Whatever animosity may
have been roused by his extremely colourful career, there is
nothing but sympathy now, for him and for his family; sym-
pathy coupled with growing indignation at the behaviour of his
father-in-law and the Fascists. Ciano's wife made every effort
to persuade her father to spare her husband's life, but Mussolini
was adamant about it.
* The papers, after having been silent about the dreary farce
of the Verona trial, gave the whole thing at great length today.
De Bono, Marinelli, Pareschi and Gottardi were condemned and
shot with Ciano. The others who had the strength of mind to
vote against Mussolini at the meeting of the Fascist Grand Coun-
cil on July 24th are either in southern Italy or in neutral coun-
tries. They were condemned to death in their absence. Grand!
is the most capable of them and could do much for his country
[87]
in the future* Old Marshal DC Bono, aged 78, a soldier who had
never mixed in politics, kindly, modest and hard-working, was
o crippled with rheumatism that he had to be carried to the
place of execution. Two priests were in attendance on the group
during the night before they were put to death, and they died
as men should. Feeling is running high against the "Republican"
Government for this dastardly piece of political revenge. As a
commentator put it: "Fascism is going out in a welter of in-
famy."
Thursday January 13th
About noon today a big formation of Allied bombers escorted
by fighter planes came over Rome, sailed majestically round the
city, dropped bombs on the Uttorio airport, on the one at Cento-
celle, on roads leading out of the city, and finally got Guidonia
near TivdU, the famous experimental centre for plane construc-
tion; it has an important airfield. We saw them heading for
Guidonia when they left Rome. The flak went into action, and
toward the end, some German {Janes went up. There were sev-
eral dog-fights over Rome and a good many splinters dropped
in the streets, particularly in the Trionfale quarter, beyond Stu
Peter's on the left. A few fell in the Vatican City. Quite close
to us here, in Via Quintino Sella, an empty petrol tin descended
from the skies, but did no damage. There were some casualties
near Via Trionfale among the people who were watching the
planes. It certainly was a fascinating sight. One Allied airman
met hb enemy coming head on; the German plane was cut in
two, and the American came down as well. In all, five American
planes came down, but their crews bailed out safely; on landing
they were taken prisoners, of course. One American plane fell
near the Rome-Viterbo railway, ooe on Monte Mario, and the
others in open country. To thoae who had never seen anyone bail
out before, the parachutes looked like great white blossoms float-
ing earthward.
This evening we were returning from an errand on the other
ade of ribe Tiber, and it was dKisk before we neared home. We
were stopped by an Italian sentinel who stood in front of some
d*ftrional barriers surrounding Via Veneto and the approaches to
[W]
it. In fact, the frontiers of our neighbourhood are closed every
night. One of our friends said: Tfo* live in Germany." The
sentinel was surprisingly courteous and when we hesitated as to
exactly what detour we should make, he waved us on and said
"Possono passare" "Go through just the same." The P.A.L is
not only an efficient police corps, but fully half its officers are
pro-Ally, and will act as an enthusiastic fifth column when the
Allies get here.
Friday January 14th
Somewhere in North Italy the "Council of Ministers'* has met
and decreed that there is to be a general socialization of industry.
They don't go so far as to speak of national socialism exactly,
but they hold out to the workers alluring plans of co-operation
and joint management. This is hailed by our German-controlled
press as a glorious and epoch-making innovation. The Roman
press, by the way, consists practically of German papers written
in Italian and bearing the former Italian names as camouflage.
There is always the one shining exception in the Vatican paper,
Osservatore Romano.
It is a pity that, with the present shortage of paper, the
Germans let themselves go with such a profusion of posters.
Today the famous Todt road-building organization has plastered
the walls with big placards, bearing, on a black background,
vituperation of the Allies and an exhortation to join up for
work. Everything is promised: excellent food, wages, lodging,
ease of mind for your family because your wages will make for
their comfort; and work in Italy. This last is significant, showing
that they know the horror that Italians have of being sent to
join the rest of the slaves in Germany. So you will have every-
thing of the best in the best of worlds, if you sign on. Long-
faced groups stood about listlessly reading these manifestoes, in-
different to their dbeery persuasiveness.
Saturday January 1 ?th
London broadcasts today that die Allies are making ready to
break through the tn Gusta v" line, which is said to be impregnable.
Cassino is one of the hinges of this line. It is almost too good to
be true. Can they really manage to smash these defences?
Up in North Italy the patriots have already killed one of the
eight judges who condemned the Grand Council Fascists to
death: they capsized his motor car. They apparently agreed with
Macbeth that 'twere well it were done quickly; though nothing
can ever justify murder. The other seven judges have each
received a miniature coffin as a sign that they too will meet death
at the hands of the patriots.
Sunday January 16th
The Germans have removed their offices from the Quirinal
Hotel, the Excelsior and the Flora, and have transferred them to
the handsome modern building in the Corso dltalia which was
originally intended for the Fascist Agricultural Federation.
They have erected more of those white wooden barriers, which
vaguely suggest a horse show, across the road on both sides at
some distance from their new headquarters, and they have also
brought a few armoured cars with machine guns to be pointed
down the side streets. Thus, still more of our little frontiers are
dosed at night in this part of town. If they are so thoroughly
settled in Rome, what truth can there be in this new rumour
that they are sending no more reinforcements south?
A howl is now going up from the press because the Allies don't
teem to consider Rome as an open city, having flown over it, and
fought over it too, on Thursday. And the worst feature of this
non-recognition is, of course, that it follows the German declara-
tion that it is an open city. "But the German Command has said
that it is an open city, and what more could anyone expect or
ask for in the way of proof ?" They get quite hysterical with in-
dignation. And all the time Rome is full to bursting with Ger-
mans, their arms and ammunition, their tanks, their supply
dumps and their loaded trains in all the stations. Everybody
knows it. Rome is their big centre on the way to and from the
aouthera front. All roads lead to Rome now, with a vengeance.
And yet they screech and moan about the perfidious enemy who
will not take their word for it that Rome is a completely open
city. "But we wd it was!"
Monday January 17th
Yesterday, it seems, our airmen got the big viaduct at Orte
which they had been trying to hit for some time* This will hang
up the southward-bound traffic for three months at least, as
Orte is one of the most important railway junctions in central
Italy, where lines from east and west meet to converge on Rome.
Pope Pius XII is doing today what Gregory VII did in the
eleventh century, and Innocent HI and Gregory IX in the thir-
teenth century to save Rome in time of famine. He is helping
to feed the city, and for this purpose has got together a fleet of
heavy trucks with trailers which will scour Umbria, Tuscany
and the Marches for flour and foodstuffs for the Romans, who
by this time are pretty hungry. The Vatican colours are con-
spicuously painted on the sides and bonnets of the trucks, and
expert drivers have been engaged. In the Cortile della Pigna, in
the Vatican, enormous garages have been hastily run up to house
the trucks between trips. The Governatortto of Rome is im-
mensely relieved at this unexpected help given by the Holy See.
They have next to no trucks left them by the Germans, and
next to no petrol for the few they have. The Germans make a
show of anxiety to help all they can with the food problem, and
the papers tell of meeting after meeting which they hold in
conjunction with the local authorities. In the meantime they take
food coming into the city for themselves. They lie first and steal
afterward.
Tuesday January 18th
There reached Rome today the first copy of a new weekly
called Crociate Italic* (Italian Crusade). It is published in Cre-
mona, seat of the "Fascist Social Republic," and its editor is a
priest who, on account of his connection with it, has been sus-
pended * divinit by the Bishop of the diocese, Mgr. Giovanni
Cazzani. The paper represents Farinacci's effort to harness Ca-
tholics to the neo-Fascist party, and, under the sounding tide of
a crusade, to rally those who care more for religion than for
politics, by giving them a political religion. Here are a few ex-
tracts from a front-page article:
[91}
Fascist teaching closely resembles the ideas of the greatest Catholic
thinkers [wbcb onc&] and our priests should therefore be full of
enthusiasm for it; they should induce men of good will to close their
ranks around the standard of our Republic. This is their plain duty,
particularly because if it were not for Jews and Freemasons the re-
sistance of the United Nations would amount practically to nothing.
... In Germany there are more Catholics than in the whole of Great
Britain; [to wbtt?]. . . . Petain's and Laval's France is the tradi-
tional Catholic France . . . What other proofs are needed to convince
you that this Fascist war is fought in defence of Christian values?
[Quite * lot, rt*Uy.]
The futility of the article, like the rest of the paper, is so ob-
vious as to be almost funny. But amusement wanes on noticing
the name of the writer: it is familiar to a good many: James
Barnes. Formerly a British officer, he is now working for Fari-
nacci. His last book was about Albania and the Abyssinian war,
and was called Hdf * Ufe Left. The editorial, by Don Tullio
Calcagni, is of the same tenor. Two other priests who, together
with the editor, have been suspended by their Bishop sign articles
urging support of the Republic because the Allies are "hostile to
religion."
Needless to say, no recognizable element of the Catholic
Church is identified with Fascism or the "Republic." The Bishop
of Cremona has been placed under house arrest, but this makes
no difference to either his principles or his actions. He is a per-
petual thorn in Farinacci's side. The latter has given to his party
as a watchword: "Down with all priests except the scagnozzr"
(an old Italian word meaning unkempt priests who wandered
about celebrating Masses and funerals here and there) . The name
is used now to denote those few priests who are devoting their
energies to Fascist propaganda. Some of them write in Farinacci's
own paper, the Regime Ftscist*, a publication which attacked
Mgr. Cazzani bitterly for haying celebrated Mass for those who
had died in the war, and not exclusively for those on the Axis
ride, Farinacci's attitude, however, is not of merely personal
vtndttt* against one prelate, he is at war with Catholic Action
as a whole. An article in his paper beaded fr We Will Not Forget"
dealt with the declaration issued by the Bishop of Parma, Mgr.
Evtib CoBi, Director General of Italian Catholic Action, which
had been read from the pulpit of all parish churches, denying
the Fascist press report that Catholic Action was alleged to have
urged its supporters to serve the Fascist Republkan Government
loyally. In this way, Mgr. Colli dissociated Catholic Action in
North Italy from Mussolini and his friends. One of the leaden
wrote in the Awcnire, on this same subject: "Catholic Action
belongs to no party, it is not political, it is not Socialist, it is not
Republican, it is not Fascist."
The launching of the Crociat* Ittlica is definitely a false step
on the part of the Lombard Fascists, and will do them much more
harm than good.
Wednesday January 19th
The Germans have forbidden all trunk telephone calls from
Rome; they are increasingly nervous.
General Gambara, one of the Fascists who followed Graziani,
has just reviewed the "Italian troops on the southern f ront," com-
posed of the recruits from the classes of 1924 and 1925. He made
special mention of the magnificent morale of these men, and
"their affectionate comradeship with their brave German Aiiie*/*
Brave allies who left them to die in Africa and in Russia, and
who are starving them out in Italy! No statement was made as
to how many of them deserted to the British down there.
There was a good deal of bombing this morning in the sob*
urbs near Quadraro and Centocelle*
Thursday January 20tfa
The last of Mussolini's megalomaniac plans has vanished into
air. An advertisement announces that they are selling off
the building materials on the site of the "E.42," the huge Inter-
national Exhibition which was to have come off in 1942, to cele-
brate the twentieth anniversary of the founding of Fascism. It
had been begun in 1938, and by the summer of 1939 had been
planned down to die last detail. All that BOW remains is several
colossal buildings set in a barren wilderness. There k is, and oooe
so poor to do it reverence. Sir trtttsti. . .
[93]
Friday January 21st
During the night the Allies made a landing at Anzio, about
thirty miles from here. It seems too good to be true. We haven't
many details yet, but we are so delighted that nothing seems to
matter beyond the fact that they are there, so close to us, at last.
It is as if a cloud had lifted from the city. People in the streets
look happier than they have for a long time.
Saturday January 22nd
The Germans seem to be apprehensive and somewhat at a loss
as to what to do next. Many of them have left Rome. Won't they
all go? Last night I heard the quick swish of cars continuously
passing along the street. It was dreary to lie awake, but bliss to
think that the Germans were fleeing. Those passing wheels never
ceased between 9 P.M. and 6 A.M. There were few armoured cars
and no tanks; the motors seemed to be official. All the officers in <
Rome appeared to be clearing out. What joy!
Sunday January 23rd
It is only today that the papers speak of our landing, and they
do so in the vaguest of terms, saying "north of the Garigliano."
They make no reference to the bitter fighting that is in progress.
'The landing had been foreseen for a long time." "The enemy
maintains strict reserve about the action.'* That is all. We have
heard by the "grapevine** news that the Allies are advancing
steadily and have taken Aprilia, that they are approaching Lit-
toria and that they have occupied Carroceto, south of Lanuvio.
For us, that is enough to go on with. But the Germans are still
in Rome.
Monday January 24th
The fighting appears to centre at present round Littoria on one
side, and Carroceto on the other. If it is heaviest near Littoria it
may mean that instead of coming to Rome they intend to join
the others on the Garigliano, and are working southward to meet
them. The Germans are putting up a remarkable fight. How did
{94}
they have so many men available all at once for this business?
Or did they rush them from Cassino? However, surely the Allies
will take Rome soon. I wonder if they know how, for us, every
minute makes a difference.
Tuesday January 25th
Sabotage goes steadily forward. An explosion just missed
wrecking parts of the Borghese Palace. The Germans store some
of their things there, and one of their lorries was drawn up in
the court. The old porter noticed that someone stole up and
placed a suspicious-looking parcel on the running board of the
lorry. Thinking it must be a bomb, he dashed at it, and carried it
to the largest open space he could find quickly, which was
another court. Almost as soon as he had dropped it, the thing
went off, not doing very much harm. The Germans must have
had something valuable in that lorry, for they gave him a reward
of 10,000 lire.
Since the Germans declared Rome to be an "open city'* the
air-raid alarm has not been sounded, but today it was announced
that it will be resumed; not five blasts as heretofore, but three,
and one long one for the "all clear." But, in future, during the
alarm, buses, trams and vehicles in general will continue to run.
Previously they were obliged to stop, and the passengers had to
alight; no one was allowed to walk about in the streets, in fact
you were generally obliged to go to one of the air-raid shelters
unless you had already taken cover, Nothing more appalling
than those shelters can be imagined: most of them were death
traps, flimsy and ineffectual, and they were full of a more or
less hysterical crowd. We generally managed to get into a church
before they closed the doors, if we were caught in an alarm,
but it needed some managing as the churches always shut at
those times, for greater safety.
Wednesday January 26th
The Allies are still landing men and supplies at Anzio, and have
enlarged their beachhead considerably, having now about 32
kilometres of coastline in their possession. The Germans are
putting up a strong resistance, but that was to be expected.
[95]
Yesterday hand grenades were thrown in a German barracks
and against some German trucks. As it happened between 5 P.M.
and 7 P.M., the German Command has now ordered the curfew
to begin at 5 P.M. This dislocates everything, of course. It means
that most people must start for home at 4 P.M. if they are out.
Restaurants, cinemas and shops must close at 3 P.M. The punish-
ment is a heavy one.
Thursday January 27th
Yesterday the Palatine Guard from the Vatican went on duty
in all the pontifical extraterritorial buildings in Rome. Each place
has its own squad which lives on the premises. They look very
businesslike on sentry-go, with their military cloaks and rifles
with fixed bayonets.
The Germans are offering a reward of 200,000 lire for infor-
mation which will enable them to trace the murderers of two
Fascist women. Regard for human life seems to be fading out
as time goes by, and we are going back to the Dark Ages, only
with modern machinery to make our own age darker.
Friday January 28th
B. came in to tell us of a quaint adventure with a German.
B. is connected with the railway and has, accordingly, a pass
which allows him to be out during the curfew hours. The other
night he was stopped by a German sentinel, who wanted to find
out W!K> he was and where he was going. B. speaks no German,
the sentinel spoke no Italian, so their conversation was conducted
in English.
There has been a lot of talk these days about the Germans hav-
ing urged or rather ordered the Pope to leave the Vatican and
take up his residence in the tiny principality of Liechtenstein.
The whole thing is a canard. I do not know if the Germans ever
suggested it, but I do know that the Pope said to a personage who
ww begging him to go to a safer place than Rome, if only for
the time being: "I have told all my Bishops to stay in their dioceses,
come what may, and shall I, Bishop of Rome, be the first to give
tie example of flight?"
Saturday January 29th
There are great air battles over Anzb and Nettuno. Both bombs
and heavy artillery can be heard here. In fact we hear them by
day and by night as well. The Germans boast that we are being
driven back into the sea, but, somehow, we are still there, and each
day more strongly settled in. The Germans sank a hospital ship off
Anzio, one of ours; it was brightly illuminated and dearly
marked. Its sinking was in keeping with their other activities*
What can you expect?
A thrilling escape was made today from San Grcgorio. The
place is the old Benedictine monastery next to the church of San
Gregorio on the Coelian, the monastery from which St. Augustine
set out to convert England in the year 597. After 1870 the Italian
Government took it from the Camaldolese who were then in pos-
session and it was put to various uses. The Fascists used it as a
college for the training of teachers, but since the establishment of
the "Republic" it has been used as a subsidiary prison for Regina
Coeli, the State prison; at San Gregorio the political prisoners were
allowed some measure of comfort, and it is, to say the least, cleaner
than Regina Coeli. Six of the prisoners, then, got away this morn*
ing, Among them were the former director of the Stef ani Agency,
the former editor of the Giornale d* It alia and Count Solaro del
Borgo, Gentleman-in- Waiting to the King. They made friends
with two of their guards, bribed them, and effected their depar-
ture fairly easily. One of the guards escaped with them, the other
was caught and shot. Both Germans and Fascists were furious
when they learned of what had happened, and that same evening
placed the Duchess of Sennoneta under bouse arrest, for no ocher
apparent reason than that she was a Lady-in- Waiting to the
Queen. The Duchess, however, had been advised that the matter
might not end with mere house arrest, and, as Palazzo Sermooeta
is built on the ruins of the Theatre of Marcdlus and has as many
windings as a genuine rabbit warren, it was not very difficult
for her and her maid to make their way out quietly and go into
hiding. Of course her property was declared "forfeit to the na-
tion" and seals were placed on the doors, but not before some of
her things had been stolen by both Germans and Fascists.
The patriot General Garibddi, who was in hiding in Rome, was
also arrested today, and news of the murder of the Fascist Secrc-
[97]
tary of Bologna, Eugenio Facchini, has just reached us. Life seems
to be turning into a series of plots, counter-plots, murders and
reprisals*
Sunday January 30th
"Reprisals" was my last word yesterday evening, it is the first
this morning,. Nine men have been executed for the murder of
Facchini.
Another Fascist "special court" has been set up to try seven
Italian generals who helped to bring about the armistice: Robatti,
Vcrccllino, Caracciolo, Gariboldi, Rosi, Vecchiarelli and Moiszo;
as also five admirals for the same reason: Campioni, Zanoni,
Mascherpa, Pavesi and Leonard!.
More cheering than the above news was the arrival of our six-
teen evacuees; that is, sixteen over and above our four Sicilians.
Of the sixteen, three come from the suburb of Tor Pignattara;
they were bombed out in one of the raids on the railway yards, a
nice man getting on in years with his two daughters, one studying
to be a teacher, the other a postal clerk. The thirteen are peasants
from Lanuvio, relations of a maid we had before the war. Lanuvio
is close to Carroceto, and in the very thick of the Anzio fighting.
They have been shelled out rather than bombed out, as their houses
were damaged mainly by the heavy guns of the battleships off the
Anzio coast. Their fields and vineyards have been swept by the
tide of war, and practically nothing remains to them; but in spite
of all they are admirably patient and cheerful. They are glad to
find food and shelter and friends, and also a scrap of garden where
they can smell the earth, see the sun, and do a little digging.
They had been living in caves since the Allies landed. They
describe the sea as covered with Allied ships. And oh, how they
hate the Germans! Their one hope is the arrival of the Allies in
Rome. It is ours, too. We managed to put them all up by squash-
ing a little, but they are in luxury here compared with what they
would undergo in one of those dreadful concentration camps
to which the GermAis are now taking evacuees by force. The
Litest to be established is at Cesano near Lake Bracciano, where
tbey bardy have shelter and hardly enough food to keep them
alrre. Tbe more ooe sees of the courage and patience of these
CM]
people, the more one realizes that peasants are the backbone of
a country.
Monday January 31st
The Germans today publish their opinion that, by now:
. . . the greater part of the Roman people are disposed to avoid dis-
turbing the peace, and they condemn attacks made on members of the
German armed forces by irresponsible persons in the pay of the enemy.
Therefore it is ordained that the curfew will be from 6 P.M. to 6 A.M.,
instead of beginning at 5* P.M.
Nothing really to write home about, for to have to be indoors
by 6 P.M. is almost as much of a hardship. No matter what hap-
pens, or who has committed any crime, the guilty person is in-
variably "bribed by the enemy,"
Tuesday February 1st
The Pope has ordered his fleet of lorries to bring flour down
from Umbria not only for the Vatican City but for the whole
city of Rome. Were it not for this, I think we should come very
near to starvation. The lorries have just completed their first
trip, and yesterday delivered 150,000 kilogrammes of flour to
the bakers throughout the city,
Yesterday ten patriots were shot here, on a charge of sabotage.
The Germans are using their customary clumsy camouflage for
their desperate attempts to secure more labour. This is the way
they word it in today's papers. One can hear the drip, drip, of
crocodile tears as they plead:
While German soldiers are shedding their blood in defence of Italian
soil, thus protecting it from further devastations which would inevi-
tably be caused by the advance of the tide of war, the great majority
of the population of Rome has not yet grasped the seriousness of the
situation caused by close vicinity to the battle front. It is for this
reason that measures have now been taken to collect workers who will
be obliged to labour in the repair of road cooununicatioci*, in order to
ensure food supplies for Rome,
They omitted to mention that they are defending the V*ter-
l*nd on Italian soil, and that their scorched earth policy exceeds
[99]
in devastations all that history has witnessed in the past. One
need not give details, their methods of destruction are common
knowledge. They have, for instance, when weary of cutting
down olive trees, driven their tanks through the orchards; an
olive tree takes twenty years to mature, and will bear for several
centuries afterward. As for ensuring food supplies for Rome,
they want the roads for getting war material down to Cassino
and the Anzio front. So they are starting man-hunting again,
openly in the streets of Rome, Yesterday 2,000 men were taken,
half for Italy and half to be sent to Germany.
Wednesday February 2nd
Candlemas Day. The couplet in old Roman dialect runs: ff Alia
Ctndltlore dclfinverno semo fora" In other words, on February
2nd, winter is over and the Roman spring has begun. But the
trouble is that it hasn't begun. It is still as cold as in the preced-
ing months. Not that the winter has been as hard as some we have
had. There have been no frozen pipes, no palms killed by frost,
and the thermometer has gone a degree or two below freezing
at night and a few degrees above by day. The tramontane wind
which sweeps down from the snow-clad Sabines has been with
its about as much as usual. But we have never had a winter during
which the cold was felt so severely, first on account of the lack
of fats and sugar in foodstuffs, and secondly because of the
absence of heating. "With these marble or tiled floors and high
ceilings the cold penetrates into the house and stays there, and
no opening of windows and doors on sunny days avails at all
toward warming it. One needs to dress more warmly indoors
than out. Everything you touch has an icy feeling about it: the
table you are working at seems made of marble, cold radiates
from the pages of your books, you take up a penknife or a pen
and k feds as if it had been oo ice. Of course, Roman houses
are cooler in summer than it is out of doors, therefore they are
cooler m winter, too. You can't have it both ways. Normally, the
heating goes on about mid-November and stays on until mid-
March. That is the law for hotels and apartment houses which
the proprietors must observe. But not this winter. However
orach ooe piles on coverings indoors, hands and feet are always
cold. Rich and poor, aristocrats and plebeians alike have had
chilblains of late, some of them for the first time. There is next
to no gas for cooking, because the coal supply is non-existent.
For that we thank the Germans, who promised that they would
always provide Italy with coal. The Pope has refused all heating
in his private apartments. In answer to the outcry this decision
raised he said, "Do as you think fit for yourselves, but in my
rooms there is to be no heating," and nothing could move him
from his determination.
We have a new Questore or Chief of Police for Rome. He is
Pietro Caruso, another of the original Fascists, dyed in the wool,
100 per cent out and out, one of those who went in for clubbing
an adversary in the early days of the movement, when b&ttoit&te
were in vogue. He is full of zeal in his new office, and burning
to show the Republic what he can do in support of it*
Giovanni Roveda is on the tapis again. The press cannot let
him alone. It is now published that, though he was not captured
in a Jesuit house, he was taken in the Lombard College, which
is a seminary for priests. The Germans say he is a communist,
but he is not. He was a well-known anti-Fascist labour leader
of northern Italy, and Marshal Badoglio appointed him Vice-
Commissioner to the Industrial Federation, after the collapse
of Fascism*
Speaking of gas. We are informed today that gas will be
available for an hour and a half in the middle of the day, and
for half an hour in the evening; at other times it will be turned
of? at the main. If you cannot do all your cooking from 12 to
1.30 and from 7.30 to 8 P.M., then so much the worse for you-
And what about breakfast? Oh, well lots of Italians doo't ever
take any at the best of times.
On the Anzk) front the Americans are fighting their way
into Cisterna (the 'Three Taverns" where Sc Paul stopped on
his way to Rome) , and the British into Campofeoae. Ejessdkrmg
has gone there himself to direct operations, and the German
resistance is stiffening, so it is said.
