The Pope at War, page 68
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Chapter 29: The Good Nazi
Report to Mussolini, July 5, 1943, ACS, SPD, CR, b. 12; “La presentazione delle credenziali del nuovo Ambasciatore di Germania,” OR, July 5, 1943, p. 1.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
Welles report, March 1, 1940, FDR Library, psfa 71, pp. 41–43; Wheeler-Bennett 1954, p. 416; Hill 1987, p. 477; Hill 1967, pp. 138–41; Namier 1952, p. 63; Lippman 1997, pp. 107–8. As a December 1944 OSS report concluded of von Weizsäcker, “his own nationalist aspirations for Germany and his long experience as a diplomat make him very useful to the Nazis.” FDR Library, psf 794, p. 91.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
Rossi Longhi, Ministero degli Affari Esteri, to Orsenigo, Berlin, April 21, 1943, tel. 13312, ASDMAE, APSS, b. 66. The appointment to the Vatican embassy signaled a dramatic demotion for the German state secretary. Ribbentrop, who had been a salesman before his rapid rise through the Nazi hierarchy, had become increasingly uncomfortable with the polished diplomat who served under him. Compared to Ribbentrop’s warmongering, Weizsäcker was a moderate, and the foreign minister finally got rid of him by sending him far from Berlin to a post he had earlier considered abolishing. But for Weizsäcker, the change was not without its attractions. With the war turning against the Axis, the Vatican appeared as the most promising place to explore bringing about a compromise peace that might save him and others like him. Hill 1967, p. 143.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
On the request regarding a religious studies course, see Di Meglio notes, July 9, 1943, ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, parte 1, Germania, posiz. 866, ff. 14rv.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 4
Weizsäcker to Foreign Ministry, Berlin, July 5, 1943, tel. 271, PAAA, GBS, 29818, 17–18; Chadwick 1977, pp. 181–82; Miccoli 2000, p. 237.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 5
Regia Prefettura di Roma, nota, controllo dell’attività del clero, July 5, 1943, ACS, MI, Gab., RSI, b. 51, n. 10952.
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De Felice 1996b, pp. 1151, 1184 (based on Puntoni’s diary entry, July 5, 1943).
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 7
FDR to Churchill, July 9, 1943, FDR Library, mr 21, pp. 44–45; Eden and Halifax to Washington and Algiers, July 9, 1943, NAK, CAB, 122/866, 7–8.
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Atkinson 2007. At the time of the Allied landing, according to Gooch (2020, p. 378) the Germans had 28,000 troops in Sicily, the Italians 175,000.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 9
Tardini notes, July 11, 1943, ADSS, vol. 7, n. 287. The original documentation on Roosevelt’s message and the pope’s response can be found at AAV, Segr. Stato, 1943, Stati e Corpo Diplomatico, posiz. 199, ff. 1r–15r.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 10
Ciano appunto, July 13, 1943, n. 2252, ASDMAE, Gab., b. 1198, UC-82; Tittmann 2004, p. 159.
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Maglione to Cicognani, Washington, July 15, 1943, ADSS, vol. 7, n. 297.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 12
Pirelli 1984, p. 450, diary entry for July 19, 1943; Tittmann 2004, p. 177. In De Felice’s (1996b, pp. 1316–17) examination of the Fummi affair, he writes that before taking his initiative, Bastianini had gotten an indication from Mussolini that he was open to negotiations, and indeed, Bastianini thought the Duce should not be overthrown as only he would be in a position to convince Hitler to allow Italy to withdraw from the war. See also De Felice 1970.
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Bastianini 2005, p. 131.
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Edda Mussolini 1975, pp. 174–75; Bosworth 2017, p. 170; Festorazzi 2012, pp. 89–95; General Carboni report, in De Felice 1996b, p. 1536.
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De Felice 1996b, pp. 1537–40.
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Bosworth 2017, pp. 169, 171; Gagliani 2015.
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Chapter 30: Deposing the Duce
Bottai 1989, pp. 392–98, diary entry for July 16, 1943.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
De Felice 1996b, pp. 1322–38; Kershaw 2000, pp. 592–93.