Thursday February 3rd
The Fascist press is making capital today out of the leading
article by M. Petrov in Izvestia, quoted by the Moscow radio on
Tuesday, in which a bitter attack is made on the Vatican for its
supposedly pro-Fascist and pro-Nazi policy. Nearly all the mat-
ter in the article was avowedly drawn from the "Survey of
Vatican Foreign Policy" just completed by the Foreign Policy
Association of America, and reported by Reuter's correspondent
from Washington. But the learned association bases, for example,
much of its information about Pius XI on two or three remarks
of his at the time of the Lateran Treaty and the Abyssinian war,
which were much publicized in the British and American press,
neglecting all his utterances in 1932 during his clash with the
Fascists over Catholic Action. This is typical of their method of
approach. Were they to study the files of the daily Osservafore
Romano, the monthly Act* Apostolicac Sedis, official journal of
the Holy See, and the Encyclicals they would reach a higher level
of objective investigation. As it is, their survey is, as one critic
remarked, a sinister kind of nonsense. They prophesy a period
of unprecedented anti-clericalism in Italy; but it is one of the
few good features about a generally unhappy internal situation
in Italy at present, that there is no feeling against the Pope or
the clergy; and there will not be, unless it can be organized from
outside. The Italians are an intelligent people, and they have had
a vivid experience that it is the secular total State, the all-embrac-
ing party machine and party discipline which is the real enemy,
destructive of private liberty and well-being. They are quite
intelligent enough to know that the modern anti-clericals are
totalitarian, while the old-fashioned liberal anti-clericals play
into the hands of the modern ones. The Church, vigorous and
flourishing, is an essential counter-balance to the omnipresent,
all-embracing modern State.
This evening's Giorntlt d'ltalit, using the article in a gallant
attempt to rally Catholics to the Fascist cause, puts the boot on
the odber leg and points out that "the destruction of the Church
of Rome obviously forms part of the Russian programme. The
jfatvsftf article proves that, in case of an Allied victory, which
would mean a Soviet victory, there would begin for the Church
a period of persecution and martyrdom, comparable to the
ancient pagan persecutions.* 9 According to a recent statement
made by General Carton de Wiart, the Pope is the most popular
man in Italy.
Still doing their bit toward propaganda in any form, this
morning the Germans marched a long column of Allied prisoners
from the Anzio front through the most crowded parts of Rome,
up the Corso and along Via delTIrnpero to the Colosseum, where
they got into the lorries waiting to take them to their concentra-
tion camp. The crowds would have cheered them if they had
dared, but a man was arrested for giving one of them a cigarette.
The prisoners were anything but downhearted in looks and bear-
ing. They make the V sign to the onlookers, as they go along,
and the Romans who are unfamiliar with it take it joyfully as
meaning that the Allies will be here in two weeks. If only . . * !
They say that the fighting down there is heavier than it has been
anywhere since the Allies landed in Italy. The Albino road is
reported to be blocked.
General Gariboldi, who helped to bring about the armistice,
was condemned to death yesterday and shot by the Republi-
cans.
The Pontifical Villa at Castel Gandolfo has been bombed. If
this is the Allies' doing, it is unjustifiable, because there were no
Germans there, the Pontifical flag was flying over the whole estate
and there were numbers of refugees in it, Albano and the other
Castelli. However, it is not proved that it was the Allies who
dropped the bombs, one of which fell near the farm, and eleven
others in the grounds. The wall which encloses the gardens along
the Galleria di Sotto was partly destroyed. The news was tele-
phoned in to the Vatican, and the Pope gave orders to tbe statf
at the Villa to give all possible help to the refugees, and to lie-
move the herd of Swiss cows from the Villa farm to the Vatican,
where they can be housed in a building beneath the library.
Friday February 4th
Last night the Abbey of St. Paul's-Outride-the-ViUs was
forcibly entered by Fascist police under the orders of "Dr/*
Pietro Caruso himself, and until ten o'clock this morning the
members of tbe community, including die Abbot, were kept
[103]
herded together in one room while the invaders ransacked the
building.
At about midnight two Fascists disguised as Benedictines ap-
peared at the door of the Abbey and rang repeatedly. When the
Brother porter came, they explained that they had been over-
taken by darkness, and on account of the curfew were afraid of
being arrested if they tried to regain their dwelling. With great
kindness the Brother received them and opened the door. This
was the signal for an armed band of Fascists, who had climbed
the walls, to rush in past the porter, overcoming and disarming
the few Palatine Guards on duty in the building. They then
summoned the Abbot and community, and with curses and in-
sults said that they had come to arrest the men who were in
hiding. No consideration was shown to age or infirmity. All the
monks were summoned from their beds, in the cold, and made to
await the pleasure of the gangsters for ten long hours. They
forced doors, smashed furniture, slashed pictures with their
knives. Outside, in the frosty moonlight, mounted Fascist police
sat in the saddle, surrounding the monastery as completely as if
it were a beleaguered fortress, while, in silence, sixty-six dark
figures of the men who had taken refuge there filed slowly out
and entered the waiting lorries, with their guards. After they
had gone, more police staggered toward other lorries, bearing
loot from the monastery. Others remained behind, guarding the
community and preventing their moving from the room where
they were gathered. In the morning, as soon as the Vatican au-
thorities had been informed of what had happened, they went
directly to St. Paul's and lodged a protest with the Questore
Caruso, who was still cm the spot.
This attack constituted a direct and deliberate violation of
the extraterritorial rights of the Holy See, as established by
solemn treaty, When the news filtered through, much indigna-
tkm was roused in the city. The press has made no mention of it
Saturday February 5th
Things ami't going so well for tie Allies on the Anzio front.
Oar Italian friends are terribly depressed, and say we are being
driwn back to oar ships. There is even a note of bitterness be-
ginning to creep into the remarks of the Romans* They had such
high hopes of being relieved, when the Allies landed so near, and
they are beginning to wonder how long it will be possible to
stand all that the German occupation means, principally from
the point of view of provisions. The spectre of famine is a ter-
rible thing to contemplate. Here we cannot, of course, know the
why or wherefore of what is happening, as yet. Of the two sets
of opinions current, the second seems the wiser, The people who
hold the first say: "Why didn't they advance on Rome immedi-
ately? They had the Germans on toast." The others say: "It
would have been a terrible mistake to come here at once, the Cas-
telli are full of Germans, there would have been a bloody battle
in the streets of Rome with casualties to civilians and damage
to property, and the Allies would have been defeated a catas-
trophe." The latter are in the minority, as wise people generally
are. But it must be acknowledged that here, inside the city, we
have had our hope deferred a long time, and the resulting heart-
sickness is catching.
Sunday February 6th
The press today makes a great feature of the Allies* restrictive
measures concerning petrol exports to Spain, but is stifl strangely
silent about the raid on St. Paul's.
Monday February 7th
Eesselring has brought large reinforcements down to the
Anzk> front, and is there himself. They have also brought up
their heavy artillery and a number of fbra-thrawers. Their long-
range guns are shelling the Allies from the Alban Hills. Veil,
anyway, we haven't gone back to our ships, and we have taken
quite a number of prisoners, among them, for the first time, a
batch of S-S.
In the city, the Germans have given leave for all to bring
food in from outside quite freely. It had been forbidden pre-
viously, in an attempt to check the activities of die black market.
It looks like a desperate measure; and I wonder if it will help
modi.
The first reference to die attack on die monastery at St. PsraTi
[105]
was made this morning in the Popolo di Roma, which quoted a
Stefani despatch as follows:
BRILLIANT OPERATION CARRIED OUT BY THE REPUB-
LICAN POLICE SIXTY-TWO ARRESTS MOTOR LORRIES
AND TIRES SEQUESTRATED.
Rome, 7th. Agents of the Republican Police have carried out an
important operation in the College of St. Paul's. Having surrounded the
building they entered and found there in hiding the Air Force General
Monti, four army officers, nine Jews, two police officials and forty-eight
young men who had been called up for military service. All of them
were arrested. There were also found and recovered 300 lorry tires and
6,000 litres of petrol.
Tuesday February 8th
Last night the Vatican radio broadcast a .sharp protest against
the action taken at St. Paul's and printed the same in the Tues-
day Qs*erv*tore:
The "armed Republican Guard" did not "penetrate into the College
of St. Paul's" there i$ no such College in Rome but forcibly entered
the buildings belonging to the Patriarchal Basilica of St. Paul's, thus
rotating extraterritorial rights guaranteed by solemn treaty.
It must also be noted that the lorries found there cannot be said to
bare been "recovered," since they belonged to the place where they were
found. The same holds good of the supply of 41 tires (not 300), and
of 400 (not 6,000) litres of petrol.
After these rectifications of their statements, the public may judge
for itidf of the want of exactness and of seriousness in all the rest of
the impudent report, with its ornate headlines and illustrations. More-
over the report does not deal either objectively or justly with the ques-
tion of hospitality given to the persons arrested.
As we wrote on December 29th, the Church is for everyone in the
icns* that she welcomes all, and she is for no one in the sense that she
will acknowledge no ostracisms and no hatred. This is what cannot be
understood by those who are bound to the passions of opposing factions,
and we wrote at the time, "A law which aims at preventing the exercise
of charity (charity being in itsdf above all human institutions, since
it comet directly from God) is more harmful than centuries of perse-
cution. It is a point on which the Christian and the priest can never give
wty without betraying the Gospel as wdl as their own consecration to
Christ. And this is no secondary nutter: it is the boundary line between
good and evil." Will honest men allow us to maintain this principle?
They cannot do otherwise if they realize, amid the changeability of
all things here below, the steadfastness of the chanty to be practised
by the ministers of God, and amid the vicissitudes of human destiny
the truth of the old saying hodie mikn, crts tibi, "today me, tomorrow
thee."
Wednesday February 9th
The local press, anxious to please the Fascists, and possibly also
the Germans, but more probably the former, has risen in its
might to attack the QiMrvatore Romano. "The Ontrvaiort cor-
rects our figures," says the Tribuna y speaking of the numbers of
tires and litres of petrol, "but for what reason, pray, should one
give credence to any foreign newspaper, rather than to an Italian
news agency? Is this paper by any chance infallible? It lost a
wonderful opportunity of keeping silence when it wrote at length
on the matter in question." Apparently the shoe pinches. The
writer continues jauntily: "This paper concludes with the words
bodie mibi, eras tibil It is quite possible that the future may
have surprises in store for us. Today, however, the surprises are
not for us but for our opponents. This is enough. Et de hoc satis."
Accompanying this effort are two photographs obviously faked
of General Monti and Lieutenant Mazzola dressed as Benedic-
tines, their own heads being printed onto the figures of monks.
The Messaggero reproves the Osservatore for ingratitude, say-
ing plaintively that, out of respect for the sacred character of
St. Paul's, it actually printed the Stefani despatch on the front
page and not in the City News Section. Could respect possibly
go farther? {Or ineptitude?) It also says that as the Vatican has
not recognized the "Italian Social Republic," it has nothing to
complain of; let it recognize the Republic or else address its
complaints to the King in the South of Italy; thus brushing aside
the Lateran Treaty with one stroke of its penu Its parting shot
is that it was "sacrilegious" for lay folk to have taken refuge
at St. Paul's as they did. The Fascist papers also printed a long
article from an agency which call* itself the CamtpomJ****
Catfolica, though no erne knows exactly why it has taken the
[107]
name, and which states that no immunity is implied in extra-
territoriality. This argument was demolished by the Osservatore
in a spirited article published this evening, in which it quotes the
terms of the Lateran Treaty.
All this is hard on the Fascist journalists, the contest is such
an unequal one. They have zeal, and that is about all; whereas
the men who write the Osservatore have brains, skill and ma-
turity. The latter do not enter the field of controversy without
good reason, but when they have done so, they fight to a finish.
But, again, one marvels that it is still sold on the newsstands and
allowed to go through the post; Fascists don't snatch it from the
hands of readers; no edition of it is suppressed. It must be the
Germans 9 doing, for which they have their reasons. Like most
people, they have, I daresay, two reasons for doing anything,
a good reason and the real reason.
A few Fascists, acting I think, on their own, tried to enter the
buildings of the Lateran, but the Palatine Guard fired on them,
and they withdrew in haste,
Thursday February 10th
This morning the Metsaggero fires another shot in the combat.
It is headed, a* well it might be, "Sempre I'Osservatore" ("Al-
ways the O$srv*/0r*"). The editor moves along the time-hon-
oured line of argument: "If I say it three times it's true." He
repeats what he had already said and what had already been
answered at length, about the "Republic" not being recognized
by the Holy See; reiterates the number of peuple arrested in the
monastery; claims that no tires or petrol could have belonged to
the monks, as they have all been requisitioned by the Govern-
ment; quotes the Piccolo, which accused the Benedictines of
possessing machine guns and automatic revolvers, rolls of barbed
wire and an over-abundant supply of foodstuffs; remarks, "As
the Q&ervttare reaches all parts of the city and is read by Italians,
we fed it our duty to speak on behalf of all Italians"; and ends
with the pious wish, "May God forbid our ever coming to mis-
trust His priests.
Tbi crating the Qwnarfor* answers what it calls "a press
campaign which recalls those of other unhappy times**: "The
comments and opinions of our contemporaries," it begins, "were
mostly beside the point, and we do not wish to be drawn into
controversy, particularly because the matter is clear as crystal."
The writer then summarizes the points already made, and agrees
heartily with one of the Fascist papers which had incautiously
ended an attack by saying that the question of extraterritoriality
should have been raised beforehand. "Exactly," he says; "it
should have been raised and considered well by those who were
contemplating a unilateral act which was both arbitrary and
violent, and which should never have been committed."
There is an impression abroad that the Germans are not alto-
gether pleased about the matter, and that "Dr." Caruso will
shortly be relieved of his functions on account of too much zeal*
Yesterday a Canadian plane crashed in the Prenestina quarter,
near the railroad. It fell on a house, and the three men on board
were killed. One who tried to come down by parachute was
found dead, but was still recognizable. He was identified as
George Dean, R.I 01 971. No civilians were killed, but the house
was destroyed.
Friday February llth
The formidable editor of the Messaggero fired a not very in-
teresting Parthian shot at the Osservatore this morning, re-stating
in different words everything that he had already said several
times. His fireworks are damp by now, and they just petered out.
Yesterday morning the Pope's Villa at Castel Gandolfo
bombed again. We have not had many details yet, but they
the damage and casualties were heavy* The gardens of the VUla
are extensive, and 1 5,000 people from Albano and the neighbour-
ing places had taken refuge there. "When the Pdpe got the news,
he was on his way to the Sistine Chapel for the Requiem Mass for
Pope Pirn XI, whose anniversary it was, but he stopped and gave
orders for all possible help to be sent to the VUla. An engineer
from the Vatican Technical Office, Signer Vied, the manager
of the Vatican Pharmacy, Fratd Faustino, together with doctor^
nurses and a wreckage crew set out immediately m cars and
lorries loaded with supplies, food, dressings and medicines.
[109]
Saturday February 12th
The information about Castcl Gandolfo is disquieting, and
the damage and casualties are worse than we thought. Most
serious of all was the harm done to the Villa of the College of
Propaganda Fide, which is also Papal property. It was crowded
with refugees, and some nuns were in charge of them. They had
just gone to the large dining hall to distribute milk to the babies
and their mothers, when the bombs fell and wrecked the
building completely. About 500 people were killed, and their
bodies are being laid out in the College church, which remained
unhurt. Other bombs fell in the gardens, damaging the buildings
which arc scattered through them. The number of casualties
there is still uncertain, but it is more than one hundred. The big
pontifical palace overlooking the lake was damaged by blast but
not by direct hit. In it were several thousand refugees, as the
Pope had given orders for it to be thrown open to them. They
had crowded in, together with what belongings they had been
able to save. Three and four deep they were, so that only a narrow
passage was left down the centre of the grand staircase, the Hall
of the Swiss Guard, the Napoleon Room, the various private
anterooms, the Throne Room, and the great Consistorial Hall;
even the pontifical private apartments were utilized, as well as
the state apartments. The Villa staff did all in its power to pro-
vide them with food and coverings, and Commendatore Bono-
fnelli, the Director of the Villa, with his assistants, gave them-
selves no rest by day or night. Among the refugees were some
who, coming from a distance, had been evacuated no less than
four times, driven northward by the tide of war* The members
of the Palatine Guard also distinguished themselves in rescuing
the wounded and digging out those buried under the ruins. The
famous Vatican Observatory in the pontifical palace was not
destroyed, but many of its delicate instruments suffered seriously.
There is something very puzzling about the whole thing. We
know the Allies respect pontifical neutral property very care-
fully. There were no Germans whatever at any time in the Villa.
They had no supply or ammunition dumps there. Did they have
any near the Villa walls? Did the Allied airmen know this? Or
was it part of the wholesale bombing of the Castelli townlets?
Shall we ever know?
Clio 3
We arc told today that "Since the citizens of Rome, on the
whole, deplore all disturbances of public order and have loyally
obeyed the orders issued, a further extension of the curfew hours
has been made, and it will now begin at 9 P.M. and end at 6 A.M.
It is expected that the population will do its part in the days to
come, so that the curfew hours may be made even easier." We
seem to have behaved ourselves to their satisfaction for a short
while.
Sunday February 13th
Last night British planes flew over the city. German planes
rose to meet them, and there was a duel in the air. One big bomb
fell in Via Mecenate, not far from the Colosseum, and hit a
private nursing home, the Clinica Polidori, wrecking a large part
of it and killing the surgeon who directed it. Strangely enough,
it was the home where Mrs. Arthur Strong died last September.
The story goes that the bomb was dropped by a British airman
whose plane had been hit and who had to get rid of his load in
a hurry. The surrounding houses were terribly damaged by the
blast.
Most of the broadcasts from London and New York today
were devoted to the situation in Italy, where the outlook is con-
siderably brighter. Mr. Churchill announced in Parliament that
he had received a report from Generals Alexander and Wilson,
expressing confidence that they will win the battle for Rome.
Arms, ammunition and supplies as well as men have been landed
at Anzio, and the former are in excess of the estimate for their
delivery. General Clark congratulated his men cm their heroic
efforts and said that the 5th army would soon join hands with
the 8th "for a victorious march on Rome and the north of Italy."
Is it really possible that it will come off? After so many disap-
pointments? One would like to believe it.
Monday February 14h
They are still digging out the dead at the Propaganda Villa at
Castel Gandolfo, and have found 450 by now. What was left
of the house itself collapsed yesterday.
[Ill]
The socialization of industry called for by the resolution of
the Fascist Council of Ministers on January 13th has been imple-
mented, and the "new social order" is heralded in the press with
heavy banner headings and an extra allowance of paper, two
leaves instead of the now customary single leaf. Workers are to
form part of the administrative and executive councils in fac-
tories and business organizations. State loans are to be made,
and all will be for the best in the best of worlds.
The announcement is made today in a letter from Lisbon by
the Mttuiggero correspondent that the Allies are "very anxious**
about the situation at Nettuno. No wonder Italians say that the
press today is an insult to their intelligence. London broadcasts
that the situation there is satisfactory and that, since landing, we
have taken 2,000 prisoners.
Tuesday February 15th
The Allied air force is very active round here at night at pres-
ent. They come over and throw out powerful flares attached to
parachutes, which stay in the air for a long time and make
everything beneath them almost as clear as if it were daylight.
There is great competition to secure the parachutes, as they are
made of high quality silk. Sometimes they fall in the Tiber. One
flare fell quite recently on the terrace of Professor Bartolomeo
Nogara's flat in the main block of the Vatican Palace. The Vat-
ican firemen came to the spot thinking it was a fire, but the
light went out of itself, and one of the Noble Guards on duty
took the parachute "to conduct investigations." We conclude
that $oon after he was the possessor of a fine sflk shirt.
The Germans are forcibly evacuating the inhabitants of the
Castelli towns, and, as Rome is already overcrowded with its
J00,&00 refugees, they are being taken to a sort of concentration
camp at Cesano, near Lake Bracciaco. Living conditions in the
camp are deplorable and the food is quite insufficient, but there is
no choice for them; a German revolver points the way if they
try to refuse. At the same time, stringent regulations have been
ioed against any more evacuees or non-residents entering Rome.
Oaly registered residents who have permission from the German
High Command may do so.
[112]
Bombing is coming disquietingly close to u$; it seems to be
closing in on the city. Yesterday between 7 and 8 P.M. Villa
Bianca was hit. It is a famous nursing home, mainly for ma-
ternity cases, and, as happened to the Polidori Home, a portion
of it was destroyed and the chief surgeon was killed. In the
opinion of many this bombing of nursing homes has been done
deliberately by the Germans for propaganda.
This morning the railway between the Ostian and the Tras-
tevere stations was hit. Of course there is excellent reason for
attacking it, as the Roman stations are full of German material;
250 trucks of it were destroyed. The Ostian station is the newest
in Rome, having been put up for Hitler's famous visit to the city
in May, 1?38.
Wednesday February 16th
We have just heard that Monte Cassino was attacked from the
air yesterday, and we hope for more particulars soon. These first
reports may be exaggerated. If they are true, then the destruc-
tion of the Abbey will rank as one of the major material tragedies
of the war. Moreover, it is hard to see what real advantage is to
be gained from reducing it to ruins, since modern fighting in
hilly country seems to point to the conclusion that rubble and
exposed foundations afford excellent protection for machine guns
and snipers defending the position. Of course, if the Germans
were deliberately using the Abbey for military purposes in order
to draw the Allied attack, then their action forms part of their
propaganda campaign, and also part of a far-sighted plan for
permanently estranging Italy and the Allies when the war is
over; for perpetually reminding the Italians of the harm done
to their most cherished shrines by those whom they welcomed
so warmly on their landing in Sicily. They hope to generate fear
and hatred today, and bitter memories for tomorrow.
Caste! Gandolfo was bombed yesterday, and more damage was
done to the Papal Villa.
Again a column of Allied prisoners was inarched through the
streets cm Monday afternoon; we did not see them, but it appears
that they wwe cheerful though muddy. The weather b bad at
present, wt and coR Pbor i eflow*, I hope they ha enoagh to
[113]
cover them. They were photographed near the Colosseum, and
leaflets reproducing the photograph were thrown about the
streets by the Germans, with the caption: "They said they would
come to Rome: here they are!"
The great archaeologist Monsignor Wilpert is dead. He was one
of the most learned men that Rome has ever known, and his
work on the catacombs is comparable only to that of his master
G. B. de Rossi. Born in 1857 in Silesia, he laboured and died here
at the Collcgio deH'Anima. His book on Christian sarcophagi is
of remarkable importance.
Thursday February 17th
Fighting in the Anzio sector continues to be severe, and the
Germans are showing signs of it. Here in the city, instead of
driving about in spick-and-span stolen cars, re-painted in ir-
regular streaks of green and brown, they are now seen in bat-
tered cars with twisted mudguards and splintered glass, the whole
caked with dirt. Some of their lorries that go through are camou-
flaged with olive branches, of all things. Olive leaves are only
a symbol, of course, but it gives one a start to see them hiding
what they do hide in those shabby lorries.
Yesterday we were attacked from the air. As before, the rail-
way yards near the Tiburtina and Prenestina quarters were
bombed. Porta San Paolo, the wholesale markets near there and
the neighbourhood of the gasworks were hit, as well as some
houses in the Trastevere. The Pope was expected to go personally
to the places which had suffered, but at the last minute he was
persuaded not to do so and sent his nephew Prince Pacelli,
together with Marchese Sacchetti and Cavaliere Galeazzi to do
what they could for the sufferers and the homeless. With the
Germans occupying Rome, it is much wiser for the Pope to re-
main within his own territory of the Vatican City. He came out
in July and August when the city was bombed, but that was
before the armistice.
The neighbourhood of the Colosseum was machine-gunned,
and several persons were wounded. One wonders why there, be-
came there were no supply dumps nor German barracks near it.
Vt* it done by someone who only knew the Colosseum as a useful
CU4]
landmark? The explosives dropped near Porta San Paolo damaged
the famous Protestant cemetery, and the graves of Keats and
Shelley were ripped up. Castel Gandolfo, too, was attacked again
yesterday.
Corso d 'Italia, where the Germans have their headquarters,
looks very formidable at present, Not only is it barricaded off
and guarded by armed sentries, but in the evening they place
armoured cars near it with their guns pointing down the side
streets that lead to it.
Friday February 18th
All Rome is thickly placarded today with posters showing
photographs of the ruins of Monte Cassino with monks and
refugee civilians, and reproductions of handwritten signed state-
ments by the Abbot and his administrator. This is certainly a
trump card in the German propaganda game. The few reliable
details we have been able to gather are the following: On Mon-
day, February 14th, leaflets were picked up in the Abbey grounds
warning civilians (of whom there were many from the neigh-
bouring towns) to leave the monastery as soon as possible. This
the Germans forbade them to do, and on Tuesday the air attack
reduced the place to ruins. The Germans had placed machine
guns near the exits, to prevent the people leaving. Twice the
Abbot sent emissaries to beg for them to be allowed to pass; one
was fired upon, the other disappeared, having presumably been
killed.
The Abbot's handwritten declaration ran as follows: "Of*
request I confirm that no German soldier was or is inside the
monastery** (Signed) Gregorio Diamare, Bishop Abbot of Monte
Cassino, February 15th, 1944."
One concludes from this declaration made by a man incapable
of deception that the Germans were stationed a short dtsfanre
away f rom the monastery.
Tliis afternoon the Abbot reached Rome and later was re-
ceived by the Pope, to whom he gave a full report of all that had
happened.