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Tittmann 2004, pp. 162–63.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
Eisenhower report, July 20, 1943, FDR Library, mr 303, pp. 84–86, 88; report from Air Force, Cairo, July 20, 1943, FDR Library, mr 303, pp. 87, 89–90; Davis 2006, p. 130.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 4
Roberts 2018, p. 789; Pirelli 1984, p. 457, diary entry for July 23, 1943.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 5
Police reports of the pope’s July 19, 1943, visit to the site of the bombing, dated July 19 and July 20, nn. 22901 and 149268, are found at ACS, MI, DAGRA 1943, b. 71, and ACS, SPD, CR, b. 127.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 6
Bastianini 2005, p. 141; Pirelli 1984, p. 457, diary entry for July 23, 1943.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 7
Marco Maffei, “Il Papa si inginocchia sulle macerie della distrutta Basilica di San Lorenzo,” and “La promessa del bugiardo,” PI, July 20, 1943, p. 1. Two days later the newspaper returned to the theme, titling its front-page story, “The Weeping of the Pope at the Ruins of the Basilica of San Lorenzo.” It quoted the rector of the basilica as saying the pope had been so moved by the sight of the destruction that he could barely speak. “He broke out in tears; for the whole time he remained there to pray the tears ran in furrows down his face. The Holy Father’s tears,” said the rector, “were more eloquent than any speech, they were the most severe condemnation of the authors of the vile attack.” “Il pianto del Papa sulle rovine della basilica di S. Lorenzo,” PI, July 22, 1943, p. 1. Farinacci’s newspaper carried similar stories portraying the heroic pope amid the ruins of the basilica, e.g., “Il Pontefice tra i sinistrati della zona Tiburtina,” RF, July 20, 1943, p. 1.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 8
Maglione to the nuncios and apostolic delegates, July 20, 1943, ADSS, vol. 7, n. 302. At the same time the pope sent a long message directly to President Roosevelt, expressing his sorrow at the large number of civilians killed by the bombings and adding that given the nature of Rome, it “cannot be attacked without inflicting an incomparable loss on the patrimony of Religion and Civilization.” Pius XII to FDR, July 20, 1943, ADSS, vol. 7, n. 303. A copy of the pope’s original letter is found at FDR Library, psfa 495, pp. 104–8.
On receiving the pope’s instructions, the nuncio in Spain passed them on to the Spanish primate, the archbishop of Toledo. He in turn promptly sent a message to Roosevelt. Writing on behalf of the Spanish Catholic episcopacy, he called on the president never to bomb Rome again. Secretary of State Cordell Hull was not sympathetic. Instructing the American ambassador in Madrid to give the archbishop no such assurance, he added a further thought: “It is not recalled, incidentally, that the Spanish Episcopacy ever protested against the unchristian acts that have characterized Axis warfare. Our bombing of Rome, made necessary by the Italian Government, was carried out with great care to inflict as little damage as possible on cultural monuments and church property, and it may be remarked that from this as well as from the military standpoint the raid was remarkably successful.” U.S. Ambassador Hayes, Madrid, to Hull, July 21, 1943, and Hull to Hayes, July 24, 1943, FRUS 1943, vol. 2, pp. 933–34.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 9
Osborne to Eden, July 21, 1943, NAK, FO 371, 37537, pp. 148–51. Here I use the English translation that Osborne provided to London (found at pp. 152–55 of his report). The original text of the pope’s letter can be found in “Una Lettera del Sommo Pontefice al Cardinale Vicario in Roma,” OR, July 22, 1943, p. 1. Taylor to FDR and Hull, July 24, 1943, FDR Library, psfa 495, p. 116.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 10
“Il bombardamento di Roma: La deplorazione del Pontefice bolla di eterna ignominia gli aggressori,” RF, July 23, 1943, p. 1.
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Hennesey 1974, p. 49, McCormick diary entry for July 24, 1943.
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Bottai 1989, pp. 402–4, diary entry for July 22, 1943.
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Pirelli 1984, p. 451, diary entry for July 23, 1943.
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Many first-person accounts by the men at that historic Grand Council meeting exist. Needless to say, they are all self-serving and offer a kaleidoscope of conflicting narratives. Emilio Gentile (2018) has recently devoted an entire book to trying to disentangle them. Among the other accounts relied on here are Bottai’s 1989, pp. 404–21, diary entry for July 24, 1943; and Bastianini 2005, p. 291. A good assortment of materials on the meeting collected by the French diplomatic service is found at MAEC, Papiers Chauvel, vol. 121, pp. 901–61. See also Carace 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 15
Pighin 2010, pp. 179–80; Montini notes, July 25, 1943, ADSS, vol. 7, n. 313. Apparently, Ciano also rushed a copy of the Grand Council’s resolution to Cardinal Maglione that morning. Di Rienzo 2018, p. 515.
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Ivone 2002, p. 27.
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Bosworth 2017, p. 171.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 18
Clara quotes from her July 25, 1943, letter to Mussolini in a letter she wrote him on its first anniversary, ACS, Archivi di famiglie e di persone, Clara Petacci, b. 4, fasc. 63.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 19
De Felice 1996b, pp. 1391–1401. A rich, dramatic account of Mussolini’s state of mind over the following two days, while he was confined at a military installation in Rome, was composed by the military doctor who visited him throughout his time there and had several conversations with him. Somehow his account, which ranges from Mussolini’s medical history to his musings on the current state of Italy and the war, ended up in the office of the Vatican Secretariat of State, where it can now be found. ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, Parte I, Italia, posiz. 1336, ff. 76r–78r.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 20
“Il Maresciallo Badoglio Primo Ministro,” OR, July 26, 1943, p. 1; “Il nuovo governo italiano,” OR, July 28, 1943, p. 1; Pighin 2010, pp. 180–81.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 21
“L’esultanza di Milano,” CS, July 26, 1943, p. 1; Pighin 2010, pp. 184–85; Tramontin 1982, p. 633.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 22
The handwritten note on Tardini’s report reads: “His Eminence [Maglione] discussed these arguments with His Holiness in the audience of July 26, 1943. The Holy Father deigned to dwell on the question: in the face of an official request, how could the Pope refuse to take part after having so often recommended peace?” ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, Parte I, Italia, posiz. 1336, ff. 123r–28r. The underlines are in the original.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 23
Babuscio report, signed Pucci, n.d., AAV, Carte Babuscio Rizzo, b. 1, fasc. 2, ff. 110–11.