M.P., one of our old friends, told os that he was in the Campo
Verano cemetery when the Tlburana neighbourhood was last
[1HJ
attacked from the air, and that he and those with him had to
shelter in graves when the bombs hit the cemetery. It was a
gruesome experience, and he says that the damage was worse
than that of July 19th. He happened to be there at that time
because he was helping members of a commission acting for the
Allies to secure graves in one special plot for those members of
the United Nations who might die in Rome during the war. I
do not think there will be many of them; still, provision must
be made* As for the German dead, there are thousands of them,
and the big contractors, the Vaselli, have been given orders to
build a cemetery on the Flaminian Way a little distance outside
the city, which will provide space for 30,000 German military
graves. Our peasant refugees from Lanuvio tell us that some of
their fellow-Lanuvians said that all about the Nettuno sector
the German dead were lying in heaps six or seven feet high. And
that is first-hand evidence. Another friend of theirs who has
been sent to work for the Germans in that same locality tells us
that before burial the German dead are stripped of their uni-
forms, such is their need for clothing for their forces.
Saturday February 19th
Two of the Ministers of neutral foreign Powers who have
remained in Rome had, each one separately, a pleasant afternoon
recently. They drove down to the British lines near Nettuno
and had tea with the commanding officer. One may well imagine
how much they enjoyed it. But once was enough for the Germans,
who refused to allow them to pass a second time. They must have
thought it would be bad for morale. It makes one realize how
near the Allies are. How very pleasant it would be to do as those
Ministers did.
Last night at about 9.30 the neighbourhood of Piazza Bologna
was bombed, and a good deal of damage was done to the neigh-
bouring streets* The bombs were aimed at the Tiburtina station,
which was hit repeatedly.
Sunday February 20
Every night at present a strange solitary plane flies low ov
Rome and circles round the Vatican City. Some people a
nervous lest it should drop explosives, particularly on the Vatica
as it is believed that it belongs to the Farinacci group of ultr
Fascists. It is also believed that the same group, rather than tl
Allies, has b^en responsible for the damage done at Castel Gai
dolfo. It is very easy to fake the markings on a plane, as far ;
that goes, and in the dust and confusion few onlookers woul
be able to spot its make. That odd lonely plane that visits i
nightly has several amusing names: "the phantom ship/* "d
solitary one," "il Romanino." You wonder really how it do*
not crash into some of the bell towers of the churches in tk
dark. I find it rather companionable on the whole. Its present
is perhaps more a gesture than anything else, since hundreds o
Allied planes fly high over the city during the day, while this on
consoles itself by flying low at night.
Monday February 21s
New ration cards are being issued; it is really a matter o
routine, since we get new cards every four months. But thi
time the process of issuing and distributing will be complicate*
by the presence of the 500,000 refugees. The authorities evi-
dently want to do what they can in the matter, for they hav
just published the address of a new office (another office tbej
swarm all over the city already) in Via Girolamo Induno in the
Trastevere, where those who have not had their March card*
may apply.
This process of obtaining ration cards (when they have not
been delivered to you at your house as they should be), or of
obtaining extra rations for those doing domestic work, for whom
very small extra quantities of bread are allowed, or for the sick
who can sometimes get permission for a little milk, or sugar or
rice or meat, when there is any, this process is, I think, unique
in human experience, I speak from first-hand knowledge. There
is nothing about it we don't know and haven't done, and it beats
all. You go first to the *TMegatkm* of ytrar disttict~<xirs *
about twenty minutes from here. There you wait for five or
[117]
ten minutes, and present your certificates and get them stamped.
Then you proceed, by tram, if necessary, and if you feel strong
enough to be crushed and battered by a crowd of human beings
who have forgotten everything except their desire to get to where
they are going; or, if you have time and your shoes will stand it,
you walk. Your goal is the Street of the Greater Altar of Her-
cules, at the bottom of the Circus Maximus. There various of-
fices concerning food occupy the basement of a building which is
used partly for the exhibits of the Museo di Roma, partly for
storing scenery belonging to the Opera House. The basement
was not meant for its present use, but flimsy wooden partitions
have been erected, with dozens of little windows in them. Behind
each window sits a jaded man or woman, seemingly intent only
on disposing rapidly of those whose heads appear in the narrow
opening, and who neither know nor care much about the business
in hand. Their favourite phrase is "Ask at the other window/'
You* ask at two or three of them, and find that yours is down
at the end of a long low-ceilinged place with a queue of perhaps
75 or 100 people in front of it, four abreast, between barriers,
and pushing only as crowds of that kind can and do push. You
stand there for say an hour, perhaps two, finally get to the
window, present your stamped paper, and are told (if it is
"urgent" and you have paid a fee of ten lire) to return in two
days. Your heart sinks. Two days? All this to go through again?
But there is a ray of hope. You say: "Please, what time are there
fewest people here?" "Eight o'clock."
Two days later you are there on the stroke of eight, and in the
end you do get your card. You have earned it* You can now
stand in a queue at whatever shop sells the things you have
authorization to buy, you can register for them, and you can
return there (another queue), periodically, to be told "Deve
*rriv*rf" "We are expecting it.** And in the end you either get
your thing or you do not. More often not. But without the
papers and ration cards you could not get them even theoretically.
Sometimes the authorities have a happy thought and change the
location of the various offices you must apply to for certain
things, chicken feed for instance. Once we went over to a re-
mote spot in the Trastevere, there to be passed on to an office
in Corso Vittorio Emanuele near the Stadium of Domitian, there
118]
to be passed on to an office in Via della Pigna near the Pantheon,
there to be sent back to the Street of the Greater Altar of Her-
cules. The places have a fine classical flavour about them, any-
way. Organization is not their best thing here. But their patience
is marvellous: not at the time, but when it is all over. Sometimes
when they have been through all this they just sigh and say
"Pazienza" or shrug and say "Mah!" a most meaningful mono-
syllable conveying a tolerant outlook on a difficult situation.
They have learned the secret of co-operating with the inevitable,
if not that of efficiency.
Tuesday February 22nd
News of the day is published with unconscious humour: "The
Ministry for the Production of War Material has been sup-
pressed/ 5 There being no raw material available, except that
which goes to German-controlled factories, the Ministry fades
out. f 'E/ le combat cessa faute de combattantt"
They are hard put to get soldiers to defend the Germans and
to fight their rearguard actions for them. It is declared today that
all those called up for military service who do not present them-
selves at the "Republican" headquarters will be shot as deserters.
Wednesday February 23rd
Kesselring is re-grouping his forces for a renewed and heavy
attack on the Allies in the Anzio sector. And then what?
The Civilta Cattolica has just published an Italian tranda
of the "Social Code" issued by the International Union of Social
Studies of Malines, in which the social teaching of the Church
regarding family life, professional interests, economics and inter-
national relations is developed in the light of Catholic thought.
It needs courage to bring out works of this sort today, when
difficulties of every kind bristle in a publisher's padb.
Yesterday the Pope received a portion of the Roman clergy,
that is to say all the parish priests, together with die Lenten
preachers of the various churches and the Church stodcnts from
the Roman Seminary. He spoke o the topic of the Lenten icr-
mons, and concluded with a strong appeal for dbe safety of
[119]
Rome, referring to the fact that Athens and Cairo had been
spared by the belligerents and pointing out that Rome had even
stronger reasons in its favour. As the Pope's utterances on these
occasions have a public character, his words were in reality a
direct appeal to both sides to spare the Vatican City and the
whole city of Rome.
A very heavy German self-propelled gun was driven slowly
through the streets today, whether to impress us all or for con-
venience it is hard to say. It was a startling sight, with its cater-
pillar wheels slithering on the smooth pavement; it made a noise
that drowned all other noises around it. This is another illustra-
tion of how Rome is treated as an "open city." The Germans
seem to think that all they have to do is to say it is an open city
and then rage because it is not formally recognized as such by
the Allies.
Thursday February 24th
Today the people who had not received their food cards began
to assemble in Via Girolamo Induno, where, as I noted on Mon-
day, the office for supplying missing cards had been established.
They began and they went on assembling, tired and hungry and
anxious. They invaded the corridors, the offices, the street itself
in a struggling mass, so big that they blocked the street and held
up the traffic in Viale del Re, the neighbouring thoroughfare,
The police did not appear, there was no attempt to regulate mat-
ters, and in the end two people were killed. There was an indig-
nant outcry about it, and tomorrow they will have barriers and
police to control things a little better. We thank Providence that
our cards were safely brought to us at the right time.
To persuade workingmen to join the labour service of the Ger-
mans, they are being offered extra food. Anyone who enlists in
it this month will get two pounds of sugar, over and above the
monthly ration of one pound. But of course the latter ration is
largely theoretical because it has not been forthcoming this
month. The extra two pounds will be issued with great eclat,
to encourage others.
[120]
Friday February 2 Jth
It is strangely cold for this time of year; just when the wanner
weather coming sooner would have been doubly welcome.
The mushroom growth of thieves which always springs up un-
der conditions like ours is coming along vigorously. Dressed in
Fascist or German uniforms, they appear with a forged warrant
to search. The papers publish urgent appeals begging house-
holders to telephone to the police when this happens, promising
that they will come immediately. Of course it is hard on the
Germans and the "Republicans" to have all this competition in
the stealing business.
Placards on the walls gain in quantity though steadily losing
in size and intelligence. Pictures of starving children deported
to Russia are supposed to convince passers-by that that is what
will happen to their children if the Allies win the war, and induce
them to rush to enlist in the Republican forces. There is another
quite amusing one, though it is got up in the style of the 1 890'*,
and is small and badly printed. There are four oblong medallions
on it of Cavour, Mazzini, Crispi and Mussolini as statesmen who
made the greatness of Italy. Well, the other three, perhaps, but
Mussolini. . . . And he looks extra repulsive there in civilian
clothes, with a wing collar and a four-in-hand tie.
L.L. came in this afternoon to say good-bye, as she is going
to Milan. What she told us would be past belief unless it were
not being done by the Germans, and is on a par with what they
have done elsewhere. L. had been with her brother, who speaks
German admirably, to try to obtain the release of an unfortunate
man who had been arrested by the German S.S. and taken to Via
Tasso. That is just the name of a street, over in the direction of
Santa Croce, but today "Via Tasso" stands for all the horrors of
systematic torture. Officially, it is the Gestapo temporary prison
located in that street, in reality it is a place whence very few
return and when they do so they are often broken men. Those
who do not return are either ix>rtured to death or shot. Names
of accomplices and confederates arc forced from Ac victims un-
less they have superhuman endurance. VKen they die their fami-
lies are often not told, for mental cruelty as weB as physical tf
brought to a fine art by the Germans* The man whom L and her
brother were trying to rescue had been ill-treated immediately
[121]
on arrival, for another friend who went there said that the
prisoner had no teeth and that when he entered the hall where
they question prisoners there were teeth scattered about on the
floor. The worst of the S.S. in Via Tasso is a huge man known as
"the giant." His methods are those practised at Dachau and at
other famous German concentration camps. He is so cruel that
even the other S.S. men on duty can't stand it and sometimes
shout to him to stop tormenting his victim. A young officer at
the door, who receives enquirers, is horribly polite and smiling,
pretends to look up names in his book, then sends distraught
wives and mothers off on wild-goose chases to places such as the
political department of the Roman prison of Regina Coeli, or
San Gregorio, when all the time the man they are seeking is
either there helpless in a cell, or has been shot. The few who are
released are forced to swear secrecy about everything that has
passed. The officer in command is called Wolff. His name will
probably figure prominently on the lists of criminals brought to
trial in the local post-war courts. He will need an efficient body-
guard before execution, as otherwise he would be torn in pieces
by the Roman people.
Saturday February 26th
Heavy artillery duels at Anzio, which we hear in the city,
come from Kesselring's latest attempt to drive us into the sea.
They say that the Grenadier Guards, have distinguished them-
selves greatly in holding our positions down there.
Sunday February 27th
Memories of the Battle of Cannae, of Hannibal threatening
Rome, of the centuries which from the Capitol look down on
the Eternal City, of Garibaldi, of everything in short which
lends itself to an appeal to join up, blaze from the walls in
every part of Rome. The joining up means, of course, to fight
for the Germans and to act as their rear-guard when they with-
draw. Also to build roads, defence works and gun emplacements
for them. In vain the posters explain that the labour service
is intended to mend roads that will bring food into the city,
[122]
that the workers will get good food and pay and free lodging.
There is no doubt whatever in any man's mind that their labour
will go to build German pillboxes and strong points, so they
do not put in an appearance. A magazine article written about
Czech passive resistance some time ago was entitled 'The In-
digestible Czechs/ 9 and I am beginning to think that one might
also write about "The Indigestible Romans." But these posters!
Stupid and repulsive as they are, they appear everywhere with
new sketches and captions, new text and new insults to the
intelligence of the Italians. They are readily defaced, of course,
but still, scraps do remain. On our wall there is still a fragment
of the first poster of all that appeared, in May, 1940, just
before Italy entered the war. It was not illustrated, but the
text explained how England had virtually lost the war, that
the fleet was no good and that she was on the point of being
driven out of the Mediterranean, I hope it will still be there
when the Allies enter Rome, a tiny detail in the setting, but a
dramatic one.
Monday February 23th
We are to have new stamps. Well, not exactly new, but over-
printed. Neat little Fascist badges have been printed in red or
black, according to the colour of the stamp, across Victor
Emmanuel's face; and the Republican Fascist Government k
thus revenged on the Monarchy. After a given date DO other
stamp may be used; letters bearing the old ones will be de~
stroyed. But there is a slight hitch, because no post offices have
the new ones for sale.
Tuesday February 2?th
We are informed that "tie food situation is being seriously
examined" by both the German and the Italian city authorities.
So we are supposed to say to ourselves, with childlike confidence,
"All is well."
I am sure the Germans think that when they say: "Be cheer-
ful," everyone cheers up; when they say: "Hate die ABBes,"
everyone starts hating immediately; when they say: "We are
[12J]
your affectionate comrades," everyone wants to go out and
shake hands with all the Fritzes and Hermans they see. Their
mentality is past belief. You know it, of course, in theory and
from having read about It, but you have to be up against it in
the round to really grasp it. Just think here is another new set
of posters today, designed to arouse admiration for Mussolini.
The "pasta" ration which should have been issued in January
is to be issued in March. Italians depend on their "pasta" more
than they do on bread, or at least as much. So, when monthly
rations have been confiscated by the Germans or the Fascists
they are just wiped out for a given month; the process is a
simple one, but spells starvation. The soap ration is even more
wiped out than other things. We are supposed to have one small
piece, weighing 100 grammes, every second month. It is now the
end of February, and the October-November bit is not avail-
able yet.
Wednesday March 1st
Yesterday afternoon Nello was arrested. He is one of our
refugee peasants from Lanuvio, a fine, well-set-up intelligent
young fellow, with a wife and a baby two and a half years old.
He was stopped as he was getting into a tram and taken to the
police station. He managed to get a phone message to us to tell
his wife to go down to him with some food, as they give nothing
to eat there. His wife was distracted with fear that he would
be taken to Germany, and she rushed off to him. She was not
permitted to speak to him, but was told the food would be
given him, and that under cover of the curfew he would be
taken with a number of others to the 81st Infantry barracks
in Viale Giulio Cesare. He had done nothing wrong, he had
finished his military service and was a fanner. But Hitler had
said if they didn't come to do his work for him willingly, then
they must be forced into it. Besides, Mussolini had signed a
"convention** in the name of the Fascist Republican Govern-
ment, that one million and a half Italian workers would be
sent to Germany. If persuasion was of no avail, then violence
would be used. As in this case.
Today the man's wife took him his food, but she was not
[124]
allowed to speak to him; he could only make signs to her from
a barred window high above the street. Other women were
at the door, too, with parcels for their husbands and brothers.
There is no means of knowing what Nello's destination will be.
The military "classes" of 1922, '23, '24 and '2* are warned
that, having been called up, if they do not report before March
8th, they will be shot as deserters. But no one reports.
More persuasion as well as violence is being used for this
labour service. Moving appeals continue to appear in the press
and on the walls: "Italy begs her sons, in this tragic hour of
her history, to fight or to work." . . . "If they volunteer they
will have good food and good pay." . . . "They will be em-
ployed in their own trades." . . . "Work is dignified and helps
society; it is essential to the nation. If you refuse to work you
are both guilty and mistaken, you have no civic feeling, you
do not understand your own interests. . . ." And from their
hiding places men smile sadly, knowing the truth only too well.
Some Italians say, regarding this and all the other German
propaganda: "They have insulted us by occupying our country,
but they need not insult our intelligence by thinking that we
can be affected by what they print." Again, the posters: "Many
have joined the labour service already; others, forgetting their
duty as men, as citizens, as fathers, have not yet done so. Our
well paid work will help your family; don't let them starve
for another day." Starving into submission is, of course, part
of the Nazi programme. "There are large quantities of food
waiting to be unloaded. Join the labour service." Large quanti-
ties to be taken by the Germans there may be but for Rome,
none. "The Todt Service is a bulwark against exploitation."
Just what exploitation? "Volunteers for labour in Germany are '
welcomed at headquarters in Via Esquilino." And if they don't
volunteer, then they will be arrested and forced to go.
Thursday March 2nd
Last night, at about 8 o'clock, six bombs wtare dropped near
Porta Cavaleggeii close to the Vatican City by an aircraft
flying low. The ej^teiritarial Colleges of Propaganda Fide
and of the Augustinian Fathers west hit, while two other bomb*
E12JJ
exploded near the Palace of the Holy Office. Considerable
damage was done by splinters, even inside the Vatican City,
where the Cortile San Damaso, Piazza Santa Marta and the
railway station suffered. It is very curious. Is all this bombing
near the Vatican done by "Nazifascist" planes?
Today is the fifth anniversary of the Pope's election, and
it finds him hard at work for the alleviation of the pain and
sorrow brought about by war, and for the establishment of
peace on a solid basis of Christian principles.
He has sent a squad of men from the Vatican Library to Fras-
cati to dig out from beneath the ruins of the Bishop's Palace
the famous library, or what remains of it, collected by Cardinal
York, the last of the Stuarts (by right of descent, Henry IX
of England), who was Bishop of Frascati in the 18th century.
There was a horrible occurrence today in front of the barracks
where Nello is confined. Several thousand men, who have been
rounded up, were also there, and some of their wives came to
bring them food. One of the wives (an expectant mother)
begged the German sentry for permission to go in. He did not
like her persistent tone, and did not understand Italian, so he
answered by shooting her. Some men who were there, infuriated,
shouted "murderer" at the sentry, whereupon the Fascist police
attacked them. The civilians, who were secretly armed, fired
on the Fascists, killing five of them. There were some casualties
among the onlookers, and some arrests were made. The Romans
are in an exceedingly angry mood about it, but what can they
do? After the dead body was carried away, the people laid
flowers cm the blood-stained pavement where she had fallen.
Nello's wife was present when all this happened. She will not
be allowed to see him tomorrow, even from the second story
window.
Friday March 3rd
The whole sky is full of the roar of motors, the bang of
"flak" and the thunder of an occasional bomb. Something big is
happening. Can it be another landing?
The Allies have had a bad time at Anzio lately, but today
we bear of dbe recovery of 1 500 metres of ground lost during
[126]
the heavy German attack on our lines. They hare now failed
three times to drive us into the sea.
The local press publishes a wonderful article by Goebbels,
in which he says that, far from hindering German war produc-
tion, the Allies' attacks on factories speed it up and increase
the output, because they oblige them now to locate the factories
in such secret places that they could never be found, and $o f
of course, work would go on in future without the slightest
interruption. This really is a true summary of the speech, al-
though it sounds like a parody of his utterances.
Saturday March 4th
The bombing we heard in the distance yesterday morning
worked havoc in and around the railway yards; there was a
lot of damage to civilian dwellings, and many casualties. The
Allies were making for the German supply dumps, and got
them, but in so doing they wrecked part of the neighbouring
quarters.
Rome has a belt of minor railway stations, used in peace time
almost entirely for goods, therefore excellently suited for the
transport and storage of war material. The railway enters Rome
from the north, and the first railway yard is at the Stazione
Tiburtina. Just behind it is the new and populous quarter
around Piazza Bologna, while back of Piazza Bologna are more
fashionable streets leading to Via Nomentana. Two kilometre*
farther on, the Stazione San Lorenzo is reached, around which
are situated many civilian dwellings in the districts of Porta
Maggbre, the Roman University and the Campo Veraoo ceme-
tery. The next one, less important, is the Stazione Tmculaaa,
but around it cluster the new cheap suburbs beyond St. John
Lateran, and those skirting Via Casilina, composed of blocks
of nine- and ten-story flats. Turning eastward, the railway
skirts the walls of ROOK and reaches the Staziooe Ostknae,
surrounded by the Roman General Market (roughly the
equivalent of Covtaat Garden or Fulton Market), die slums of
the Garbatdla, the Testacdo, the streets leading to St. ftwdV
Outside-the-lPalk The last of the sorting yards is at the Staxttoe
TrastCTere, dk*e to the Tnwterrere quarter and Mootercrdc,
[127]
the latter tremendously built up of late years. This gives one
an idea of the shape of the Roman railway and of what parts
of the city must inevitably be hit when the goods stations are
bombed. Of course the latter were full of war material. In spite
of impassioned protests that Rome is an "open city," German
military stores and ammunition are constantly passing through
on the way to the southern front. Everybody knows that the
"open city" claim is just a lie, although German troops were
never marched along the streets in formation, and as a rule tanks
and guns passed through at night. That was all.
Yesterday the Ostiense district suffered terribly, particularly
as two ammunition trains were struck, and blew up, causing
extensive damage. The church of San Benedetto was demolished,
as was also a factory where 250 workmen were buried in the
ruins.
The foregoing places are a good distance from us, so we have
been spared, but the electric light, gas and water supplies have
been temporarily cut off on account of the raid.
Sunday March 5th
Nello returned from his labour prison this morning. Numbers
of his companions were sent north, but he managed to slip back
to the end of the line whenever the others were detailed off
for their destinations. Finally he was sent with a group bound
for the Ostiense district to clear away the rubble lying in the
streets after Friday's air raid. Armed German and Fascist sol-
diers stood guard over them, but he managed to scale a wall,
creep under some damaged railway coaches and emerge safely
into the street. When he arrived here, his family's joy was touch-
ing. Water was heated for him, and a meal prepared, and he
was made thoroughly comfortable before he sat down to tell
his story. The treatment in the barracks was inhuman. The men
lay on the bare floor at night, with no coverings. Once in
twenty-four hours some watery soup was given them; if they
had no bowl or can for it, they had to take it in the hollow
of their hands, joined to form a cup. There was no water, and
Nello paid fifty lire for a fi*sco of it one day. When the time
[128]
came for departure the men were lined up and counted off
like cattle.
The German authorities have settled that we are to have no
gas at all in future. Of course the fact is not made public. It is
said on the radio and in the papers that "owing to damage
from enemy bombs it will be impossible to supply gas for some
time to come/* But that is not true; and there is enough coal
to manufacture it, Most of the Romans are thus left with
nothing but charcoal stoves for their cooking, except the richer
ones who have electricity. And charcoal is unobtainable except
on the black market, at twenty lire a kilo.
Monday March 6th
The Fascist Police Commissioner of Quadraro, one of the
suburbs, was murdered yesterday, and a reward of 200,000 lire
has been offered for information regarding the murderer. There
may be severe reprisals against the local patriots, who are under
suspicion. From a private source we have heard the text of
the Fascist Minister's instructions to journalists today: ''Write
touching articles on the death of the Commissioner of Quadraro.**
It snowed this morning for the first time this winter. Think
of the poor with no means of heating food or drink. . . .
Goering has been here for a conference with Kesseking,
collecting statistics and information. The latter is in favour of
a withdrawal from this part of Italy. He says that this is a
dangerous salient in the German line and that it wastes transport.
He has had 50,000 men killed and wounded in the Anzio sector,
and he is getting nervous. Goering, I believe, is the bearer of a
message from Hitler: "Hold on at all costs** as in Russia!
Tuesday March 7th
Planes came over in great numbers this morning and dropped
heavy bombs oo the Ostiense railway yards, The Testactib and
parts of the Trasterere were considerably damaged, as wdD as
the GarbateHa quarter; the church of St. Jerome was demolished.
Most of the light and water has been cot off again on account
of this raid. The desperation of the hombed^ou* families is
[12?]
pitiable. Nothing has been organized in advance for them, and
their numbers are overwhelming. They are wandering about,
trying to find a roof somehow, somewhere.
During this raid the Luftwaffe offered no opposition to our
planes; the anti-aircraft guns fired intermittently.
The new salt ration has been fixed at 200 grammes 6 l / 2
ounces a month. But shall we get it? We are still awaiting the
October soap.
Wednesday March 8th
This morning a time bomb went off in a lorry loaded with
petrol which was standing near the church of SS. John and
Paul. There was a deafening explosion, followed by billows of
flame and smoke. The loss of the petrol was serious for the
Germans, hard-pressed for fuel of every sort. Half an hour
after the explosion, ten prisoners were taken from the Regina
Coeli prison and shot as a penalty for "acts of violence*" It is
probable that not one of those men knew anything about the
time bomb.
People who are desperate for lack of coal have begun to cut
down trees, and carry off wooden palings and park benches
at night, to use as firewood. It must be fairly easy, judging from
the amount that has disappeared.
Thursday March 9th
Increasing numbers of British prisoners who have escaped are
hiding in the city. They, and those who organize for them, are
gaining experience and becoming really clever in adopting various
expedients. A British officer who speaks both German and Italian
well, was going about disguised as a priest in a long black
cassock. The other day he was crossing Piazza San Pietro, when
a German soldier came up and asked him how to get to St.
Peter's. Whereupon our Englishman said he would show him
the way, and not only did he take Jerry into the basilica, but
spent the morning showing him its beauties. The German was
delighted, and thanked him profusely for the pleasant morn-
ing they had spent together.
[130]
Friday March 10th
Between 11 and 12 this morning, waves of heavy bombers
passed over the city, and attacked the railway yards again.
Great damage was again done to the districts near the railway
yards, and again there were numbers of casualties. We could
see the bombs falling, and all the time one wondered if the
attack would approach the vicinity of this house. Hospitals
are full of people injured in the raids.
The general outlook is not very rosy today. The weather is
so bad that air and land activities are at a standstill. The Finns
are refusing Russian peace terms, and there is a miners' strike in
Great Britain.
One of us wanted some sewing cotton today and succeeded
in getting it in the end, from a barrow in the street for twenty
lire. None of the shops have any left. If you want a piece of
work done by a dressmaker now, you must provide the thread,
and it is the same with shoes.
Saturday March llth
Tomorrow, anniversary of his coronation, the Pope has ar-
ranged that there shall be none of the usual solemn services of
thanksgiving but instead he will grant audience to all the
refugees in Rome, as well as to the Romans, and, because no
other place could contain such numbers, he will hold it in Piazza
San Pietro. Many refugees had begged to be received in "public*'
audiences such 'as the Pope was accustomed to hold for large
groups at least once a Week; but war conditions, transport
difficulties and other problems led him to suspend these group
audiences temporarily. Therefore all those who wish to see him,
hear him speak, and receive his blessing are bidden to gather
in front of St. Peter's tomorrow. It is a gracious gesture on the
part of His Holiness, and inspired by his extraordinary sympathy
with the sufferings and difficulties of others. It is rare to find, w
one in his position, such sensitive insight combined with the
statesmanlike qualities which he possesses. His long experience
in a diplomatic career developed the latter to a remarkable degree.
There was a heavy air raid this monufig in the suburb*; we
Cm]
don't know where, as yet. This house seemed to slip and slide
under one's feet, such was the vibration*
Sunday March 12th
We have only heard just now that, on Friday, someone threw
hand grenades at a procession of Fascists coming from some sort
of meeting. That will probably mean more hostages shot in
retaliation.
The great "audience" in Piazza San Pietro took place this
afternoon, in spite of threatening clouds and cold wind. It
rained in the morning, but cleared a little at about three o'clock,
though the sky was still dark and overcast. The weather reflected
the feelings of the Romans. They were saddened by the inevi-
table consequences of air raids, by the German oppression, by
their disappointment at the Allies not having reached the city
to free it, by anxiety for their dear ones in hiding or taken by
the Germans, most of them hungry and some of them homeless;
not to mention the refugees, all of them homeless and many of
them hopeless. A rumour had been current that the Holy Father
would make some important announcement during his speech,
possibly of the withdrawal of the Germans. Obviously it was
a childish idea, born of desperate desire to be rid of them; but
desperate people cling to straws, and even the most impossible
rumours always find someone to put faith in them. It was notice-
able, however, that no Germans were present among the crowd.
A sentry placed near the bridge over the Tiber turned them
back, if, even individually, they tried to join the people bound
for the Piazza. Even they had realized something of the temper
of the Romans, and mistrusted it. I think that one or two eluded
the sentries and were seen among the crowd; but they came to
no harm.
On the way to St. Peter's we noticed a strange thing we had
never heard before. It was the steady sound of footsteps, along
the streets and on the bridges, the feet of a multitude converging
on one spot. Perhaps because there was hardly any talk and
laughter such as one generally hears on these occasions. Certainly
it was a remarkable sound, giving the impression that all the
inhabitants of a city were moving toward some goal. Wlien we
reached the Piazza there must have been about 200,000 people
there. It's capacity is 300,000, and it was undoubtedly two-
thirds full. It was truly a democratic crowd too. A cross-section
of people we noticed illustrates this. Near us were: our coal
dealer; the Secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature of a German-
occupied country; a Roman Duke, collateral descendant of the
family of Pope Boniface VIII (who died in 1303); as well as
refugees from all parts of Italy, beggars, workingmcn and
shopkeepers.
When the Pope appeared on the balcony in the centre of the
fagade of St. Peter's, with none of the usual ceremonial, accom-
panied only by a secretary and one Noble Guard, his white
cassock stood out in sharp contrast to the grey stone of the
basilica behind him and the grey sky above. He spoke of the
sufferings of many of his listeners, of his work for peace, of
courage, of prayer, of penance, of trust in God, of right be-
haviour, of perseverence in well-doing, of faith, of hope, of
charity; and concluded with a prayer for the help of Almighty
God for His sorely tried people.
During the Pope's discourse be was interrupted several times
by thunders of applause, and, at the end, after he had given his
blessing to the silent multitude, cheering broke out again and
again, As the throng was dispersing shouts were heard of "Down
with the Germans," and communist manifestoes were thrown
about. The excitement was some distance away from us, but
we got away as soon as we could, fearing a panic. The noise
quieted down for a time, but began again among a press of
people in the narrow street leading to Ponte Vittorio Emanude.
"Down with the Germans!" "Give us bread!" they called out*
Presently we heard revolver shots, and people began to ran.
We stepped aside under the shelter of Cartel Sant'Angefe and
waited while frightened men and women ran past like leaves in
the wind. But nothing further happened, and we reached home
safely. The leaflets that were thrown about ran as follows:
To the Roman people, women, youths! The city is attacked from the
air because the Germans do not respect tt as an ope* city.
To prevent the destruction of -Roe* and save the fives of tfaomanA
of men, women and children, the Germtmt mmtf t* drh** o*/.
[1J3J
Catholics, Democrats, Socialists, Communists, Antifascists, we must
*U *mtt to save the city!
AWAY WITH THE GERMANS!
THE ROMAN SECTION OF
ROME, March 12th, 1944 THE ITALIAN COMMUNIST PARTY.
Monday March 13th
Only today have we learnt of the heavy damage done by the
air raid on Saturday. A big column of German tanks and lorries
was caught outside Rome on Via Tiburtina and wiped out, but
the neighbourhood of Piazza Bologna was also bombed and a
number of houses were destroyed, Two American planes were
brought down by anti-aircraft fire.
Yesterday, to commemorate the occasion, the Pope caused
50,000 hot meals to be provided for the poor of Rome. They
were served in various soup kitchens and convents.
The "Ides of March" recur today, and the usual laurel wreath
has been laid at the feet of the statue of Julius Caesar in Via
dellTxnpero. One wonders what he thinks of the military sagacity
of the Fascists, or of the Germans, for that matter. He saw Hitler
go by in triumph along this road in 1938. What else will he see
before the whole dreary business is over for Italy?
The British Government has indeed taken drastic measures
in cutting off all traffic with Ireland as from today. Does that
mean that the invasion of Europe may be due at any moment?
Tuesday March 14th
This morning we had the most terrible air raid that we have
had since they began on July 19th. It took place between 11.30
and 12.30; waves of heavy bombers came over and dropped tons
of explosives on and around the Tiburtina, Prenestino and San
Lorenzo stations. All of these are clearance points for war
material: weapons, ammunition, petrol and oil bound for the
Anzio front in trains or stored in sheds near them. The stations,
goods yards, railway tracks and vans were completely wrecked,
bat the damage to civilian dwellings and the casualties were
appalling. Bombs fell in streets where queues were lined up for
[134]
water from emergency pipe lines, and limply wiped out entire
groups. One woman was beheaded by the blast; the body of
another was blown onto a telegraph wire where it hung until,
the confusion having subsided, firemen came with ladders and
removed it. One of our friends, M.C, who is a qualified Red
Cross nurse, told us a little of what she had seen and done when
it happened. Her story ran as follows:
I was walking down Via Nomentana when suddenly planes came
over and dropped bombs a hundred yards up the street. I rather woodcr
how I wasn't hit. When the explosion was over I went back to tec if
I could help. The first thing I saw was a round blackened object,
which turned out to be a woman's head, cut clean off the body. The
neck was burnt and there was hardly any blood. The people funding
about began to bring in wounded, mostly senseless; luckily we were
just opposite a clinic where I knew the head nurse. [This was the
former "Anglo-American Nursing Home" taken over by the Italian
authorities on the outbreak of war.] I went in, and when she saw me
she said: "O Mary! come and help for heaven's sake!" So I put on a
doctor's white coat and started in. Every window in the {dace wa*
broken and the dead and wounded were all over the floor, so wherever
I trod I either crushed glass or slithered in gore.
I began by trying to do what I could for a child of four, but
found he was already dead, so I turned my attention to a man whom
two nuns were trying most ineffectually to quieten, while a third tied
a rubber tube round his arm. It was a horrible wound, bet no blood
was coming from it; the man's lips were bloodless too and he seemed
quite mad. I suppose anybody would be after such a shock. Struggling,
we carried him to the ambulance which had turned up.
All this time people were running in every direction, others were
dying, and women were having hysterics and screaming. Wt unearthed
various other people and got them off, then Y.M., who was with me,
and I were called by some men to see if a girl in a near-by boos* was
still alive. We cUmbed over wreckage, and found * child with * frac-
tured skull, unconscious, but still alive. She was too berry to lift *s
she was, 90 I collected a blanket and put her into that, only to find
that the wretched thing tore in every direction at the first strain. How-
ever, finally, we got her downstairs and into one of those motor cycle
things with a trailer. I climbed on in front, that is to say, I stood on
a piece of iron and held on with ooe hand, while with the other I tried
to steady die girl's head. Then began the roost awful drive I ever had.
We went at breakneck speed oner erery obstacle, quite regardless of
[135]
the traffic, and eventually brought up outside the Istituto Regina Elena,
where I knew the only hope of saving the child was Professor Mario.
He was operating, unfortunately, and by the time he was able to come
and look at her, she was dead, but he assured me that she would have
died in any case.
When we got back to the scene of destruction, we found that another
alarm was in progress, and that all the patients at the clinic had to be
brought downstairs by hand, as the lift was broken. Some job. How-
ever, we got it done in the end, and Y. and I were free to go home.
Ve both owned, later, that we felt queer for several days after.
It was during this raid that the famous editor of the Giornale
d 'Italia, Virginio Gayda, was killed instantly when a direct hit
was made on his house; and his next-door neighbour, a well
known doctor, Professore Gaifami, suffered in the same way.
There was practically nothing left of either house.
By evening a stream of people were to be seen, with suitcases
and bags, going from Via Nomentana to other parts of Rome
seeking lodgings. Everyone is really alarmed by now, as today's
attack struck many houses which were nowhere near a goods
station or the railway tracks.
Wednesday March 15th
As a consequence of yesterday's bombing the Blue Nuns*
hospital next to S. Stefano Rotondo is without gas, electricity
or water. They have had to build an emergency fireplace in the
garden and do their cooking there. It is almost impossible to
imagine nursing being carried on under more trying conditions.
At Anzio the situation is more or less stationary. Our men
find explosives placed inside corpses on the battlefield, so when
they go to bury them, they are met with a new and revolting
development of the booby trap.
The news from Vesuvius is bad; it seems strange that such a
serious eruption should coincide with a war, which already pro-
vides enough trouble for mankind without help from natural
phenomena. The Fascist journalists carefully give their informa-
tion about the eruption a Lisbon date line.
Porches and steps of basilicas are crowded with refugees at
present, who dunk that they will be safe from air attacks there,
[136]
Thursday March 16th
We hear that the attack on the town of Cassino has begun
in earnest, and that Allied bombs have reduced it to a mere heap
of rubble. Perhaps this means the beginning of an Allied advance
on Rome. The fighting down there is bitter, according to reports
we have received.
B.R. has been arrested. This is a terrible blow to us, because
he was one of the foremost in giving help of all kinds to Allied
prisoners of war who are hiding in and around Rome. Being
a member of a religious congregation, he could get about easily.
He took supplies and money to our men, arranged for their lodg-
ings, changed them when necessary, and acted as go-between
on countless occasions. No one will ever know how much he
achieved. He is British, but speaks Italian like a native. If only
they don't torture him, now that they have him . , . and if
only he did not have any notes or addresses on him at the
time. *
Poverty and want are more openly manifest here daily, and
the number of beggars is appalling. In any crowded street one
meets them almost every few yards, some with children, some
without; some old and helpless, and some of them perfectly
able-bodied. They appear to get a good deal of money from
passers-by, for Italians (when they are not Nazifascists) are
wonderfully kind-hearted. One gives away whatever is potsible
in the way of clothes, which the beggars scon to need more than
money, but there is a limit to that, as to most things. We hare
even taken down curtains and portiires throughout this home
to make garments for them. As for shoes, there is no leather,
so they have to manage with wooden sandals. One impoverished
gentlewoman who comes here sometimes told us that, as there
is no food provided where she i$ staying, Ac has to do her own
cooking over what ought to be a spirit lamp; but there is no
spirit here any more, even if die had money to boy it, which
she hasn't, so Ac cooks with car<Iboard, when she can get it.
We were able to grre her a supply of oW boxes we lad fcotrded,
which wffi keep her going for *yae time.
[137]
Friday March 17th
During an air alarm this morning, at about 7.30, a shell from
an anti-aircraft gun fell in the Vatican City close to the offices
of the Osservatore Romano, causing a good deal of damage and
wounding two workmen seriously. Was that shell aimed con-
sciously at the Vatican City? It is not improbable.
The Vatican is in mourning today for two deaths which
occurred last Friday among the personnel of the lorry trains
that are sent out to collect food for the city of Rome. These
lorries have been placed by the Holy Father at the disposal of
the city organizations for the transport of food. On Friday,
the fleet of heavy vehicles with full loads, was returning from
Umbria, and in the neighbourhood of Narni was joined by a
number of German military trucks which placed themselves in
front of and behind the Vatican ones. The column was spotted by
Allied planes and attacked; the German vehicles were destroyed
for the most part and two of those belonging to the Vatican;
the drivers of the latter were killed as well as a priest who ac-
companied the expedition. Of course the German stratagem
had been to seek immunity by driving ahead of and behind the
trucks bearing the pontifical colours.
B.R. is all right, thank God. We have heard the details. They
are from the best possible source: the Good Shepherd nuns on
whose grounds (on Via Aurelia, about half an hour's walk
beyond St. Peter's) the whole thing took place. This is their
account of it:
B.R. rang our gate bell about 7.30 A.M.; he was in a great hurry and
asked to pass through our garden, because he had some American and
British prisoners (four in all), in a little outhouse on the property
adjoining ours. He said he was very tired, and after procuring better
lodging for these prisoners he was going to "vanish"; all the more so
because the day before he had been warned by a friend that the authori-
ties were looking for him. I accompanied him, and met the prisoners
who were waiting for him just on the other side of the wire fence.
There were three of them (one was a slight red-haired boy only twenty
years old), accompanied by two Italian patriots who were taking care
of them. The fourth prisoner was ill and was indoors. After saying
good morning to them I left B.R. and went up to the house. It was a
[138]
very chilly day and we all felt so sorry for the prisoners. Rev. Mother
said perhaps they would like a hot cup of coffee and milk. I went to
ask B.R. if he would like us to prepare it, but they had all gone inside
the room (formerly a chicken coop or the like), and- a black cloth
curtain was hung in the doorway.
Not being able to attract anyone's attention, I turned around to
go back to the house, and was startled to see a German with his rifle
and bayonet slung over his shoulder only a few yards away from me
but on the other side of the fence. We simply glanced at each other
and went in opposite directions. My companion and I were frightened
and longed to warn B.R. and his companions. We walked about the
garden for a few minutes and discovered a whole group of Germans
waiting near the house next door, which, until last July, had been used
by a Fascist girls* association. Someone had probably betrayed the pris-
oners, because until that time the Germans had never searched the
property. A moment later we heard shouting and pistol shots evidently
a signal for help coming from the direction where B.R. and the
prisoners were hiding. All the Germans ran to the rescue. Not being
able to help in any way we went into the house, and from an upstairs
window saw the sad procession pass beyond the fence: two Italians,
the four prisoners and B.R., with no hat nor coat, in single file and
holding up their hands. They were led and followed by Germans with
their rifles pointed at them. The sick prisoner was not able to keep
his hands up, and the soldiers continually struck him with the butt
ends of their rifles.
They were all put in a lorry and taken to the nearest military police
station. On the way they were not very closely watched, and B.R.
managed to eat the pages of his notebook which, although the informa-
tion was in cipher, would have been compromising for himself and
for others. He had swallowed them all by the time the destination was
reached. He told the German commander that he did not know the
men, and was passing when they called out; he made painfully stupid
answers to all their questions and gave his Christian name, and the
Italian pronunciation of his family name, and was able to convince
the officer that he had nothing at all to do with the prisoners and was
released. The strangest part of the story is that the Fascists had already
tried to trap him, by sending a message that his help was needed
urgently at a certain address. To that invitation he did not respond.
Of course, the officer who interviewed him had no idea that he was
already wanted by the Gestapo.
The two Italian boys who were helping the British prisoners (Vittorio
[139]
and Carlo Casadei) , whose family live on the farm behind our property,
were taken that day to Regina Coeli, and were eventually among the
320 victims shot afterward on Via Ardeatina.
B.R. has hidden himself effectually now, and we hope he will stay
hidden until the Allies arrive.
And when will that be?
Saturday March 18th
This afternoon at 3 o'clock there was another heavy air raid
on the city. The bombs were presumably aimed at the "Macao"
or "Castro Pretorio" barracks, where the Germans have large
ammunition and petrol dumps. They were uncomfortably near
us, but, thank God, our house was not damaged. About sixty
people in a tram near Piazza Bologna were killed; at the big
hospital known as the Policlinico several wings were demolished;
the Hungarian Legation in Via dei Villini was hit, and the blast
killed the young wife of a French diplomat, recently married.
She was only one of many, but her case was particularly heart-
breaking. Via Antonio Musa, Via Nomentana, Piazza Galeno,
Viale Principessa Margherita were all struck by bombs. Much
damage was also caused in the suburb of Centocelle. A house in
Via Messina, near Porta Pia, quite close to us, was hit; it was
over two kilometres distant from the stations. That is the nearest
we have come to being in the line of attack.
The Romans are beginning to be panicky as well as depressed.
There is nothing organized in advance here in case of raids,
everything is chaotic.
Sunday March 19th
There is such a shortage of fuel that it has been decided to
cut down the trees at Castel Fusano and Castel Porziano, two
royal estates near Ostia, the latter being the King's shooting
preserve. Of course it fills the Republicans with delight to de-
stroy anything belonging to the House of Savoy.
Yesterday the crowd of refugees around St. Peter's and in the
colonnade was greater than ever; they feel particularly safe in
the colonnade, so they camp there for the day, only going home
[140]
at night. I saw several cows being led across the square; they
looked quite at home, except for the fact that there was no
pasture for them there. Herds of "refugee" cows are being
sheltered in the oddest places, in caves under the Janiculum, in
private gardens, in former garages, any place where they can be
saved from German rapacity.
The posters are becoming less informative and more inspira-
tional; that is to say, there are fewer lengthy printed exhortations
and more pictures, the latest being one of the Statue of Liberty
in New York harbour rising from a sea of flames and gore.
The scornful air of utter weariness and disdain with which the
poster men wield their paste brushes when they slap the sheets
on the walls is worth watching. One opposite our house yesterday
morning was fascinatingly eloquent with his brush.
The rumour that the Germans intend withdrawing from this
sector gains credence daily; and since it was confirmed confi-
dentially by a neutral diplomat, we are beginning to believe it
ourselves. They say that an agreement has been reached which
will be published on the 25th. Even the Giornale d'ltatia
cryptically hinted at it. It is also said that the Germans are
maddened by the naval artillery at Anzio, which gives them no
respite, and they are driven to adopt some measures which will
save their men.
Monday March 20th
Someone gave us today's world news in headlines: "Red
Avalanche Sweeps on Toward Rumania," "Finland Fights On,"
"Ireland Isolated," "Cassino Bombed Off Map," "Moscow
Backs Badoglio," "Allies Behind Jap Lines." Certainly "enough
for twenty hopes and fears"; we have full sets of both at present.
Tuesday March 21st
And now Hungary. Another unfortunate country occupied.
Jew-baiting and man-hunting will follow. We can sympathize.
Poor Hungarians!
The press announces elaborate commemorative celebrations
to take place on March 23rd, Thursday, as it will be the 25th
[141]
anniversary of the first Fascist meeting at Piazza San Sepolcro
in Milan; in other words, the birth of Fascism. It may be as
well to keep indoors while the celebration is going on. Patriots
are increasing in numbers and in determination, and there might
be a clash.
The funeral of Giuseppe Tufariello, a Blackshirt who was
murdered after another minor celebration, two days ago, took
place this morning.
The manager of the Roman Tram and Bus Company has
issued a report explaining why there are so few vehicles at the
disposal of the citizens. He says they have been damaged by air
raids, but it is well known that the Germans have taken them
for military purposes. Here are his figures: Out of 713 trams,
434 remain, and out of 661 buses, only 128 are available for
service. Therefore, allowing for some damage in air raids, the
Germans have taken about 200 trams and 500 buses from the
Romans.
Wednesday March 22nd
Two remarkable little items appeared today in the press. No. 1
occurred toward the end of a long and vehement article by the
ultra-Nazifascist editor of the Messaggero, Bruno Spampanato.
The article itself maintained that the recent Allied air raids
were mere terror raids, for the purpose of killing civilians, de-
stroying churches and hospitals, etc., etc.; that there were no
German military targets in the neighbourhood; that Rome was
an "open city/* etc., etc. It ended thus: "But, in order that the
enemy may bear the full responsibility of the harm he is doing,
the German Command will, in the coming days, scrupulously
withdraw from Rome anything that might furnish a pretext for
air raids and will avoid still more carefully the transit of troops
through the Eternal City." The italics are mine. If the military
targets weren't there, how can he withdraw them "still more
scrupulously"? If troops did not go through, how can he stop
their passing through the city? Bruno goes on waxing almost
sentimental: "This will be one more proof of true brotherhood
given to Italians by their allies, that, while their troops are
fighting heroically on our southern front, their military leaders
[142]
are anxiously giving their attention to safeguarding the Capital
and its citizens/'
Item No. 2 was even more thrilling. Carefully dated "Lisbon,"
an article in this evening's Giornale d'ltalia, discussing the mili-
tary situation as a whole, contained the following: "There are
certain indications that with the coming of fine weather Kessel-
ring is increasingly conscious of the difficulty of bringing up
supplies for nineteen divisions by lorry and by rail along roads
continually pounded by the R.A.F. It is therefore possible that
this consideration alone may induce him to abandon the stubborn
defence of the Gustav Line and begin withdrawal combats
\_combattimenti di ritirata] similar to those he led after he failed
to drive the enemy forces into the sea at Salerno." We are all
'delighted about this; but is it true?
Thursday March 23rd
It was wise not to have gone out of the house today. Friends
dropped in this evening and told us of serious occurrences in
Via Rasella, and of minor ones in Via Nazionale and other
streets. Via Rasella was the worst of all. It is a narrow street
running from Via delli Quattro Fontane, opposite the big gate
of the Barberini Palace, parallel to Via degli Avignonesi and Via
del Tritone, down to Via del Traforo. It slopes steeply and is not
very much frequented. At half past three this afternoon, while
a detachment of German troops was passing down Via Rasella,
a time bomb which had been concealed in a dustman's cart
exploded. Twenty-six Germans were killed and about twenty
wounded; eight of them so seriously that they died shortly
afterward. Pandemonium followed. Until 9 P.M. German sol-
diers, S.S. men and Fascists with tanks and machine guns, con-
tinued shooting wildly at the windows and roofs of houses not
only in Via Rasella, but in the neighbouring streets also, All the
inhabitants of Via Rasella as well as those who happened to be
passing at the time were arrested, hustled into lorries and taken
to what is now called "the slaughter house" at Via Tasso, the
Gestapo prison and place of torture.
No one knows what the consequences of this will be, nor what
horrible reprisals will follow.
[143]
Friday March 24th
Another turn of the screw by the Germans. With explana-
tions how it is absolutely necessary on account of the numbers
of refugees in the city, how a more even distribution of avail-
able supplies will thus be made, and that it is just for the time
being, the already meagre ration of bread, 150 grammes, as
from Saturday, the 25th, will be reduced to 100 grammes per
head, per day. It will now consist of one small roll weighing
about 3^2 ounces. Apart from the weight, the ingredients of
the bread are fearful and wonderful. It was analyzed by a friend
interested in the chemistry of food, and she found that in it
were: 1, elm tree pith; 2, a little rye; 3, dried chick peas; 4,
maize flour; 5, mulberry leaves. Of course the ingredients change
from time to time. At present I should say that they are much
the same, with the addition of a small quantity of sawdust and
perhaps a pinch or two of ashes, but I am not an analyst and
cannot be sure.
This evening the Qsservatore Romano appealed to all Romans
to refrain from acts of violence in this most serious period of
the war; acts, it says, which would only provoke severe reprisals,
giving rise to an infinite series of painful episodes. It concludes
by begging the clergy and all those who can influence the people
to persuade them to be strong, patient and self -controlled, for
their own sakes and for that of their city.
The writer of this short appeal (published on the front page
in italics) must already know something of the consequences
of yesterday's occurrences in Via Rasella. Perhaps we shall know
tomorrow.
Saturday March 25th
Yes, we do know not only something but a great deal about
the consequences of what happened in Via Rasella. Comment is
superfluous. The story is a terrible one. No allusion has been
made to it in the German-controlled press, but we have had all
the facts from a trustworthy source.
At 2 o'clock yesterday the Gernians went to the prison of
Regina Coeli, and called a long list of prisoners from the "third
wing"; that is, the political wards. Some had been there for
[144]
months, some for a few days; their only crime was that of being
anti-Fascists. "With their hands tied behind their backs they were
taken by lorry to some caves on the Via Ardeatina known as
the Caves of Domitilla, as they are near the catacomb of that
name. The Germans surrounded them with machine guns and
tanks, and when at 3 o'clock the lorries drove up, the men in
them were forced to alight and enter the caves. Once inside
they were made to stand in groups of ten, and were machine-
gunned. They were killed like cattle, with no priest present to
help them at the end, no opportunity of communicating with
their families. The bodies were piled in a long mound in the
cave, and a mine was exploded at the entrance so that there
could be no access to it. A priest and a few peasants, hidden in
a neighbouring cottage which the Germans omitted to search,
witnessed the proceedings.
Today's papers publish a communique from the German High
Command which runs:
On the afternoon of March 23rd, criminal elements committed acts
of violence by means of bombs against a German column passing
through Via Rasella. In . consequence, thirty-two members of the Ger-
man police were killed and a number of them wounded.
This brutally violent act was committed by communists of Ba-
doglio's party. Investigations are being made as to the crime being caused
by Anglo-American influence.
The German High Command is determined to crush the activities
of these villainous bandits. No one will be allowed to sabotage the re-
newed Italo-German co-operation. The Command has ordered that,
for every German who was murdered, ten of Badoglio's communists
shall be shot. This order has aready been executed.
A shiver of horror ran through those who read this cold-
blooded communique.
Sunday March 26th
The tragedy on Via Ardeatina was played to its end yesterday,
we learn from the same source. At six o'clock in the morning,
more lorries arrived with prisoners, not from Regina Coeli, but
[145]
from the Gestapo headquarters in Via Tasso. Some of them had
already undergone torture. They were forced into the cave by
another entrance, machine-gunned in the same way as the others,
and their bodies were placed in piles in the same order as the
others. The long mound of corpses was then covered with some
adhesive chemical substance resembling pitch, so that the re-
mains could never be separated or identified. Earth was thrown
on top of the whole, and the remaining entrances to the cave
dynamited as before. The statement published by the German
Command was untrue. Instead of 320 victims, they had executed
many more, some say 500. Before leaving the caves, the officer
in charge ordered the Fascists present to arrange for domestic
refuse to be dumped in front of the entrances, already blocked
up by earth and rubble. This done, the guards were removed,
the guns were unmounted, and the day's work was at an end.
Rome was beginning to suffer what Prague and "Warsaw had
witnessed: wholesale reprisals in cold blood.
Monday March 27th
Every day there are air raids in the distant suburbs and we can
hear the explosions clearly; but no bombs have been dropped
on the city itself for over a week. The rumour about the Germans
having agreed to withdraw to a point twenty kilometres beyond
Rome so that there may be no more attacks from the air is re-
peated by everyone, high and low, wise and foolish, diplomats,
market women, journalists, bus drivers, priests, shop girls. They
are going, they say. Oh, yes, there is no doubt about it. Just a
few would remain to police the city. And what might that
mean? Well, they didn't know. Then there was the companion
rumour in circulation to the effect that the Pope had arranged
everything with the Germans; he would take charge of the
wounded; Rome would be a "hospital city" only; it would be
policed by an international corps, composed of neutrals: Swiss,
Spaniards, Portuguese, Swedes, even Turks I think were included.
Anyway, it would be the solution of all difficulties. The Pope
had ordered 20,000, or was it 60,000 armlets for the piebald
collection of police to wear, and it would all be made public
[146]
within a day or so. The armlets would have "Vatican" printed on
them.
Tuesday March 28th
The truth about the victims shot after the Via Rasella trouble
is known by now throughout the city, and the people, grief-
stricken and indignant, have removed the refuse heaps from the
blocked-up entrances and replaced them with flowers of all sorts;
the most expensive ones are laid there side by side with the poorest
wild flowers. The Germans have refused to give the list of those
whom they shot, and the families of prisoners in Via Tasso and
Regina Coeli are tormented with grief to which is added sus-
pense. This form of mental torture is practised extensively by the
Germans, and only by indirect means have families sometimes
come to learn of the execution or the death in prison of their
menfolk.
It is chilly and rainy; the Allies have had to fall back at Cas-
sino, and we're all feeling depressed.
Wednesday March 29th
The German Command has published a "declaration" stating
once more that Rome is an "open city," and that they have
taken a great deal of trouble to make it so; this, solely for the
sake of the inhabitants. They (the inhabitants) are to remember
that, apart from attacks from the enemy, the well-being of the
city is in their hands, and if communists in the pay of the enemy
endeavour to attack German soldiers again, the Command "will
take what measures it deems necessary." That means that if
anything happens again resembling the occurrences in Via Rasella
the reprisals will be still more ferocious. The Command has also
appealed privately to the Fascist journalists to urge Romans to
"collaborate" more with the Germans.
Thursday March. 30th
There is a sort of vague, dissatisfied, ominous feeling in the
air. Some German cars and lorries have gone, and a good many
[147]
soldiers with them, but barriers are still up around the German
offices, and they are guarded by sentinels with machine guns,
as before. Those who have gone outside the city have not gone
far, and can pounce in on us whenever they wish to do so, of
course. The S.S. and the Gestapo are here as before.
There is a whole crop of fresh rumours explaining why the
so-called agreement to evacuate Rome did not come off: the
Germans told the Allies (through the Vatican) that they would
evacuate, but must keep control of the Tiburtina goods (freight)
station. Next, they had asked for immunity for Berlin, and would
grant the same to London; next well, they were all equally
childish, and propagated by childish persons.
The masses are angry about the bread ration reduction, and
appear ripe for some sort of food riot. There is no bread at all
in Albano and Grottaf errata; in the latter town the Germans
will not let flour come through, because the men there refused
to work for them. But the men prefer starvation to slave labour.
This steady lack of "collaboration" on the part of the Romans
and the inhabitants of the Castelli has angered the Germans.
Certainly, the passive resistance has been wonderful.
The Gestapo arrested a girl who lives close to us, the other
day, because she was "indiscreet" on the telephone. There is a
body of JOO operators employed at the central telephone building,
listening to conversations and reporting them.
There are constant air attacks outside the city on German
columns bound for the front, but still none inside Rome. We
hear a good deal of shooting at night in this neighbourhood.
Friday March 31st
Further consequences of the reprisals after the bomb attack
in Via Rasella are the strengthening and extension of the under-
ground front. The whole thing is better organized than before,
more papers and leaflets are circulated, warnings are conveyed
with greater speed, and arms are being collected more efficiently.
The patriots meet in places like Piazza di Spagna, or the Pincio
or Piazza del Popolo, in twos and threes, and convey orders to
the members of the different groups. They have also gained
confidence since the establishment of the Anzio front, and in
[148]
some cases members of the police force are inclined to wink at
their activities in the hope that when the Allies take Rome their
fate may be less hard than it would be otherwise.
As women have played an important part in helping Allied
prisoners of war who are in hiding here > so they are of untold
help to the patriots. Bundles of papers are taken to their destina-
tions under the cushions of perambulators or hidden in market
bags beneath lettuces and cabbages.
The U.S.L (Union of Italian Students) unites most of the
University students for patriotic purposes, and organizes them
with remarkable skill. "We must be prepared to face all risks in
the struggle against Nazif ascists today, as we shall be prepared
to work for the reconstruction of Italy afterward" so runs their
manifesto. A number of them have been arrested by the Gestapo,
but a far greater number are still at large and are most active.
In order to persuade more Romans and refugees to go to
North Italy, where German power will remain paramount for
a longer time than in Rome, the Republican Government is now
offering free transport in lorries for all who wish to travel in that
direction. The pretext is that they are food lorries, which must
go to their destinations empty. Quite a number of refugees have
accepted the offer. They are promised good food and opportuni-
ties for work "in the north."
The Giornale d'ltalia and the Messaggero are almost hysterical
with annoyance at the weekly edition of the Vatican paper,
which, in giving a general account of world conditions, men-
tioned, under the heading "Italy," that Badoglio has succeeded
in improving food conditions in the south, in reorganizing travel,
in clearing out undesirable officials and in restoring liberty of the
press. The fact that "Italy" is considered to be those portions of
the peninsula which are no longer occupied by the Germans is
held to show "stratospherical ignorance," and that no recogni-
tion should be made of the "Italian Social Republic" is an unpar-
donable crime committed by a paper which "appears in a small
State which is enclosed in die Capital of the Republic." Nothing
touches the "Republicans" on the raw so much as not being
recognized as the sole legitimate government of Italy.
One of the hastily enlisted Blackshirt battalions, called pom-
pously Battaglione della Morte, was sent into action recently on
[149]
the Anzio front. Most of the soldiers in it were under twenty
years of age. When they reached the front lines, ten of them were
killed by mistake, and the rest surrendered without firing a shot.
The same kind of thing occurred when the first of the "re-
constituted" Italian air squadrons was sent into action. They
went up from an Italian airfield and promptly came down be-
hind the Allied lines. In future they will have German observers
on board, and more German officers among the troops.
Saturday April 1st
Two more Fascists have been murdered in the suburb of Quad-
raro; the Blackshirts are making themselves hated increasingly
as the days go by. They are also beginning to be nervous, which
makes them more inclined to violence.
There is a great deal of propaganda in the press about the
elimination of black market centres; but of course these raids on
the black market are faked, as the Germans and Republicans are
back of the smaller profiteers. Yesterday there was an elaborate
mise-en-scene with plain-clothes police and Republican guards
for the suppression of the buying and selling that was going on
in Via Tor di Nona.
A little while ago one of our friends sent her majordomo to
buy some meat in a Trastevere black market centre. Having ob-
tained it, he was on his way home, when a plain-clothes man
approached him and asked if he had got any meat. He stopped
and made no answer, knowing that he had been caught red-
handed. The- detective, however, seeing he was frightened, said
reassuringly: "It's all right, I only wished to know if it had
come, I'm getting some myself. " The meat cost about 200 lire
per kilo.
The Fascists are establishing soup kitchens in various parts of
the city to try to stave off food riots, but the quality of the stuff
they distribute is so bad that the poor say they would rather go
hungry than try to live on it. The soup kitchens run by the
Vatican, and by the Circolo di San Pietro under Vatican auspices,
are much better managed, but the numbers of the poor and of
penniless refugees increase daily, and it is well-nigh impossible
to cope with diem all.
[150]
One sees "Bread! Bread! Bread! Death to the people who
are starving us!" scrawled on the walls. In one place I saw:
"Remember the crimes of Fascism!" "Crimes" had been hastily
rubbed out and "merits" written faintly in its place.
Sunday April 2nd
Tonight we begin summer time, single, not double, and put
our clocks ahead one hour.
The strength and impenetrability of the "Atlantic Wall" is
apparently such, and its importance so vital, that a whole extra
sheet of paper has been granted to the press in order to write
articles about it. They are meant to revive the drooping morale
of Axis satellites and the Italian Republicans. The patriots say:
"Wait and see."
Two more of the Fascist police were murdered yesterday. There
will be some fierce reprisals soon, in all probability.
Monday April 3rd
Neutral newspaper correspondents in Rome have been taken
on a little tour by the Germans around and outside the city, in
order that they may write to their papers and say that Rome is
absolutely an "open city" in the fullest sense of the term. I won-
der what they will write. One knows beforehand what the satel-
lite ones will say, but the Swiss, the Swedes and the Spaniards ?
The curfew is newly fixed for tomorrow, to begin at 8.30 P.M.
and to end at 6 A.M.
There is a well defined pause in activities on both the Cassino
and the Anzio fronts. Some people say that the Germans are
running out of ammunition and that we know it and are wait-
ing purposely.
The negotiations that are being carried on at present regarding
the sale of wolfram to Germany by Spain and Portugal are of
the deepest interest to us here; one feels that they can only end
by those countries recognizing the justice of the Allies* claims.
[151]
Tuesday April 4th
The authorities published today the total number of casualties
caused in Rome by air raids between July 19, 1943, and March
20, 1944. They amount to 5,000 killed and 11,000 wounded.
We have had no more since the last-named date, and can hear
bombs exploding in the distance only. There is an impression that
the Allies have decided not to drop them within the city limits.
Civilian motor cars, even if they have licenses, are now for-
bidden to use the great highways leading to Rome, the Appia,
Tuscolana, Casilina, Tiburtina, Salaria, Cassia and Aurelia; they
are all reserved for German military purposes.
Yesterday a young priest, Don Giuseppe Morosini, was exe-
cuted by the Fascists for having given help of every kind, ma-
terial as well as spiritual, to a group of patriots. He was betrayed
to the Gestapo, imprisoned and condemned to death, as it was
discovered that there were arms and a transmitter radio set
among the things he had collected for the young men who were
in hiding. The Pope's efforts to obtain a reprieve from the
Germans were unavailing, and the execution was fixed for April
3rd. He died like a saint and a hero. Having asked as a favour
to be allowed to celebrate Mass on the morning of his execution,
permission was granted to him, and Monsignore Traglia, Vice-
gerent of Rome, was present at it. The latter protested against
the priest being handcuffed on entering the motor van that was
to take them to the place of execution. On the way Father
Morosini asked Monsignore Traglia to thank the Pope for his
efforts on his behalf and to say that he offered his life for him.
Before being blindfolded he kissed his crucifix, blessed the pla-
toon of soldiers who were to shoot him, and publicly forgave the
man who had betrayed him. Possibly because the executioners
were overcome by his quiet heroism, he was not killed by their
volley, and fell to the ground, wounded but conscious. He begged
for the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, which was administered
at once by Monsignore Traglia, after which the commanding
officer shot him at the base of the skull with a revolver.
Once when he was being questioned during his imprisonment
Father Morosini was asked: "What would you do if you were
given yotfr freedom?" "I should continue to do what I had been
doing," was the calm reply.
[152]
Wednesday April 5th
The food situation is growing worse daily. At the Littorio
hospital, where we know one of the patients, the sick are not only
not given the kind of food which their various illnesses require,
but they are not given enough to keep them alive. Two women
who were brought there, suffering from shock after an air raid,
died after a few days simply from hunger.
The Fascist troops who are sent to the Anzio front, now go
there wearing German uniforms, such is the shortage of material,
A friend of ours who is co-operating with the Vatican authori-
ties in their efforts to bring foodstuffs into the city says that
more Germans have been murdered; the Command has hushed
the matter up, but is punishing the citizens by preventing food
coming into Rome. The statement is quite credible.
Thursday April 6th
There is so much writing on the walls of the city that a decree
has been issued to the effect that the owner or custodian of each
house is responsible for whatever communist, partisan or "sub-
versive** inscriptions appear on its walls; if he does not cancel
them immediately he will be severely punished. Obviously the
police had to give it up as a bad job; they could no longer cope
with the spate of hostile remarks scrawled nightly all over the
city.
Today is Maundy Thursday, a lovely spring day, and greater
crowds than usual are visiting the different churches. They are
praying for peace and for the cessation of incidents such as the
one which took place at the Nazzareno College this morning. All
the staff and pupils were present at Mass in the College chapel.
During the ceremony a sermon was preached which concluded
with an exhortation to pray for the peace and the safety of Italy.
When it was over, a young man who was seated near the door
and who was not a pupil of the College, called out: "Let us now
say a T)e Profundis' for the 320 men murdered by the Germans!"
Immediately a Fascist member of the staff, Professor Lattanzi,
gripped him by the arm and hustled him off to a classroom where
he locked him up, and, after questioning him, reported him to the
German authorities. As soon as Lattanzi was gone the boys
[153]
rushed to the classroom and forced the door open so that the
prisoner might escape. They made a note of Lattanzi's name,
for future reference, and when the Allies arrive, his lot will not
be an enviable one.
However, the matter did not end there, for the Gestapo ar-
rested a number of the boys in their own homes and took them
to Via Tasso to be interrogated.
Good Friday April 7th
We have had bad news today. One of the foremost helpers
of the hidden British prisoners here has been caught and was
tortured, and a certain amount of information has leaked out.
All the men in concealment must change their lodgings, and at
once. How is it going to be possible to get it done at such short
notice?
The miracle has been achieved, thanks to the united efforts
of the group; the lodgings were changed, and none of the British
were caught. When all this is over, one hopes that recognition will
be made of the devoted service that Italian patriots and others
have been giving to our men.
There is a new sign in German at the top of the roadway in
Via Veneto: "Only Generals pass this way." It gives quite a tone
to the street.
From the Vatican we have heard statistics about the number
of men rounded up in the Castelli by the Germans for their
forced labour organizations. They total 8,000.
The Pope has sent 7,000 loaves of bread to the concentration
camp at Cesena, near Lake Bracciano, for the refugees whom the
Germans have forcibly evacuated. It is one of the worst in Italy;
the people there are housed in wretched army huts, with no
blankets, no sanitation and next to no food. Numbers of them
have died of hunger and exposure. The Pope has saved many of
their lives by sending food to the camp.
Easter Sunday April 9th
There is a rumour that the Allies have landed at Civitavecchia;
but it is not to be taken seriously.
[154]
This morning, in Corso d'ltalia, in front of the building the
Germans use for their offices and which is elaborately barricaded
off, they gave a brilliant band concert in honour of Easter Day.
A large crowd collected to listen to them; there is no doubt
whatever that they are born musicians. If only they would stick
to music instead of making war!
Monday April 10th
The press has given us a good scolding today for "giving credit
to rumours malignantly spread by agents of the enemy" but
does not say what they are, which would have been much more
interesting. It ends by pointing out how futile it is to attempt
"to sow discord between us and our chivalrous allies who are
defending our land with legendary valour." Those who do not
collaborate with these "allies" deserve to be "treated as slaves
exiled from their country and outside the pale of civilization."
And, it points out, the kind Germans have done so much to make
everything pleasant for the Romans "if painful incidents have
occurred, necessitating prompt measures in retaliation, this
should not give rise to alarmist tales as to the future intentions
of the Germans."
Well, well, you never know.
Even if there is a war, aggravated by German occupation, the
Romans will stick to their time-honoured customs. Among these
is the "scampagnata" or day in the country juori porta, outside
the gates on Easter Monday. As no one is allowed to go outside
the city at present, they have taken what few provisions they
could scrape together and have had their day out, by picnicking
all over the Forum and the Palatine, and in various parks. It was
better than nothing; and tradition must be upheld.
Tuesday Aprfl llth
One of our peasants returned today from Lanuvio, where he
managed to go to look at his property. He was horror-struck at
what he had heard about the Germans who, on Easter Sunday,
surrounded the parish church at Galloro, and took all the men
off to labour for them; but worse still, they killed all the men in
[155]
a village in the Abruzzi. It seems that in this village the peasants
had been kind to escaped British prisoners, and to patriots, giving
them food and shelter. The Germans simply surrounded it,
rounded up the men, placed them with their backs to the church
wall, and there, in front of their women folk, whom they ob-
liged to be present, shot them. Virginio was almost crying when
he told us of this horror.
Someone came in today, wanting to borrow an English gram-
mar from us. It seems that, such is the demand, every English
grammar in Rome has been bought up by those who wish to be
really proficient in the language when the Allies arrive. Most of
the French grammars have also been sold out, but there are piles
of German textbooks available for anyone who wants them. But
no one does.
The supply of salt appears to be exhausted, and the monthly
ration is to be reduced to 150 grammes per head provided we
get even that much. Cooking without salt is a novel experience.
Wednesday April 12th
The personally conducted tour made by the neutral press
correspondents on April 3rd is beginning to bear fruit. The
Easier Nacbricbten says that German military supplies are now
transported along narrow country roads which make a wide
detour around Rome, thus using much more fuel than if they
took the broad ones which lead through the city; and this is very-
satisfactory for the German press censors. But the Swede un-
grateful Swede! How could he stoop so low? spoiled the game
and spilled the beans. He told the truth, the whole truth and
nothing but the truth, and said that Rome was not an open
city, that there were quantities of military supply depots in it,
and that military traffic went through it. He also produced some
photographs in support of his statements.
The wrath of the German and Fascist authorities knows no
bounds. They say he is a liar. They have forbidden all tours for
press correspondents, and no one .may use a camera in future.
But all that changes nothing. The fat is irremediably in the fire.
[156]
Thursday April 13th
Marshal Kesselring has visited the Pope again; afterward he
paid a visit to the Cardinal Secretary of State. When Kesselring
had gone "the Cardinal remarked smilingly to a friend of ours:
"There will be good news for us next week/* We conclude that
it means they will withdraw from this part of Italy on account
of the difficulty of transport. The hope that has subsided so many
times flares up again. But one does not believe these hopeful
statements so easily as before; we find that we are developing a
sort of protective covering of incredulity.
The increase in robberies is alarming at present. Not official
robberies by the Germans, but ordinary ones, carried out by
thieves, sometimes masked, at other times disguised in Fascist
uniforms. Lawlessness is in the air, police protection is weak, and
thieving, as always, is an easy way of accumulating riches. It has
reached such a degree that the following notice was found af-
fixed to a tobacconist's shop recently: "Gentlemen who are
thinking of robbing this shop are warned that the cigarettes,
matches and other goods are stored elsewhere during the night.
Will they therefore kindly refrain from damaging the shutters/'
Looting "officially," the Germans collected a large number
of bales of cloth, which they stored in a shop almost opposite
our house. A day or two ago they emptied all the pieces of mate-
rial into lorries and drove off. During the process sentries stood
on guard at the door, in case of thieves, I suppose.
This morning we took a turn in Villa Borghese to. see the
spring. It has really come at last, and the blessed warmth is pene-
trating into our unheated houses, thawing everything, and mak-
ing one forget the months of desperate struggle against the cold.
The weather is perfect; mild yet fresh. In a few weeks we shall
be perspiring and trying to shut out the heat and glare. It won't
matter though, if the Allies are here. It seems almost as if noth-
ing would matter if only we could get rid of the Germans.
' Close to the entrance of Villa Borghese were two sinister look-
ing German armoured cars with guns, ready to rake the ap-
proaches to the gardens if required. Nevertheless their shadow
could not dim the glory of the surroundings, nor change the
delicate beauty of young leaves and grass. The colour of the
budding trees was Uke a delicate melody: golden-green, silver-
[157]
green, blue-green, olive-green, mauve-green and pinkish-green
harmonized against a background of thin weeping willows and
solid ilexes. The buds themselves seemed deliberately fantastic in
shape and texture; they were feathery, knobby, vertical, hori-
zontal, stiffly conventionalized or recklessly baroque. Judas trees,
Japanese cherry, wistaria, hawthorn, almond and peach trees
made a foreground of colour against a background of lawns and
shrubs. The Giardino del Lago, the loveliest spot of all, was
closed and guarded. Inside there were piles of sacks, and lorries
standing under the trees. The Germans are using it for storing
food. Of course the loss of the Ukraine has told heavily on them,
and in consequence on us, for they do not intend to suffer so long
as they can live on occupied regions.
Friday April 14th
We heard heavy anti-aircraft gunfire this morning, and at
intervals the sirens sounded an alarm. The latter have become
matter for jokes among the Romans. Sometimes they sound after
the planes have passed, sometimes beforehand, and sometimes
when there are no planes at all. Either the officer in command
is temperamental or there is no particular person to give orders.
Most probably there is no one. "Nessuno comanda." It is all part
of the chaos.
Saturday April 15th
Our group is doing what it can for Alf and Charlie. They
are very special, as they are in a hospital which, fortunately, is
not a military one. Alf is from the East End of London and
Charlie is Scotch, a window cleaner in private life. They belong
to the Barsetshire and Loamshire, and were wounded at Anzio.
The Germans took one of our positions, so immediately afterward
we bombed it to bits. Alf and Charlie did not get away with
the others, and were badly hurt. A hit at the top of the spinal
column paralyzed Alf's arms; Charlie lost an eye and received a
bad abdominal wound. The Germans picked them up, together
with two of theirs, and put them in an ambulance. During the
[158]
ride they were robbed of everything except their boots and
Charlie's underclothes, which were too bloodsoaked to be of use.
On the way to the military hospital the ambulance broke down,
so they were hastily taken to the nearest one for civilians let us
call it the Benito. They were put to bed in a small ward with
four beds in it. The German authorities immediately sent quanti-
ties of food, coffee, eggs, bread, butter and milk for theirs, but
nothing for the British soldiers. They probably meant them to
die of hunger. However, one of the nuns on the hospital staff
wangled food for them, and pulled them through the most
critical period. The Chief Surgeon was kindness itself, giving
them every possible remedy he could devise, and promising that
he would manage that they should not be transferred to a military
hospital, which would mean a concentration camp when they had
recovered. One of our group heard of the two men's plight from
the spirited nun who had helped them through the first days;
she got to work, and now the men are fed regularly. Someone
makes bread for them, another produces eggs, a third gets rice
puddings, and between them all a little tea has been found.
Charlie longs for potatoes and gravy, which are very hard to
procure. Alf isn't used to dilatory ways; he is only twenty, and
moreover fears bombs. He was in a fury the other day and said
to the leading member of our group: "I say, Miss, I ain't kid din'
I'm not goin' to that electric treatment any more, thev kep'
me waitin' two hours. I might of 'ad a bomb on me down there!"
There is a sentry on duty outside the little ward and a big sign
"No admittance," but the most valiant member of the organiza-
tion, who speaks Italian like a native, simply says "May I pass,"
and walks in. That is all there is to it. That, and courage on her
part. She is trying to get medicines for them, as there are none in
the hospital. The Germans have taken all there are, except those
to be found in a few chemists' shops. They have also taken the
surgical instruments from the hospitals, including the only
electric lancet there was in the city, at the Celio hospital.
There must be a big meeting on at the Excelsior Hotel today.
When we passed it on our way to Piazza di Spagna there were
double the usual number of sentries around it, and when we tried
to go down Via Sistina, where the German Transport Head-
quarters are, a sentinel at the end of the street barred the way
[159]
saying, "You cannot pass here today/' with a slight emphasis on
the "today/'
Farther on we met one of the most ardent patriots we know,
and he told us that there would be a big attack in a few days.
He seemed very cheerful.
Another friend brought news of an arrangement made through
the Vatican by which the Allies will grant the Germans three
days' armistice in which to withdraw to their Livorno-Rimini
line. In theory that may be magnificent, but it is not war; and
we do not believe it. War isn't a game of hide-and-seek, it is
destruction of the enemy. Another British prisoner whom we
had the pleasure of seeing is an officer of high rank, and he also
laughed at the idea of such a truce. "Find the enemy and destroy
him," he said; "that is war."
There is a significant line or two at the end of an announce-
ment in today's papers of a football match to be played tomor-
row for the benefit of destitute refugees: "In consequence of
orders issued by the German Command, German soldiers will not
be admitted to the Stadium for the football match." It makes
one realize how nervous they are in presence of simmering
popular resentment.
Sunday April 16th
Mass was celebrated this morning at St. Mary Major's for the
repose of the souls of all those who had been killed in Rome,
by air raids or other means, including execution by the Germans.
Afterward, in the square in front of the basilica, someone dis-
tributed "subversive" leaflets; a Blackshirt soldier interfered and
was killed; some promiscuous shooting followed. No Germans
were killed, so perhaps there will not be such fierce reprisals
as one fears. Tension increases daily, as the patriots become more
hopeful and the Germans make themselves more hated.
That rumour regarding the withdrawal of the Germans will
not die. Today we hear that it is absolutely true, that negotia-
tions are in progress, and that they are about to abandon the
southern front. "The news will be made public officially on the
25th." Will it? Our expectations are not as resilient as they
used to be.
[160]
Monday April 17th
The horrors at Via Tasso continue steadily. Among the boys
taken by the Germans after the incident at the Nazzareno Col-
lege on April 6th was young Morelli. His parents were in despair
about him, and tried in vain to have him released. He has just
been freed and brought back to them, but in a condition border-
ing on insanity. He cannot speak, and shrinks away from any-
one who approaches him, no matter how gently. He does not
recognize his mother and father, and shrinks even from them.
One hardly dares to imagine their feelings. They have taken him
to the best specialists, who hold out some faint hope of curing
him, though they fear that the brain has been injured perma-
nently. Among the more old-fashioned instruments of torture
at Via Tasso are some modern ones, among which is a thing called
the "electric helmet." When I learnt of its existence I hadn't the
courage to hear more details; the name was enough.
The weather is overcast and sultry today, and to the distant
rumble of the storm is joined the rumble of heavy artillery; it
sounds like naval guns off the coast. It is one of those ominous
days when you feel that anything might happen.
Last night, German soldiers in a house near us which they have
occupied for some time past held a sing-song, which lasted until
after midnight. It was followed by the departure of numbers
of cars and lorries, all of which were noisily cranked up before
starting. Someone said it was a sign they were leaving. Honestly,
I don't want to bear any more that they are going; I just want to
see them go, that is all. Of course it doesn't do to be rude when
people start telling you this, it is the wish that is father to the
thought and all that but why do they raise their own hopes
this way? Rome means much too much to Hitler for him ever to
allow his troops to withdraw. They will have to be forced out
by the Allies, at the point of the sword. However
Giovanni Gentile, the foremost "philosopher of Fascism** and
President of the "Italian Academy'* founded by Mussolini in
1926, was murdered yesterday in Florence, by cyclists who fired
revolver shots at him while he was driving in his motor car.
There have also been one or two minor Fascists murdered in
Rome within the last few days. Murder is a ghastly business, and
violence breeds violence, Onlookers are helpless. The whole thing
[161]
is a tragedy. Giovanni Gentile, of course, is an outstanding
figure in the Fascist world, and came nearer to providing it with
a philosophy than any other writer, though, naturally, he failed
in the attempt. The papers have been filled with articles on Gen-
tile and with indignant comments on the manner of his death;
the best of all was the column which appeared in the Osservatore
Romano, protesting against the rising tide of violence and mur-
der which threatens to drown all Christian sentiments in the
hearts of men. "Men kill each other thus," it said, "because they
have killed the thought of God in their hearts," and concludes:
"Without God, without Jesus Christ, without charity, how dare
we dream of peace aijd of redemptive justice, if peace with God
is not observed but repudiated daily more and more, and if
justice is reduced to the blind impulse of revenge?"
Some German soldiers have also been murdered in the suburbs,
and the men who killed them escaped; for that reason the S.S.
arrested all the men of the district and sent them to the forced
labour service. "The people of Rome" are held responsible for
these things by the Germans and are warned that if they continue
worse punishments will follow. We do not know if any of the
men arrested were shot as hostages or not. There is no information
given.
Tuesday April 18th
One widespread rumour has been roundlv denied today, and
that is a comfort. It concerned the Sistine Chapel, where a time
bomb was supposed to have been placed recently. The Osservatore
says today that the rumour is absolutely unfounded, and that no
bomb has been found in the Sistine.
The Blackshirts are suspicious of us in this house. They did not
come here directly but went to the doorkeeper of the next house,
who happens to be most friendly. They asked who we were and
what we did, and if he had noticed anything peculiar about us.
He answered that we were quiet people, we did no harm, and
that in the evenings we bolted our doors early and went to bed.
This seemed to satisfy them, for they did not return. Many of
the Roman doorkeepers are simply spies in the pay of the Nazi-
fascists, continually informing on the occupants of the house.
[162]
Wednesday April 19th
Spies have been busy about the daughters of the Duchess of
Cesaro, who were arrested in their own house with no warning
this afternoon, together with their fiances. They have been
taken to Regina Coeli, and one of the young men has been told
that he will be shot. They are accused of being patriots, which is
true. They have made no attempt to deny it, but refuse to give
evidence against other patriots. They may therefore be tortured.
A friend came in to warn us that "communists will be out
tonight" and that the Germans were standing to arms through-
out the city. Well, there is the curfew; we should not be out any-
way; and if there is shooting in this neighbourhood it won't be
anything unusual. I don't suppose there will be a battle in our
garden.
Thursday April 20th
We had a remarkably peaceful night. "Not a drum was heard,
not a funeral note." The "communists" must have thought bet-
ter of it, and gone to bed.
The Germans have begun to use the Vatican colours on their
lorries and vans along the roads leading to Rome, thus laying
the real Vatican motors open to attack. One or two have been
machine-gunned lately on account of this new form of treach-
ery.
Everything is relatively quiet on our Italian fronts. The
Germans expect the new offensive any day, and say it is the calm
before the storm.
More statistics have been published: civilian dwellings in
Rome destroyed or very seriously damaged by air raids amount
to 2,437.
Friday April 21st
Today is the "birthday of Rome," the day on which the city
is supposed to have been founded by Romulus, 753 B.C. In the
heyday of Fascism large-scale celebrations were held, but today
they have soft-pedalled "manifestations of public enthusiasm"
and are not attempting anything beyond a few speeches. Italian
[163]
correspondents at the front speak of heavy reinforcements being
brought up by the Allies, both at Cassino and Anzio.
"We heard a girl in a tram today sobbing out the story of
her father and her two brothers, who were arrested by the Ger-
mans for forced labour while they were engaged in their own
regular work in a printing establishment. "They told us that
those who had regular work would be left in peace," she la-
mented. She is all alone now, and has no idea where her men
folk are.
The parish priest of Lanuvio said Mass at St. John Lateran
yesterday for those of his flock who had fled to Rome. They
never tire of telling us about his heroism; how he alone remained
in the village, combining the functions of pastor, mayor, chemist,
doctor and agricultural expert.
Saturday April 22nd
Beppino went on his bicycle into the country yesterday to try
to find some food for his family; he went all the way to Fara
Sabina but found that, even in that remote place, the peasants
will not sell flour for money: they want salt and shoes in ex-
change. In fact money has very little buying power at present.
Regarding prices in general the following table is illuminating:
1934 (May) 1944 (May)
Bread per kg 0.56 Lire 120 Lire
Pasta 2.20 200
Meat 7.00 260
Cheese 8.00 500
Shoes (men) 25.00 2000
Hire of room p. day 10.00 100
Though not exhaustive, this gives some idea of the economic
situation here.
Sunday April 23rd
The Pope's Villa at Castel Gandolfo has been bombed again;
can it be German planes? Or Fascist?
We had several alarms this morning and heard heavy explo-
[164]
sions; it seems that the Allied Air Force caught a large German
column on the Via Appia and that their petrol lorries blew up.
Prelates who are received in audience by the Pope now bring
gifts heretofore unknown. This morning the Bishop of Osimo
presented His Holiness with 24,000 kilogrammes of provisions
for the city.
Monday April 24th
Private directions issued from the Ministry of Popular Culture
to the press at present include the following: "When dealing
with the battle for Sebastopol, do not use the expression 'fortress*
in speaking of the town, because its fortifications were destroyed
by the Germans during the attacks they made for its conquest."
Again: "Do not refer to our brave allies as *Tedesch but as
'Germanic?"
Regarding some unfortunate photographs of Mussolini which
had appeared: "No photographs of II Duce are to be published
without express authorization from this Ministry." There is a
blank in this morning's Messaggero. Was it one of those inoppor-
tune photographs?
Tuesday April 2 5th
Rumours of strikes to take place on the first of May are
persistent, but it is quite possible that they are only German
propaganda, meant to frighten the public and arouse "anti-
communist'* feeling. Anyone who is opposed to the Nazifascist
regime at present is called a "communist," and they are getting
every ounce of value out of the bolshevik bogey; when they have
nothing else to say, and the military situation is discouraging
for the Germans, they start in on bolshevism.
Wednesday April 26th
News of a meeting between Hitler and Mussolini on the 22nd
and 23rd of this month has just been released. As usual on these
occasions "The political, military and economic conditions of
Italy and Germany were discussed in detail," and "H Duce ex-
[165]
pressed the determination of the Fascist Republican Government,
as sole representative of Italy, to intensify its war effort as one
of the Tripartite Powers." The usual chorus of Plenipotentiaries,
Ambassadors, Marshals and Under-Secretaries "took part in the
discussions." One wonders what they really said, besides the ob-
vious statement: "the game is up."
Three thousand boxes of matches intended for the black mar-
ket have been sequestrated with a flourish. Yes, we have come to
that.
The beggars are going beyond all limits. At first one was sorry
for them, but now they are becoming almost rebellious. Today
one of them insisted on our giving her more than we had given,
and when we refused put her finger on the electric button of our
doorbell and kept it there. The whole household rushed to the
spot. Was no one answering it? The noise was unbearable! What
had happened? And still she went on ringing. We were helpless,
unless we were to carry her bodily into the street. We said we
would call the police. "I'll slap him if he comes," was the answer.
The incident was troublesome, but it had a funny side to it.
Thursday April 27th
It is generally understood that the Fascists put a stop to the
plan of having Rome policed by an international force under
the Pope's authority. We also hear that "something big" will
probably happen this week, i.e., before Wednesday, May 3rd.
Beyond that, all is quiet here today and going on as usual: the
weather is perfect, the bees are overeating themselves among the
wistaria blossoms in our garden, and bombs are falling rhythmi-
cally in the distance. Every night caravans of lorries leave the
C.I.T. offices in Piazza Esedra, loaded with people bound for the
mysterious "north of Italy." A lorry carrying petrol accompanies
the caravan, which otherwise would not find enough on the way.
Friday April 28th
The bees may have been having their breakfast among the
flowers yesterday, but the people, having less and less to eat for
breakfast, dinner and supper, staged bread riots in the Testacqio
[166]
quarter as well as near Piazza Fiume quite close to us. The cry
was raised; "The brutes are starving us!" meaning, of course,
the Germans. Several bakeries were broken into and looted.
The Tribuna this evening publishes a long article on the
pontifical food ships, giving their exact number, stating that
they were hired in Genoa, that they are small coasting vessels,
and that they would probably be able to navigate the Tiber for
a certain distance. It even gives the names of two of the ships.
What it omits, however, is the fact that, as they did some time
ago, the Germans refuse to let them through unless they them-
selves take 70 per cent of the cargo.
Saturday April 29th
Everyone is beginning to say that the invasion of the Con-
tinent will take place in June. That seems to be the most sensible
rumour we have heard. My own guess is that it will happen be-
fore June 10th, though I have no great faith in anyone's pro-
phetic powers,
N.L. came in today with her sister, who had fled from her
country place where S.S. men had threatened to shoot both her
and her husband. The reason of the threat was that they had
helped British and American prisoners, that an American flag
was found concealed in their house, and that some letters, writ-
ten in English, did not express very complimentary opinions of
the Germans. They escaped by miracle, and it will be easier for
them to hide in Rome than in the country.
What would the Germans say if they searched this house,
discovered this diary (which is even less complimentary to them
than the last time that fear of its being found crossed my mind)
and found the flags, both American and British, which we have
put away? They are fine big flags, too.
German women in Rome have had orders to leave the city
today; a significant detail, if nothing else. They say that the
Gestapo is going also; is it possible?
M.P. tells us that he has seen a contract signed by a big
Italian cement company for work on cement fortifications under
the direction of the Todt Organization on the La Spezia-Rimini
Line, which must be finished by May 15th. Another sign of
withdrawal?
Sunday April 30th
Much publicity is being given to the small amount of extra
food which has been allotted to "workers," that is to say, to the
men who are working for the Germans or the Fascists. Between
May 3rd and May 30th, they will be allowed to buy one small
tin of meat, one-fif th of a quart of oil, one pound of sugar and
seven ounces of cheese. The headings of these regulations do their
best, announcing in heavy type: "Extraordinary distribution of
provisions to workers/'
Today's confidential instructions to the press bid journalists
not to omit articles on General Mazeler completing his first six
months as commander of Rome on May 1st. "The German Am-
bassador has it particularly at heart."
Monday May JLst
Sure enough, here are the little lyrics congratulating Rome
on having been under the command of General Maelzer for
twenty-four weeks. They appear, obediently enough, in all the
papers. Maelzer, the man who is starving the city, who ordered
the execution of the 320 hostages in the Ardeatine Cave, who
encourages the black market in order to get a rake-off for himself,
the typical Junker; he receives bouquets thrown in such profu-
sion that it is hard to choose the sweetest. Here, however, is one
among many:
The sympathetic understanding shown by General Maelzer for all
the delicate problems of Rome during his six months in command of
the city has thrown into relief his outstanding military and organizing
powers to which his brilliant and courageous military career bears wit-
ness. To these inborn qualities he adds a lively affection for our country.
For this reason his decisions concerning Rome, prompted by a ready
intelligence, have made General Maelzer, our comrade and our ally,
an outstanding figure in the city and one who is surrounded by esteem
and affection.
[168]
Nobody could have done more, could they, in obedience to
that Minister's orders?
From what we have been hearing on the wireless about the
bombing of Berlin, one wonders if there is anything at all left
of it by this time.
Tuesday May 2nd
The much-dreaded strikes came to nothing yesterday. Some
of the printers at the Messaggero building did not go to work,
but they were quickly arrested and sent off to forced labour.
Vatican lorries have again been attacked from the air, and
damaged seriously. Of course if German army trucks continue to
attach themselves to the Vatican columns, bombs must be ex-
pected to fall on them.
Wednesday May 3rd
The class of 1914 has also been called up for military service.
Hitler's Generals have probably been complaining that Italy is
not furnishing enough cannon fodder.
A number of young men belonging to the Catholic Radio Cen-
tre have been arrested and taken to Via Tasso, because they were
supposed to be carrying on "patriot" activities.
Thursday May 4th
A time bomb was found concealed in the big building in Corso
d'ltalia where the German offices are. It was removed before it
exploded, but the display of armed force on every side of the
building is truly impressive. Machine guns are trained on the side
streets which lead to Corso dltalia, and there are sentinels every-
where.
H/W., aged 18, and not accustomed to be held up when she
is in a hurry, was on her way to our house a little while ago, and
passed a German sentry guarding a roadway that no one was
supposed to cross. She started calmly to take a short cut across
the road. The sentry shouted: "Halt!" Foolishly she began to
run, when a bullet whistled past her ear. She won't take that
short cut again.
Friday May 5th
The Germans have arrested another priest who was helping
patriots. He had already been caught once and released after-
ward. This time when he saw he was followed he made for St.
Mary Major's, thinking he would be safe there. On the way in
the policeman who was pursuing him grabbed at him, whereupon
the priest knocked him down, and there was a scuffle during
which the former freed himself and entered the basilica. The
S.S. then entered it, and their officer telephoned to the Vatican
for permission to surround St. Mary Major's and its various exits.
This could not be refused, under the circumstances, and the
arrest was made. The prisoner was taken to Via Tasso.
Saturday May 6th
are very pleased to learn that the outstanding questions
between the Allies and Spain have been successfully settled.
The Vatican authorities apparently have reason to fear thieves
or is it Germans? They are doubling the guards in the Vatican
Museums, and are placing some on duty there even at night. You
never know, of course.
The Allied Air Force is working such havoc among the Ger-
man columns and supply dumps along the roads leading to Rome
that not a day passes without the sound of explosions; furious
paragraphs appear in the press about "brutal attacks on road
traffic." The Fascists seem to have forgotten the days of the Battle
of Britain, when they requested of Hitler "to be allowed the
honour of sharing in the attack on England."
Anyone passing near Piazza di Siena, in the Villa Borghese,
these evenings at about seven o'clock, will see groups of dejected
men and women waiting under the trees near a line of vans,
lorries and motor char-a-bancs. One of us asked a man with a
suitcase if he were going north. "Ask at the office," he answered,
with a jerk of his head in that direction. Some distance away the
same question was asked of a woman: "The policeman will tell
[170]
you," she said dully. Were they part of the forced labour service,
sworn to secrecy? It was all uncanny and depressing. We were
afraid of being shadowed if we asked the question a third time,
so we were left guessing.
Sunday May 7th
Every day we expect the invasion. Every day we listen to vic-
tory talk on the wireless. Every day we notice growing tension
around us, and ill-concealed hopes of the speedy arrival of the
Allies. When will they come?
Monday May 8th
Food shops now shut at once when they get a message to say
that there is a possibility of their being looted. Our grocer did
it the other day; not that he has anything particular to sell in
the shop, but he feared the place being wrecked.
The curfew is extended for our benefit. It will begin as from
today at 9 P.M. and end at 5 A.M.; so, on these soft May evenings
Romans may actually stay out until nine o'clock, or eight o'clock
"by the sun." We have to be thankful for very small mercies in
times like these.
German soldiers and officers are swarming into Rome again;
they seem more numerous than ever. No one knows why.
A real event took place today: we each had our monthly ration
of 3 1 /2 ounces of meat for dinner. It looked and tasted like
donkey meat, but it may really have been something better.
Tuesday May 9th
Our cat ate a rat. No, this is not turning into a kindergarten
textbook. He was just making history. The point is that he is,
like most cats who live in houses (and Heaven help those who
live in the streets or among the ruins, as they do in Rome),
thoroughly spoiled. He is lordly, lazy and proud. He will only
eat a mouse if it is young and tender. In the way of other eat-
ables, what we get, he shares. Today, however, his whole being
rose up against a diet of macaroni, dried peas and rice, cooked
[171]
in water with no cheese, no butter, no gravy, no milk. With grim
determination he withdrew to the cellar, killed and ate a big
rat all except the tail, which we think he is going to appeal to
the cook to make into soup for him. The historical fact that he
was underlining is that the food conditions are bad in Rome at
present.
Wednesday May 10th
A funeral took place today, with such crowds attending it
that they almost blocked the traffic in the neighbourhood of the
Campo Verano. It was that of a woman who was shot while
standing in a bread queue, and who made what were called "sedi-
tious remarks." Poor thing, she was only complaining of hunger,
most probably.
Ridiculously small details can be held as seditious today. In
a tram two women were talking about their husbands. One said:
"Mine is in the Royal Navy/* At this a Fascist called out and said:
"In the Royal Navy?" "Oh, well, does a word matter so much?"
asked the woman. "Very much indeed," said the Fascist, and
took her name and address and full particulars concerning her.
I only hope she gave him false ones.
Thursday May llth
The lull on the Anzio and Cassino fronts must mean something
these days. Of course military secrets have to be kept, but every-
one is agreed that something great will happen in a few days.
The patriots are becoming still more active. A Fascist soldier
was killed yesterday in a street near Villa Borghese, but the
murderer got away. The Germans have offered a large reward for
information regarding him.
Friday May 12th
Well, it has begun. It is happening. It seems too good to be
true, but there is the wireless report of a powerful Allied offen-
sive against the Gustav Line. If only it does not end, as so many
of the other actions undertaken against the Germans during these
[172]
months have ended, in "patrol activities." One mustn't be pessi-
mistic, but, as I pointed out some time ago, our expectations have
inevitably lost some of their elasticity.
Saturday May 13th
Considering that the British radio broadcast the news every
ten minutes yesterday of the great offensive having begun, I
think that one may safely believe it. The Italian press and radio
are very quiet about it.
Sunday May 14th
The offensive has put new life into us, and new hope into the
Italians. The Allies are "progressing slowly," but as long as they
do progress, all is well.
The Fascists are starting a private collection to pay for weapons
for their army. The appeal has a pathetic sound about it. They
have nothing, no arms, no clothes, no boots, no supplies.
Monday May Uth
News of our progress against the Gustav Line continues.
In all the Roman churches people are praying for peace with
renewed hope. They know that the first step toward it will be
the defeat of the Germans. The transfer of the 8th Army from
the east to the west of Italy was a gigantic achievement to have
accomplished with such speed and secrecy.
Tuesday May 16th
The papers publish a photograph of Marshal Graziani in con-
versation with a recruit to the Republican army. He looks old,
haggard, and worn. No wonder. He has soldierlike qualities, and
must realize that defeat cannot be far off. The press is beginning
to refer to "elastic defence," meaning that the Germans are on
the run.
Late news says that we have made a breach in the Gustav Line.
[173]
Wednesday May 17th
Our progress continues to be satisfactory, says the B.B.C.;
heights have been taken and a bridge-head established across the
Rapido.
News in the Italian papers informs us that Graziani has been
to the front; and tram fares in Rome have been doubled. Also
that the Russians have been "driven back by the Germans/*
Thursday May 18th
Better and better: we have broken the Gustav Line.
Confidential instructions to the press today direct "front line
correspondents not to speak of the existence of a line of defence
named after Adolf Hitler."
There is a terrible scarcity of paper at present, but a brave
new periodical is coming out called "Roma Repubblicana" It is
calculated to help "morale/*
Friday May 19th
Wonderful news of Allied successes against the Hitler Line.
"Manoeuvred defence" is praised in the Fascist papers as a
splendid military achievement.
People in Rome can talk of nothing else than the offensive,
and are already settling dates for the arrival of the Allies as
they have so often done in the past.
Saturday May 20th
Cassino is taken!
Sunday May 21st
According to the B.B.C. "we are sweeping victoriously on."
Gaeta is extraordinarily important and we have taken it. All
other news items or impressions seem insignificant beside what
we are hearing about the offensive.
[174]
Monday May 22nd
This morning we went to the solemn Requiem in St. Peter's
for the late Cardinal O'Connell, Archbishop of Boston. The
right transept was draped in black and gold, and provided a fine
setting for the catafalque and the altar. Perosi himself conducted
the Papal choir, which executed some of his own compositions.
Harold Tittmann, diplomatic Charge d'Affaires of the United
States, received the Cardinals* condolences at the end of the
ceremony. All the English-speaking people in Rome appeared to
be present, everyone knew everyone else. Was it perhaps a remote
prelude to victory, this coming together of citizens of the United
Nations?
On the way out of the basilica we stopped by the little Chapel
of the Relics, inside whose sealed door lay the incorrupt remains
of Pope Pius X, deceased thirty years ago, and whose body had
been disinterred for examination as part of the Process of Canon-
ization. They will be buried again shortly "in forma privatis-
sima." Odd little bunches of flowers had been fastened to the
bronze work of the chapel door, just as they used to be laid on his
tomb in the crypt.
When we neared the vestibule we were joined by three British
prisoners of war who had taken refuge in the Vatican City.
They wanted to talk English to someone, they said. Two of them
were naval men who escaped from their prison camp disguised in
Italian uniforms, and made their way to St. Peter's. A pontifical
policeman who tried to put them out got a vigorous punch in the
jaw whereupon he summoned other policemen to help him, and
our two were being carried out bodily, when the Secretary of the
British Legation to the Holy See arrived and took them under
his protection. One of the onlookers, with great presence of
mind, had rushed off to tell him what was happening, and he
got there in time. The third was the famous aviator of whom
we had all heard, who, after bailing out, climbed over the wall
of the Vatican City and reported to the British Minister. We
had a few moments' talk so much to say, and so little time to
say it in but as soon as the British are here the three are coming
around to see us. In the meantime they are safe, unless of course,
the Germans raid the Vatican City. I cannot bring myself to
think that they will do it.
[175]
People who greeted us were in high spirits and making
guesses as to exactly what day the Allies would reach Rome.
With Fondi, Terracina and Pico in our hands, there is good
reason for hope. Only one man croaked: "The Germans have
brought down large reinforcements to meet the Allies, I hear
them passing our place at night we're going to have trouble/'
I wonder. Have they enough reserves? A Cassandra who resides
in the Vatican City prophesied doom and devastation; the Ger-
mans would inevitably enter, take off the hundreds of people
who were in hiding there, and make a clean sweep of all the
others. Well, they haven't done it yet, and we can only live
from day to day, now.
The enemy obviously realizes that he is on the point of being
beaten, and is showing signs of it here. Within the last few days
they have renewed the intensive search for Jews; S.S. men arrived
at the house of a Swedish Jewess, married to an Italian, and said:
"Tomorrow we shall come for you." The Swedish Minister could
do nothing. Another, merely of Jewish descent, came to us this
afternoon begging to be told where to hide; happily we were able
to find a place for her. In the course of these months of German
occupation, persecution of Jews followed a course parallel to the
persecution in Germany. Brutally rounded up without warning,
men, women and children were deported wholesale, many of
them to unknown destinations, such as Poland; numbers were
killed outright, and others were left to starve. The following few
statistics are trustworthy. Of the 10,000 Jews who remained in
Rome after the Fascist "Racial Laws" were passed, about 6,000
were victims of Nazi brutality. Among these, roughly 1,000 are
known to have been killed, that is, either executed or left to die
of hunger and want. Of the remaining 5,000 there is no trace
at present. How many of these will return when the war is over?
It is a terrible question to ask, for the answer may be a terrible
one. But more terrible still is the responsibility weighing on the
authors and instigators of this appalling "race war." No one will
ever know, except a few Vatican authorities, how many Jews
enjoyed the personal protection of the Pope in their darkest days.
Food, lodging, clothing and occupation were found for them in
the Vatican itself, by special directions of the Sovereign Pontiff.
Warm and generous sympathy went out to them from Catholics
[176]
throughout the city, regardless of race or creed, often at great
personal risk.
Via Tasso is not enough for the Nazi spies, and they have
opened another torture house for extracting information from
patriots. It is managed by their satellites, the Italian "S.S." men.
It was known as Pensione Jaccarino before they took it over,
and has retained its name. They have plain-clothes detectives
strolling about near the entrance, and if any passers-by look up at
the window, or stop to listen to strange sounds, they are arrested
and taken inside, as possible accomplices. The Nazifascists' one
idea is to catch all patriots and put them to death; they have
failed to find most of the Roman ones, so their best chance is to
torture the few they have in order to get evidence against others.
This new place in Via Romagna is fitted up with the same hideous
instruments as the one in Via Tasso; pincers for pulling out teeth
and fingernails, whips, rods, and means of heating knives red hot.
Some of our friends who live near there and hear the screams
and groans, particularly at night, say that it is diabolical. One of
them has received word that no one in his flat, which is close to
Pensione Jaccarino, must go up on the roof terrace of the house,
and that the shutters must always be kept closed. The S.S. are
so very frightened of a stray shot coming their wayl It seems
impossible to be writing all this in cold blood, as if it were just
a matter of course, but then it is a matter of course; it would be
incredible if we were not right up against it. And one is so utterly
helpless! There is no rescue possible for those unfortunate pa-
triots. Hanging will be but a poor punishment for their torturers
when the day of reckoning comes at last.
Four more refugees have arrived, begging to be sheltered. We
can't refuse. I wonder where and how they will shake down.
Poor frightened things. They were forcibly evacuated from
Lanuvio by armed Germans and locked up in a big building on
the outskirts of Rome, preparatory to being transferred to a
concentration camp in the country. They managed to escape
from their prison, where they were guarded by Fascists with
guns and whips. They are horrified, not only at the cruelty but
that any Italian should behave so. They expect it from the Ger-
mans, but not from their own.
[177]
Tuesday May 23rd
We hear that Kesselring has called up all his available reserves,
both from the Adriatic sector and from Nettuno, to try to hold
us back on the coast and in the Liri Valley. So the man who said
it, at St. Peter's yesterday, was right after all. Yet I don't think
that they can really hold up our offensive. Rome is tense. The
Romans are in high spirits, but they dread what the Germans
may do before they go. Rome Radio (Fascist-controlled) has
warned the inhabitants to store up all the water they can, mean-
ing that the mains will probably be dynamited, as well as the
electric plant. The panic that is beginning to show itself recalls
the panic last September when Rome was occupied. Anxiety to
conceal young men who are wanted by the Fascists for the army
or for forced labour, and desire to protect their families, in case
of reprisals, is increased by the knowledge that tomorrow at mid-
night the time "graciously granted by II Duce to defaulters
from military service" expires. For weeks press and radio have
never ceased to advise, order, coax, beg, encourage and direct
defaulters to come and be forgiven, to join the ranks of the
Republican army, assuring them that they would suffer no
penalty for delay until midnight on May 25th. After that they
would be searched out, arrested and shot in the back as deserters.
Yesterday, perhaps to show that they were in earnest, the Ger-
mans held a man-hunt in Via Nazionale, cutting off a certain
portion of it, and rounding up all the men within the area. All
this adds to the tension here.
Peasants coming in from the Castelli say that there are placards
in Frascati forbidding any food except green vegetables to be
taken to Rome. They tell us that the Fascists want to starve Rome
deliberately, because there has been so little response on the part
of the Romans to their appeal to join them, as also great reluc-
tance to follow the "Republican Government" to the northern
provinces; they are continually representing those places as
centres of peace and plenty, where food is cheap and pay is high.
Refugees crowd in to Rome, and we are approaching starvation
point more rapidly every day; the Nazifascists encourage the
black market and get a handsome profit on the side; yet no one
joins their army, and no one goes north. Their only recruits
consist of weedy boys who would do anything for an extra fifty
[178]
lire or so, and who strut about in black shirts carrying rifles and
revolvers. P. was looking at one of them the other day, fascinated
by his stupid face and arrogant pose; the youth approached him
with rifle cocked: "Look at me like that," he threatened, "and
I'll shoot you. Fm armed." P. turned his back and strolled off.
Speaking of black market goods: at present rice costs $175
a sack, if you can find it, and can afford it; butter is $4 a pound,
and oil $10 a quart again if you have the money, which you
probably haven't.
Guidonia, the famous secret "air city" near Tivoli, apple of
Mussolini's eye and boast of the Fascist regime, whence Balbo
and his men set out for their transatlantic flight to Chicago
Guidonia today is nothing but a heap of rubble. The Germans
spent a whole morning blowing it up, with its storehouses, repair
shops and airfields. And that is another significant event.
Wednesday May 24th
A perfectly new Allied offensive has been launched against
the German positions south of Anzio. It ought to end in a
regular break-through, and one can foresee the junction of the
two armies. It comes as a complete surprise to the Germans.
The B.B.C. is now broadcasting official instructions to mem-
bers of the Underground Front in Europe. They are very de-
tailed, and among the psychological information which we can
furnish for the Allies are descriptions of the expressions of Ger-
man officers. Now that is a little difficult for us, here. Every
important one who goes by has exactly the same kind of ex-
pression. It must be taught in their military colleges, and is a
strange combination of fierce determination and complete mis-
trust. It is not a pleasing sight.
Word has gone round that Parioli, the high, new, fashionable
quarter, is to be evacuated because the Germans will pass
through it when they retreat. They do not want to be fired at
from windows as when they left Naples. There is also a rumour
that the same will happen to those who live in Via Salaria and
Via Flaminia, so masses of people are again looking for temporary
lodgings. Really, what with refugees from outside the city, and
people hiding from the Germans, and now this set wanting to
[179]
change their residences, life is becoming altogether too com-
plicated. And there is still that undercurrent of panic.
Thursday May 25th
Explosions and the sound of artillery reach us fitfully by night
and by day at present.
Events small and great are bringing with them a steady
crescendo of activities for us, as well as a crescendo of mixed
feelings. Late yesterday evening more refugees came, having
escaped from that concentration camp, like the others. Then this
morning, still more, fleeing from the renewed bombing at
Frascati men, women and children. Our total is at present 36.
One gets to know the refugee face so well, they are all alike:
drawn and anxious, with a strange dingy pallor. They are touch-
ingly grateful to be housed and fed. Among them are six young
men of military age. What if the Germans raid us? Our peasant
guests have brought two horses of theirs to save them from the
Germans, "Picchietto" and "Biscotto"; they are tethered in a
shady corner of the garden. All these refugees have a special
claim on us, so it is not like receiving complete strangers; they
are mainly relatives of maids we had before the war.
Later came news of the Allies' spectacular successes in the Liri
Valley, of our tanks thundering through the Adolf Hitler Line,
and of the junction of our forces from Anzio with those coming
northward from Gaeta. People dropped in, bubbling over with
optimism, and wanting to know from us exactly when the Allies
would reach Rome. A tale was current that the Allies had thrown
down leaflets directing Romans to get in supplies for five days.
We did not meet anyone who had seen them; and even if they had,
where could one get extra provisions? We are hardly able to get
enough for one day at a time.
The Germans have just blown up the Ciampino airfield. Wild
conjectures are being made as to what they can and will do when
they withdraw. Then, apprehension is increasing as to what will
take place after midnight tonight, when the time expires for men
of military age to report themselves. Fascist agents have busily
spread rumours that every house in Rome will be systematically
[180]
searched for these young men, as well as for older anti-Fascists
and Jews.
What can one possibly say to comfort panic-stricken relatives
of the hidden men? c Tm certain they will be all right" sounds
feeble enough, but if said with conviction it seems to reassure
them somewhat.
And all the time the Allies are nearing Rome: joy at their
approach is balanced by dread of German savagery. By evening
it was said that the Allies had taken Albano, Velletri and Lanu-
vio, but the report is not confirmed.
As I write it is getting on for midnight, and the streets are
strangely quiet; there is no sound but "halt!" occasionally
shouted at a passing vehicle, followed by the screech of brakes.
A German plane is flying low over the city.
This evening the Osservatore Romano fearlessly published a
protest against this threatened shooting of patriots and others in
hiding. In brief, it ran as follows:
Tonight the time fixed for all those who have military obligations
expires. From articles in the press and from rumours that have been
spread, we are led to fear a renewal of civil strife. Patience will give
way to violence, and a fresh stage on the road to Calvary will open for
our tormented country.
Everything is said and done today in the name of Italy, of her
prestige, of her defence, of her destiny. But we believe that all these
things are never in such peril as when they are defended by means of
civil war, and we are convinced that never was civil war more fatal
both morally and politically than the one which is now raging here, in
presence of armed foreigners encamped on our soil.
During the present world war immense burdens have accumulated
on the consciences of individuals and of groups, but, at least, let not
this further responsibility be added to them, at this particular juncture
and in the midst of grief, destruction, of mass exodus, of poverty and
of hunger; at this time, when we should put aside wrongs and rancour,
as well as temptations to revenge, and be moved only by the strong
impetus of charity to help each other in the name of pity and of peace.
God forgives much in return for kindness to our fellow-men. Let
today's kindness, in this most painful situation of our country, be the
cessation of that violence which arouses answering violence. Let us not
do unto others that which we would not have done unto us. This, let
it be remembered, is the condition of God's pardon; it is the only good
omen for that of men.
Headings in the Fascist papers read: "After midnight punish-
ment will be relentless/' And as if to exemplify their relentless
character. Fascist courts have already passed sentence of death
on the four admirals whose trial began some weeks ago. Today
two of them were executed as traitors: Admiral Campioni, who
commanded the Italian forces in the Aegean and who loyally
accepted the armistice, and Admiral Mascherpa, who was at Leros,
acting under the former, and who also obeyed Badoglio's orders.
Admiral Priamo and Admiral Pavesi, who commanded respec-
tively in Sicily and Pantelleria, were condemned in their ab-
sence. There is something particularly revolting in these judicial
murders; the Republicans, like rats in a corner, are as savage
as the Germans, if not more so, for their days are evil and their
time is short.
Midnight. Nothing is happening in this neighbourhood, at
any rate. Not a creature is stirring. No one has been knocked up.
There is a queer silence over everything, like the silence of death.
Friday May 26th
were out early this morning for Mass at Sant'Ignazio.
The streets were deserted, and Rome seemed paralyzed. In one
part of Via del Tritone a queue had gathered, mainly of women.
They were very noisy, and looked angry. There was not a single
German to be seen either when we went or when we returned,
except one in a car, who seemed in a great hurry. Is it possible that
they have left in the night? We saw one man, obviously in dis-
guise, probably an Italian patriot. He was dressed as a Dominican;
nearly everything about him was correct, except his cloak which
was much too short, and he wore the hood pulled down over
his face. Dominicans in Rome wear hats, not hoods. A woman
who was passing turned to look at him curiously.
There is news of heavy fighting in and around Cisterna, where
we are advancing from house to house, it seems. Our refugees
who are swarming all over the place by now, and are thoroughly
at home, tell us that the Allies are at Albano but that can't be
[182]
true. At 2 o'clock this morning there was a terrific explosion
which woke the whole of Rome. The Germans were probably
blowing up some building, or perhaps one of their own ammuni-
tion dumps. Allied bombers hit an aqueduct somewhere near
here yesterday, and the water is cut off in this neighbourhood.
We have been hearing bombs, ack-ack guns, heavy shells and
unidentified explosions all day. It is strange how accustomed
one grows to these sounds, and, after all, the only thing to do
is to carry on with one's customary occupations. Poor Tivoli,
where the Germans had large stores of ammunition, was terribly
knocked about this morning in an air raid; 1,000 civilians were
killed and half the population was wounded. A great deal of
damage was done to houses and churches, and they say that the
Villa d'Este was struck also. Rocca di Papa was shelled from the
sea, and Frascati was bombed once more.
We have housed a few more refugees since this morning, and
our total has now reached forty-one. I think we shall have to
stop at that number. Some we cook for, and some do their own
cooking. As a result there is a charcoal stove going in the tool-
house, and another primitive fireplace made of bricks up on our
terrace among the nasturtiums and oleanders.
We have advised the young men of military age who are among
them, in case the house should be searched, to jump over the
wall which separates us from the garden next door, and, without
saying anything to the porter, to hide behind some automobiles
(also concealed) back of a conservatory.
The local papers lashed themselves into a fury over yester-
day's article in the Osservatore Romano. Bruno Spampanato, the
truculent editor of the Messaggero, simply called the writer of the
article all the names he could think of for the space of two
columns; it was like an angry child making faces at an adversary,
and about as conclusive. He tried to be very, very impudent and
bold. This valiant Bruno now sleeps at the Hotel Flora, where the
Germans will protect him from the patriots if necessary; he is
afraid to go home, yet he is so brave on paper. Poor Bruno.
The Anzio wireless has begun giving information about spies
and informers who are working for the Germans. It broadcasts
their names, addresses and personal characteristics. Listeners-in
are delighted, and it is the regular thing to come to the radio
[183]
armed with pencil and paper, so as to have your own list of spies.
The individuals are furious, but what can they do about it?
The patriots of the Underground Front in Rome are so much
cleverer than the Nazif ascists, that their information is accurate
to an uncanny degree.
Saturday May 27th
Two of the informers mentioned yesterday by the Anzio wire-
less are the porter of a house which we know, and his wife. They
have specialized in reporting the whereabouts of Jews. This morn-
ing they are sitting in their lodge shedding tears; and well they
may.
Hope rises as the Allies progress. We have waited for over
eight months, but now every added hour seems interminable.
They are at Velletri today, but it looks as if they would not
come straight to Rome, preferring to cut the Via Casilina at
Valmontone, as they have already cut the Via Appia. In that
case perhaps the Germans will retreat eastwards, and not through
Rome. G.C., who is at the Grand Hotel, says that a German
diplomat who is staying there has begun to do his packing.
Fascist journalists and officials are leaving in numbers, prudently,
while the going is good.
Yesterday the Germans blew up the Littorio airfield, and the
neighbouring bridge over the Tiber. The former is an excellent
one, and used to be the civilian airport of Rome; it is about two
kilometres out on Via Salaria.
The threatened search for patriots, from house to house, is not
taking place, after all. And for an excellent reason. No one would
undertake it. The job was declined in turn by the P.A.I. Italian
police who had served in Africa and who have been working
with and for the Germans (though a number of them are pa-
triots) ; by the plain-clothes police belonging to the Questura,
Caruso's men; by the Metropolitan City traffic-police, who have
carried rifles of late; by the blackshirt S.S., and finally by the
Germans themselves. And they all refused for the same reason.
An old and obvious human reason. They were afraid. Popular
feeling is running high, the patriots are armed and have plenty
of ammunition, and a popular rising might easily follow police
[184]
action of that sort. No one wanted to put a match to that par-
ticular powder barrel, above all with the Allies thundering, as it
were, at the gates of the city. So the terrible threat formulated
for "after midnight on May 25th" has come to nothing, like so
many other Fascist undertakings.
Sunday May 28th (Whitsunday)
The Allies' progress is eminently satisfactory, though we are
still bracing ourselves for the horrors of retreating German
hordes. Kesselring has brought down more reinforcements and
is trying to hold Valmontone at all costs, so as to give his 80,000
men from the Cassino front time to withdraw. The renowned
Hermann Goering Division is in action, and is giving the Allies
less trouble than most; it has been filled up with boys of 17 and
18 to replace earlier losses.
Last night there was a steady stream of German tanks, guns
and lorries passing through the city northward bound. The can-
nonade from the Castelli goes on as constantly as ever, and report
says that the Allies are at Lanuvio. Planes flew over during the
night, probably carrying German officers getting out of tight
corners.
One of our refugees, who walked to the Castelli to see how
things were going, reported a delightful conversation overheard
between a German soldier and a Blackshirt, speculating as to
what would happen when the Allies arrived. "Me," said Jerry,
"I do this" and he held up his hands; "you," pointing an imag-
inary gun at the Republican's chest, "poum, poum, finish!" Our
Frascati refugees say that the Germans are leaving there, taking
their wounded with them. The state of these latter can better be
imagined than described. The boys said that blood was dripping
from, the floor of the ambulances. Large numbers of Italian
wounded have come into Rome from the Anzio sector, where the
much advertised Barbarigo Battalion was placed in the front
line by its German masters. From the propaganda photographs
in the press and on posters, it seemed to be composed of little
boys of 16 and 17.
It is pleasantly warm, and spring is at its height; this is proved
by the pretty green grass growing in the streets which are paved
[185]
with stone blocks; there is next to no motor traffic except that
of the Germans, and they always take the asphalted streets.
Somehow "grass growing in the streets of Rome" has a four-
teenth-century sound about it.
On account of damage to the aqueducts, emergency pipes have
been rigged up at intervals in the streets, and the people go to
get their own water from them in pails and bottles. The queues
that gather are of a very different temper from those of last
March. Then they were mournful, dispirited, almost without
hope or energy; now a cheerful buzz emanates from them, in
fact the drawing of water becomes almost a social occasion. The
leitmotif of the buzz is: "The Germans are on the run it won't
be long before the Allies are here! 5 * Our refugees show their
appreciation of our hospitality by carrying water for us, keeping
all our tubs filled. Among them Michele, who insists on taking a
twenty-minute walk twice a day to get what he considers to be
really good drinking water for us from Via dei Lucchesi. He goes
off with three fiaschi in a black oilskin bag and returns with the
regularity of a clock. Water, by the way, is heavy.
Cesare, another of our refugees, has to start early tomorrow
morning to get more fodder for the horses. It is dangerous for
him, but the grass in our garden, which we offered him, would
only last them a day or so. The curfew ends at 5 o'clock, so he
will start then.
Monday May 29th
Cesare got back safely at about 8.30 though outside Rome,
near the new Cinema City, three German lorries approached his
cart, and he had a narrow escape from the machine guns of
Allied planes which power-dived and destroyed the lorries. Our
planes don't miss much on the roads at present. Cesare took
cover in a ditch, and came to no harm. The horses, Picchietto and
Biscotto, seem pleased with the fresh hay he brought them.
As the Germans have taken all the machinery from the Roman
broadcasting station, Radio Roma will be heard no more for the
present. Obviously, they don't want patriots or the Allies to be
able to issue directions conveniently. If only they don't confiscate
our own radios! That would be a real tragedy. The B.B.C. tells
us this morning that the Allies are advancing all along the line,
and are only twenty kilometres from Rome. If they get here
soon, then the harvest can be saved. The wheat is magnificent
this year, but it must be harvested not later than June 10th.
Until then it will be a little too green to be burnt by the Ger-
mans.
Partly for propaganda, partly to prevent food riots, and partly
because the people are starving, General Maelzer, commander of
Rome, has ordered rice, flour and bread to be distributed free in
the poorer parts of the city, where the people are in an ugly mood.
For instance, no German dares to go alone in the Trastevere.
That district, the Garbatella and the Testaccio were the ones
chosen. The lorry carrying the food was accompanied by a
crowd of Italian and German journalists and camera men, and
the papers published columns of praise of General Maelzer's gen-
erosity. They did not mention the fact that he is one of the
"black market kings" into whose pockets pass large sums gained
in illicit traffic in food and tobacco.
The sounds of war continue to echo around us day and night,
but unusually continuous pounding of guns in the Alban Hills
began to be heard about midday.
The electric current for such buses and trams as remain to us
was cut off this morning, so one has to walk or not go at all.
It is really better for everyone to stay indoors, especially men.
Leone, one of our men from Lanuvio, was arrested in the street
today and taken off to the police station to be enrolled in the
forced labour service. It seems that Mussolini has promised
Hitler one million five hundred thousand labourers. They told
Leone that tomorrow he would be taken to the barracks where
Nello was in March, and then given further orders. Happily,
someone from the Vatican called here this afternoon, and prom-
ised to arrange for Leone to be freed. These individual arrests are
certainly disquieting. M/s porter, a quiet, harmless man, was
arrested recently by the Fascists, for no apparent reason, taken
to the German torture house in Via Tasso, and was kept there for
four days and nights in a dark cell, without food. After that he
was suddenly released, without explanation. His hair turned quite
white while he was there.
The Hotel de la Ville in Via Sistina (called "Brighter Berlin") ,
which was the GHQ for German transport, is empty today;
but in spite of that the tempo of life seems a little slower. The
[187]
wireless assures us that the Allies are making progress, but we
were hoping for something short, sharp and decisive, perhaps
even spectacular. Kesselring is hanging on at Valmontone, and
the Allies have not cut the Casilina at that point, yet. We have
secured a number of strong positions, but not those that will
be decisive for Rome. Oh, well!
Some time ago the Germans forbade the use of bicycles within
the city limits, but permitted tricycles for the delivery of goods.
Today a peremptory order is issued to the effect that: "The Com-
mander of the Police of the Open City of Rome [the little farce
of the Open City is still kept up industriously] decrees that it is
forbidden to ride bicycles camouflaged as tricycles or having,
motorettes or electric batteries attached to them." Ingenious little
third wheels had been added to many bicycles after the fashion
of trailers. The Germans are apparently fearful of other cyclist
murders.
Orders have been issued to proprietors of houses and gardens
to report wells, artesian or otherwise, which may exist on their
property. The authorities are getting ready for a serious water
shortage. I hope we shan't be reduced to using the Tiber water.
Are the Germans really going to wreck all the mains? That is
the question we ask ourselves all day and every day.
The Vatican has tightened up facilities for admission within its
precincts. Even to enter St. Peter's, various documents have to
be shown. One gets accustomed to earring a sort of dossier about;
a mere identity card is not sufficient.
This evening's Osservatore Romano protests against last Tues-
day's bombing of the Benedictine Monastery of Santa Scolastica
at Subiaco. The great Renaissance cloister was destroyed, the
rest of the monastery was rendered uninhabitable, and a student
and a workman were killed. It resembles Monte Cassino on a
smaller scale, and the kindest thing one can say is that the bomb-
ing must have been done by mistake. Unlike Monte Cassino, it
was not even a useful observation post. There were no German
supply dumps near it, and it had been used as a hospital since
last April. It is completely isolated, on the slopes above the
Aniene River, and is older even than Monte Cassino, having been
one of St. Benedict's first foundations.
[188]
Tuesday May 30th
The Battle of the Castelli is raging out in the hills, and Ger-
man heavy artillery is pounding our approaches to Rome but
not preventing our advance, on the whole. We have taken Arce
in' the Liri Valley, but not Valmontone as yet.
They say that the Germans in the city have held an evacuation
rehearsal, and that they can withdraw inside of one hour. Ex-
cellent, if it is true. We are anxiously waiting for that hour to
strike,
Leone has returned from his prison barracks, and the welcome
he got from the rest of our peasant colony was impressive; from
the noise they made, someone said they thought the Allies had
arrived. We asked him if he had slept at all. He said, "No, I stood
all night, the floor was so dirty.'*
Everyone says that all the public services have been mined.
This evening's papers carry cheery paragraphs reassuring the
citizens of Rome, telling them not to be anxious about the water
supply, because, should it be necessary, the authorities are pre-
pared to utilize existing machinery for filtering the water of the
Tiber. But, is the machinery there? No. Can the Tiber be filtered?
Doubtful. Could anyone drink it? No.
Wednesday May 31st
The steady thud of artillery stopped at midday. Have we
knocked them out? At 7.30 A.M. we heard the screech of a power
dive repeated several times, and the rattle of machine guns quite
near. A German officer told E.G. that, when the Allies finally
broke through at Valmontone, they had orders to make straight
for Genoa as best they could; individually, if necessary. The
enemy is keeping up appearances in the city, at any rate, though
numbers of them have left. All the luggage of the officers at the
big hotels in Via Veneto was taken off yesterday, but sentinels
still stand at the doors, and policemen prevent pedestrians from
passing on the pavement next to the hotels.
A fresh rumour optimistic, this time says insistently that
the Pope has promised the Germans that, if they do no damage
to the city as they withdraw, he will make himself responsible
fof all their wounded whom they might leave behind; reports
[189]
as to the number of the wounded vary between 20,000 and 40,-
000.
This morning the Republican (i.e. Fascist, i.e. Blackshirt, i.e.
neo-Fascist or Nazifascist different names for the same thing)
Government shot Alberto Coppola, head of the Pharmacy Supply
Organization. He was found guilty of having sold at black mar-
ket prices thirty-five sacks of sugar, entrusted to him for distri-
bution to chemists for making up prescriptions. For once they
appear to have acted justly; but was Coppola really the guilty
one? The greatest black-market profiteers are the Germans. Gen-
eral Maelzer, in command of the city, and who likes' to be
thought of as "King of Rome," has wonderful devices for making
money twice over. He will accumulate, for example, a large store
of tobacco which his agent will dispose of at a high price to
minor Italian black-market dealers. A few days later, the Ger-
man S.S. are sent to raid the latter and confiscate their stocks,
because they are "held illegally"; so they return to good General
Maelzer.
We are immensely cheered by the news, broadcast from Anzio,
that the Allies are bringing to Rome foodstuffs of every kind,
except oil and flour. If they bring tinned lard, we can do with-
out oil; and, after all, we have had so little bread and "pasta" of
late, we can wait a few weeks more for flour, particularly if there
are other things to supplement them.
The Pope has been trying to arrange for food ships to come to
Rome from Spain and Portugal, and the provisions he has pur-
chased are ready at the ports; but, according to the Roman press,
"final formalities have yet to be concluded." One of those "for-
malities" is the German refusal to let the ships come up the Tiber,
unless they themselves are given 70 per cent of the cargo. Of
course, the Holy Father cannot agree to such terms, anxious
as he is to feed the starving city. That condition, obviously, does
not appear in the press, but everyone knows about it.
Lack of food has had an alarmingly slimming effect on every-
one in Rome, not only on the poor, but on the man-in-the-street
and on one's friends. It gives one a heartache to see it. No longer
is it complimentary to allude to loss of weight; on the contrary,
the subject is tactfully avoided.
[190]
Thursday June 1st
The Allies have taken Frosinone and Sora, both of them im-
portant places, but the line from Valmontone to the sea is still
unbroken. A B.B.C. commentator says breezily "Rome, of course,
is a prize, but how much better for General Alexander to sur-
round Kesselring and settle his hash before entering the city."
Oh yes? Is it? We are not strategists, armchair or otherwise, but
we have practical knowledge of the urgent need of liberating
Rome. In spite of the above comment, and of the fact that Val-
montone still holds out, everyone here talks as if it were only
a matter of days or even hours before the Fifth Army arrives.
I have just had a request from an Italian for the words of
"Tipperary"; as they put it in commercial letters, "I shall comply
with pleasure."
There is a strange little paragraph in this evening's papers to
the effect that yesterday evening a chimney fire took place at
38 Via Romagna, in a house owned by Signor Carlo Jaccarino,
and that a good deal of damage was done to the building. That,
of course, is the famous Pensione Jaccarino, the torture house
used by the Italian S.S. battalion. Jaccarino himself was de
nounced two evenings ago by Radio Anzio, in its list of spies
and informers. Do they want an excuse for leaving the place?
Are the rats deserting the sinking ship? The S.S. are distinctly
nervous. Anything more alien to the Italian character than an
S.S. organization can hardly be imagined, and yet some of them
have copied their German masters even in that. And the Germans
despise them utterly. The leader of the Fascist group belonging
to the Ostiense district was murdered yesterday.
Friday June 2nd
Guns booming nearer than ever, day and night. The Allies
have taken Velletri, Lariano, Ferentino, Veroli and Sgurgola, but
not Valmontone, the big key position. "We must be patient.
This morning the Pope received the Cardinals, who presented
their good wishes in honour of his name day. The Sacred College
is much diminished in numbers, and it is expected that soon
after the war is over, he will hold a Consistory for the appoint-
ment of many new ones. It was arranged that his reply to the
[191]
Cardinals should be broadcast. He spoke of his hopes of a lasting
peace, based on Christian principles, of mercy to the vanquished,
of his anxiety that the city of Rome should be spared the horrors
of war, and of his efforts to provide food for the Romans. He
also pointed out that Rome had received more refugees than any
other city in Italy.
The Pope's concluding remarks about the numbers of refugees
in Rome are borne out by statistics. Last summer the population
of Rome amounted to 1,500,000; at present it is 2,000,000. No
wonder there is a food shortage; apart from what the Germans
have done toward starving the city.
It is said that last night the Pope sent for the German Ambas-
sador, and kept him from 11 P.M. until 1 A.M., talking about
the possibilities of not defending Rome, once the Allies had
broken through their line in the Castelli, and of not destroying
the city as they withdrew. It is understood that the Pope was in
a large measure successful.
The Fascist Ministry which controls the press issues confiden-
tial directions to the editors from time to time. My source of
information is also confidential, but absolutely reliable. Yester-
day instructions were sent out as follows: "Journalists are re-
quested to write at length on the forthcoming . musical season,
which is opening with the Comic Opera Company at the Quirino
Theatre." It was just as well not to tread on dangerous ground
when the Allies were so near Rome.
Saturday June 3rd
Always those guns. Always nearer. Planes are fighting over the
city and the sound of anti-aircraft guns alternates with that of
machine guns. The Germans have placed heavy artillery in the
southern suburbs and are preparing to make a stand, so it looks
as if they might try to hold the city. In that case, as the Allied
Command stated today on the radio, "the necessary military
measures will be taken to eject them."
Valmontone is taken at last! The Allies are pouring into the
plain that surrounds Rome like water through a dyke. We know
from the B.B.C. that in England and in America they are fairly
worried about us here in Rome today. Of course anything may
[192]
happen. We realize that. Yet, apart from the sound of guns,
Rome is as quiet as on any other June day, in any year. Quieter,
in fact, because there are fewer men in the streets. Women are
going about in their summer frocks (carefully "turned" and re-
made since last year) , groups are drawing water from the emer-
gency fountains, and beggars continue begging and getting their
lira from every passer-by. Rome is not looking her best, with
her closed shops, dirty pavements and shortage of water, but the
weather is exquisite and her churches and monuments are un-
changed, while Father Tiber goes on his way through the city as
he did two thousand years ago.
Although many Germans left yesterday, at present the hotels
near the Station are crowded with them. They must be those. who
have come in from the Castelli on their way north. All last night
heavy vehicles, tajiks and lorries rumbled northward through
the streets, Via Cassia, Via Salaria, and Via Flaminia being still
open for them. Yesterday, near here in Piazza Fiume, Germans
systematically emptied a hardware shop, packing all the goods
very carefully in a covered truck, so as to travel without shifting
and to take the smallest space possible.
There are very few newspapers, and no news in them, but
people struggle for them just the same. The confidential in-
structions to the editors for today's issues ran: "While the battle
for Rome is in progress, please emphasize the fact that, whatever
may happen, we are not unprepared, and, since the tragic situa-
tion which came about last September, we have foreseen all
eventualities, even the most painful ones." Having sent out this
message, Alfred Cucco, "Minister of Popular Culture," bolted.
But not soon enough; for the patriots awaited him, and got him.
And that is all for today. The throbbing of guns in the hills
has stopped. One feels the silence, as when the engines of a ship
stop suddenly in the night.
Are you imitating the small boy who whistled when going
down a dark alley when you want to repeat to yourself and to
others that it will be all right? That the Germans will cease upon
the midnight without pain, will run northward, will fade out
of Rome silently, will fold their tents like the Arabs, or however
else the poets would express it? Yes, I think it is a comfort to do
so, or even to write it. Here goes, again: I do not think that the
[193]
Germans will make Rome a battlefield. (But the fighting is very
close tonight,)
Sunday June 4th
This has been a day of such stirring experiences that they will
perhaps "break through language and escape" before they can
be written down. They are joint experiences, put together when
we pooled our impressions and information; so much happened
in so many directions. We had been suddenly deprived of the
telephone (cut off ) ; of newspapers (not out) ; of the radio
(electric current cut off); of trams and buses (for the same
reason) ; but the grapevine information service began function-
ing with incredible efficiency, and it soon became clear that the
famous elastic defence had begun in Rome; the Germans were
quietly on the run. When the Romans had grasped the situation,
unobtrusively and ironically they began to stroll about the
streets mainly used for German traffic. They made no remarks,
but looked on with Olympian serenity. This attitude may have
been helped by the shower of leaflets from General Alexander
which had fallen in the early morning on some parts of the
city. They ran as follows:
HEADQUARTERS OF GENERAL ALEXANDER
Special Message to the Citizens of Rome.
The Allied Armies are nearing Rome. The liberation of the city will
take place soon. The citizens of Rome must stand shoulder to shoulder
to protect the city from destruction and to defeat our common enemies:
the Germans and the Fascists.
These directions come to you, Romans, from General Alexander's
Headquarters and from Marshal Badoglio. They are given in your inter-
ests as well as in those of the Allies.
Do everything in your power to prevent the destruction of the city.
Prevent the explosion of mines which may have been placed under
bridges and Government buildings, under the Ministries and other
important edifices.
Protect the central telephone and telegraph plants, the broadcasting
stations and other lines of communication.
For your own use safeguard the public services: gas houses, aque-
ducts and electric power stations.
[154]
Protect the railways, goods stations and all public transport services
such as trams and buses.
Hide your food reserves.
Note carefully the location of enemy mines and war material and
inform the Allied patrols of their positions.
Remove barriers and obstructions from the streets.
Leave free passage everywhere for military vehicles.
It is vital for the Allies that the troops should pass through Rome
without hindrance or loss of time, in order to complete the destruction
of the German army which is retreating northwards.
Citizens of Rome, this is not the time for demonstrations. Obey these
directions and go on with your regular work. Rome is yours! Your job
is to save the city, ours is to destroy the enemy.
CITIZENS OF ROME. THESE ARE YOUR DIRECTIONS.
THE FUTURE OF THE CITY IS IN YOUR HANDS!
So, with admirable restraint, the Romans looked on, spec-
tators of the reverse of what they had seen in September: the
boot was on the other leg, the wheel had gone full circle, and
the defeated Huns were escaping in disorder. Along Corso
Umberto, Via del Babuino, Via di Ripetta, Corso d'ltalia and
above all on Via Flaminia crowds stood on the pavements, sat on
the steps of churches or in the doorways of palaces or at the tables
of the few cafes that were still open. The Germans went on,
wild-eyed, unshaven, unkempt, on foot, in stolen cars, in horse-
drawn vehicles, everji in carts belonging to the street cleaning
department. There was no attempt at military formation. Some
of them dragged small ambulances with wounded in them. They
went, some with revolvers in their hands, some with rifles cocked.
On Corso Umberto when one of them stumbled his rifle went
off and caused a panic among the crowd; for a moment there
was some indiscriminate shooting. Whereas last September they
came with machine guns trained on the Romans, it was a dif-
ferent matter now. They were frightened. They had a clear idea
of the strength of the underground movement, the power of
the armed patriots and their determination to take action when
and if necessary. Most of the "Republicans" had fled the day
before, but in the German rout were to be seen handsome motor-
cars with Fascist dignitaries looking anything but dignified in
their anxiety to get away. Some Blackshirt soldiers, members of
[195]
the pitiable Barbarigo and Nettuno Divisions, were desperately
waving to occupants of German motor cars, begging for a lift.
The latter, true to their custom, as in Russia and in Africa, had
no pity on the men whom they had used as tools while despising
them, and passed on, unheeding. The crowd showed a good deal
of self-control in not lynching these remnants of the Fascist
gangs. Two of them, who tried to climb up on a gun carriage in
Piazza del Popolo, were kicked off by German parachute men.
Near Porta San Paolo, at about midday, there was a panic among
the Germans rushing in from the Castelli, when an Allied plane
swooped down and attacked them, and they ran wildly toward
the Colosseum, seeking cover. The detachments going north
along Via Aurelia were watched by Allied reconnaissance planes,
and when they were well beyond the city limits, other planes
dived at them with machine guns.
At 5.30 this morning, when the regular traffic police reported
for duty, they were curtly told to remove the Fascist rods-and-
axe badge from their collars and to replace it with the five-
pointed star of Italy, "by Badoglio's orders." That was one of the
earliest thrills of the day. People whispered to each other "Hanno
rimesso le stellette" "They've put back the little stars." Even
the ultra-Fascist P.A.I. police had changed them, too.
German sentinels with machine guns and tanks guarded all
the city bridges until dusk.
At about eleven o'clock in the morning there was such an ex-
plosion that the houses near us, including our own, seemed to rise
slightly, curtsey and sit down again, a very queer feeling. It was
the Germans blowing up the Macao barracks (sometimes called
the Castro Pretorio) where they had large stores of petrol and
explosives. There were three heavy detonations, and householders
in the vicinity trembled lest, at this last moment, they too should
be involved in ruin.
A current report ran that the Germans had promised the Pope
that they would not destroy anything in Rome if he would be
personally responsible for the welfare of the wounded whom
they might leave behind; another was to the effect that General
Bencivenga, Commander in Chief of the underground forces of
the district of Rome, appointed by Badoglio, had given Kesselring
to understand that if his men were to blow up the Roman water-
[196]
works not one of his wounded would be given so much as a drop
of water afterward. Whatever truth there may have been in
these rumours, certainly the Germans destroyed all they could
in their hasty flight.
Worse than the destruction of the Macao barracks was the
blowing up of the Fiat works in Viale Manzoni, which covered a
whole city block and which comprised the largest repair shops
in Rome for armoured cars and tanks. When this was done several '
civilian dwellings were wrecked and their owners buried beneath
the ruins. The EIAR Roman broadcasting centre in Via Mondello
was only partly destroyed, owing to the skill of Filippo Blasucci,
a patriot engineer who removed the detonators from mines. In
the Campo Verano cemetery, already damaged by Allied bombs,
and over which the Germans had held up horrified hands and
shed torrents of crocodile tears, they blew up six large plots
where they had stored ammunition, causing some casualties
among civilians who happened to be there at the time. The Ti-
burtina, the Prenestina and the San Lorenzo railway yards were
destroyed, together with surrounding buildings. The telephone
plant was blown up at the Ministero delle Comunicazioni, and
in Piazza Regina Margherita they set fire to a lorry loaded with
ammunition which exploded and wrecked neighbouring houses.
At the railway station in Via Marsala numbers of small buildings
were set on fire and railway carriages destroyed.
Only lack of time and the skill and courage of patriots pre-
vented the destruction of many public buildings, bridges and
waterworks. Ponte Tazio, a wide modern bridge which spans the
Aniene at Via Nomentana and leads to Monte Sacro, would have
been completely demolished if patriots had not removed the
detonators from five out of the six mines placed beneath it.
The reservoir near Santa Croce was completely destroyed. The
Roman telephone installation in Palazzo Viminale was saved
through quick action on the part of a group of patriot sappers
who neutralized 212 pounds of nitroglycerine located in the
cellars, sufficient to wreck the whole neighbourhood. On hearing
distant explosions, it was difficult to know if they were land
mines or big guns. The roads leading to Rome which were
bordered with trees had all been mined with an ingenuity worthy
of a better cause. At the root of each tree the explosive had been
[197]
so placed that the trunk would fall directly across the road and
constitute a most efficient barrier. The electric wiring which
connected the caps of these mines was somewhat complicated;
the Germans did not reckon on the speedy retreat forced on
them. There was no time to cope with the electric connection,
and the roads remained open for the Allies.
At half past twelve someone came in and announced breath-
lessly: "The British are at Porta Maggiore!" No one believed it.
It was much too good to be true. It was like something in a
. dream. So we waited. Yet the signs we had seen in our own neigh-
bourhood pointed to coming events. All morning the Germans
from a "command" of theirs had been giving yes, actually
giving away tins of food, bags of flour, sausages and blankets.
"When they had gone small boys swarmed over the house and
carried off a few chairs that had remained. At Piazza Siena in the
Borghese Gardens Germans had been selling sacks of flour for
1,000 lire, we heard. In Via San Basilio a barricade had been hur-
riedly constructed of furniture, odd red plush armchairs, tables,
stools, and chests of drawers topped by rough planks, in front of
a second-rate hotel where Germans had lodged. Perhaps it was the
work of retreating Fascists; one could not tell.
The next good news to be spread abroad was that the S.S. tor-
ture houses in Via Tasso and Via Romagna and at the political
wing of Regina Coeli had been broken open and their occupants
set free; while Caruso and Koch, the most cruel Blackshirt
bosses (the former being the leader of the raid on St. Paul's) , had
been arrested and locked up for trial.
By five o'clock in the afternoon the streets were almost empty
of Germans; a few were still going along Corso d'ltalia, making
for Via Flaminia. Everyone knew that the patriot police force,
organized and ready for action, had been summoned for 9
o'clock. A strange order was vaguely circulated that the curfew
was fixed for 6 o'clock, and all must remain indoors after that
time. No one paid the slightest attention to it. One of the few
P.A.I. police still to be seen told us that it had been ordered, but
his tone lacked conviction. Someone told us an incredible tale
that, owing to the Pope's intervention, the Allies would not enter
the city until midnight, to give the Germans a chance to retire.
[198]
What is much more likely, in fact universally held as true, is that
owing to the Pope's efforts the Germans did not make a stand
in the streets of Rome and reduce it to the condition of Cassino.
At least it was owing to the Pope that such was the decision made
by Kesselring, but of course the German flight was hastened
when the Allies broke through their defences in the Alban Hills
and spread like a torrent in the plain surrounding Rome. So it
came about that as the last Germans were fleeing from the city,
the Allied patrols were entering, cautiously at first, swiftly and
confidently afterward.
Dusk fell, and with it our vicinity grew quiet; but at ten
o'clock voices were heard, and footsteps in the street. "Viva
Savoia! viva gli Alleati!" The men of the underground front
were rallying in force. Armed, disciplined and wearing badges
with the Italian colours, they were everywhere, ready to round
up the straggling Germans and Fascists and to keep order if
necessary.
From one of our windows we looked down on Rome. The
electric light which had been cut off was turned on abruptly, and
uncurtained windows flashed out brightly like a signal of libera-
tion to come. Then, as if on the stage, all was dark once more;
except for the moonlight shining through a veil of mist. Sud-
denly, from the direction of Porta Pia, came a burst of wild
cheering. The Allies had entered Rome. The sound of cheering
followed the line of Via Venti Settembre as far as Piazza Venezia.
After that the whole town came to life. There was talk and
laughter in all the streets, even in the narrowest ones; there
was cheering and the sound of clapping everywhere.
Later, we heard about what others had seen. How, near the
Island in the Tiber, American tanks had stolen in like shadows,
their crews peering into the dark, apprehensive of booby traps
and German snipers; how they were taken for Germans at first,
and how, when at last they were recognized, the welcome they
got nearly overcame them.
Fifth Army men arrived in Piazza Risorgimento while Ger-
man stragglers still occupied the heights of Monte Mario. Some
came in along Via Ardeatina and entered at Porta San Paolo;
from Via Casilina and Via Prenestina they came through Porta
[199]
Maggiore; from the Appian Way by Porta San Giovanni, as the
Huns came in September. Finally from Via Appia Antica they
entered through Porta San Sebastiano.
In several places there were skirmishes with the belated German
rear-guard. Machine guns rattled in Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore
and near the Colosseum at about 9 o'clock. The column that
came through Porta Pia, and whose welcome we heard, went
straight on through the city in pursuit of the enemy, and did
not even stop for food or rest. There was fighting on some of
the bridges. At about 1 1 P.M. some Americans fell at Ponte Sub-
licio, and on Ponte Margherita German dead lay all night.
Wherever the troops entered they were cheered, applauded
and showered with blossoms. A rain of roses fell on men, guns,
tanks and jeeps. An exuberant Italian rushed forward, took an
embarrassed American infantryman in his arms, kissed him on
both cheeks and returned home with the bridge of his nose
severely cut by the rim of his hero's helmet.
Monday June 5th
The tumult and the shouting died at about 1 A.M., and we
scattered from our observation post.
My own first sight of the Allies was dramatic in its simplicity.
Opening a window at about 6 o'clock, I saw one little jeep with
four American soldiers in it, making its way slowly and sound-
lessly along the street. No one else was about. The thing looked
so solitary, yet so significant in the cool stillness of dawn. I had
it all to myself for a few seconds. It was so small, yet so secure;
a vignette on a page of history; a full stop at the end of a
chapter of oppression and fear.
After breakfast two of us went out on business. Approaching
Via Veneto was like stepping from a sullen world of pain, fear,
suspicion, concealment and misery into a brave, gay world of
high achievement, courage, confidence and chivalry. British and
American flags floated in the wind, in the brilliant setting of
that wide thoroughfare alive with Allied soldiers. Two long
lines of American infantry were marching up either side of the
roadway, toward Porta Pinciana. They were dusty, battle-worn
and unshaven^ but they smiled and waved in response to the
[200]
greetings of the crowd. They had roses in the muzzles o their
rifles, and miniature Italian flags which had been thrown to
them; they had roses stuck in the camouflage nets of their hel-
mets, and in their shirts. One has read of these things in books,
and accepted them as fiction, never dreaming of witnessing them
as we did today. In between the lines of infantry were jeeps, radio
cars, ammunition carriers, staff cars and every military vehicle
imaginable. They came irregularly, sometimes two or more to-
gether, causing a traffic block when they had to turn round.
And every car was sprinkled with roses. It looked as if all the
pink ramblers in Rome had been requisitioned for the occasion.
(Later in the day we gave a big bunch of them to a friend who
wanted something to throw to the Allied troops.) Whenever a
car passed the crowd on the pavement clapped. When a plane
came over, flying low, seemingly out of sheer joie de vivre, they
clapped too; and in between they laughed and talked and con-
gratulated each other. *
The population of Rome seemed double what it had been;
men who had been hiding for months patriots, Italian soldiers,
Allied prisoners of war who had escaped from their prison camps,
young men of military age and persecuted Jews were out and
about. Bicycles appeared from their hiding places as if by magic.
Rome had not seen such animation and laughter since the be-
ginning of the war. Yet, today in all this joyful effervescence,
this relief, this reaction from the horrors of Nazifascism, there
was an amazing absence of the rowdy element which so easily
predominates on like occasions, as for example on Armistice Day,
at the end of the last war.
When we returned we hoisted our own flags on our house,
amid the applause of enthusiastic passers-by. People we knew
and people we didn't know came in to say they were proud of the
Allies and to shake hands and to talk English, and even when
they couldn't they talked something they called English, just
the same. At the same moment, 10 A.M., Colonel John Pollock
hoisted the Union Jack on the Capitol.
Like occurrences were taking place all over Rome on a larger
scale. The Scots piped themselves down Via Nazionale to Piazza
Venezia, where they gave a concert, amid howls of enthusiasm.
Italians who had never seen kilts before admired "the charming
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little skirts" they wore. The French paraded along Via delPlm-
pero to shouts of "Vive la France!" British units came up Via
Ludovisi in triumph. American soldiers hoisted a big Italian flag
on the balcony of Palazzo Venezia, the famous balcony whence
the Duce used to harangue the assembled multitudes (summoned
by postcards to a "spontaneous demonstration of loyalty").
Down the Corso men of the Fifth Army passed all day to the
sound of ceaseless cheering. In reply they tossed American candy
to sugar-starved children, and cigarettes to men accustomed to
a desperately meagre ration of tobacco.
A camp was established in Villa Borghese, and army cooks got
down to the job of preparing meals for the troops. The situation
was summed up by our greengrocer's wife (she had had neither
greens nor groceries to sell for weeks) : "There's nothing to eat,
but at least we can breathe!"
Unanimously the thoughts of the Romans went out to the
Pope; heliad played a large part in saving their city; he had pro-
tected them from the terror of battle in their streets; they would
thank him. At 7 A.M. and again at 10 o'clock exultant crowds
went to Piazza San Pietro calling out for him. Both times he ap-
peared at his study window, acknowledged their greetings and
blessed them. A plane circled low at the same moment and
dropped flowers.
However, these two visits were not enough. A monster meet-
ing was organized for the evening. As there were still no tele-
phones, no trams nor any of the normal means of communica-
tion, in the early afternoon runners spread the news from house
to house, and carts and lorries frothing over with boys and bunt- '
ing and carrying placards: "Come to St. Peter's at six o'clock to
thank the Pope" drove through the town in every direction.
By 5 o'clock, from all parts of the town, masses of people
were converging on St. Peter's. As they went, they shouted and
waved their welcome to Fifth Army tanks and lorries entering
the city. Piazza San Pietro was already full when we arrived.
The afternoon sun slanted across the roof of the Basilica, spilling
torrents of golden light on the sea of colour below. With the flags
and banners, it looked like a herbaceous border in full bloom.
Soldiers in battle dress provided an olive-drab background for
the whole.
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A roar of acclamation rose when, after the great bell had
pealed and the ceremonial drapery had been flung over the
parapet of the central balcony, the slender white-clad figure of
the Pope appeared. Presently he raised his hand for silence, and
spoke. Every phrase of his was punctuated with thunders of
applause, and each time he waited patiently for it to subside
before continuing. It was one of the shortest public discourses
he ever made, and in its utter simplicity went straight to the
hearts of his hearers. He said that, whereas yesterday Rome was
still fearful for the fate of her children, today she rejoiced, with
renewed faith and hope, in their safety. Therefore, while render-
ing the most profound homage and grateful thanks to God for
this great benefit; while thanking Our Lady for once more show-
ing herself to be in truth the "Salvation of the Roman people,"
and Saints Peter and Paul for protecting the city once watered
by their blood, he begged all to show themselves worthy of the
grace received, by ordering their lives in conformity to the
standards demanded by the seriousness of the times. Especially
would he ask them to put away all feelings of anger and revenge,
and to cultivate instead the spirit of brotherly love, of modera-
tion, and of practical compassion for the poor and the suifering.
"Lift up your hearts!" he concluded, "and let your answer be:
'We have lifted them up to the Lord!' " He then gave the
Apostolic Blessing to the kneeling crowd which continued to
acclaim him long after he had left the balcony.
When the gathering broke up it seemed as if the whole Fifth
Army had mingled informally with the whole of the Roman
population. Leaving the Piazza was a slow business. One had the
impression of moving along, up to the waist in jeeps, driven so
quietly and with such careful skill among the multitude that
they troubled one no more than perambulators. They were
friendly little conveyances, and in them were friendly soldiers.
Farther on, beyond the limits of the Piazza were military trucks
and arms carriers. In the absence of trams, buses and taxis, every-
one went home on foot. For many it was a matter of five or six
miles there and back, not to mention the standing in the Piazza.
But apparently no one minded. Quite the contrary. They didn't
mind anything. Fascism was gone; Nazism was gone; and the
horror of war had passed from Rome.
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Italy is on the eve of a new era. She has suffered in the
crucible of pain and humiliation. She will put her affairs in order
and begin life afresh. May her future leaders remember the words
of David, spoken long ago:
"Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain who
build it."
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