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Chapter 31: Musical Chairs
OSS report, July 28, 1943, FDR Library, mr 436, pp. 111–12.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
Ivone 2002, p. 27; Grandi 1985, pp. 602–3; Cannistraro 1982, pp. 53–55.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
FDR to Churchill, July 25, 1943, FDR Library, mr 159, p. 153; Churchill to FDR, July 28, 1943, FDR Library, mr 159, pp. 142–44; Hull 1948, vol. 2, p. 1361; Osborne to Maglione, August 4, 1943, ADSS, vol. 7, n. 328. The ellipsis is in the original.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
Eisenhower to War Department, July 26, 1943, FDR Library, mr 159, pp. 150–51; FDR to Churchill, July 27 and 28, 1943, FDR Library, mr 21, pp. 117–19 and 122–23. For the final text of Eisenhower’s message to the Italian people, see War Department to Eisenhower, July 28, 1943, FDR Library, mr 159, p. 132.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 4
Churchill to FDR, July 29, 1943, FDR Library, mr 159, pp. 125–26. On the British POWs in Italy in August 1943, see Teresa Malice, “Prigionieri militari nella Seconda guerra mondiale tra Italia e Inghilterra,” E-Review: Rivista degli Istituti Storici dell’Emilia Romagna in Rete (2013), doi: 10.12977/ereview44.
In the wake of Mussolini’s overthrow, the German government was eager to extract British POWs to Germany, afraid that if they remained in Italy they might be freed. On August 25, Babuscio gave Cardinal Maglione a typed sheet reporting a conversation he had had the previous day with Otto von Bismarck, from the German embassy in Rome. Bismarck had told him that “Germany is urgently requesting all the prisoners of war that German troops captured in North Africa and Sicily,” saying that the “German army has the right to have these prisoners.” The Germans were demanding that at least fifty thousand POWs be transported immediately to Germany. ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, parte I, Italia, posiz. 1336, ff. 249rv.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 5
Goebbels 1948, pp. 407–16, diary entry for July 27, 1943.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 6
Maglione notes, July 27, 1943, ADSS, vol. 7, n. 316. The list of Mussolini family members is found with Maglione’s handwritten note, dated August 28, 1943, at ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, parte I, Italia, posiz. 1336, ff. 250r–51r. On the ties that members of the Mussolini family, including Rachele, had with the Vatican, see also the government informant reports at ACS, MIFP, serie B, b. 8, “Mussolini famiglia.”
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The previous morning the pope had met with another leading member of the Fascist Grand Council, Luigi Federzoni, for an hourlong private audience. See the undated report found at AAV, Carte Babuscio Rizzo, b. 1, fasc. 2, f. 113r.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 8
Grandi 1985, pp. 651–52. Grandi would be the beneficiary of Vatican support following the fall of Fascism, relying in good part on Monsignor Montini. See the thick file of correspondence at AAV, Segr. Stato, 1950–54, Stati e Corpo diplomatico, posiz. 352.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 9
Bastianini 2005, pp. 223–27.
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Guariglia 1950, pp. 739–40.
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Guariglia to Babuscio Rizzo, July 30, 1943, tel. 23678, ASDMAE, Gab., b. 1198, UC–82; Guariglia 1950, pp. 739–40; Weizsäcker to Foreign Ministry, Berlin, August 4, 1943, tel. 339, PAAA, GBS, 29818, 24–25. More detail on Babuscio’s diplomatic career, including his PNF membership booklet, can be found in ASDMAE, Personale Serie VII, Babuscio Rizzo.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 12
Tortoreto 1956; Di Capua 2005, pp. 414–15.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 13
OSS report, August 1, 1943, FDR Library, mr 436, p. 52; Colli, August 2, 1943, ASDMAE, AISS, b. 130. In its first report on the Catholic press under the new regime, the Italian embassy to the Holy See told how all of the country’s major Catholic press had immediately called for good Catholics to support the new government. August 5, 1943, tel. 2502, ACS, MCPG, b. 133. Fear of popular disorder following the regime’s collapse and especially fear of a Communist uprising in Italy’s northern cities led the government to turn to the Vatican for help. The head of the propaganda ministry sent a note to Guariglia, the new foreign minister. In the wake of the dissolution of the Fascist Party and the installation of the new government, he advised, there was urgent need for a propaganda effort, aimed particularly at the industrial workers and their families, to combat the subversive movements active among them: “The aid of the clergy would seem to be particularly indicated.” The memo suggested that Guariglia sound out the Vatican, so that the propaganda ministry could “inform the Prefects of the Kingdom of the resulting agreements for a necessary action of coordination with the religious Authorities.”
Guariglia took the proposal to Cardinal Maglione and Monsignor Montini, who voiced their full support. Catholic Action had already issued a call for obedience to the new authorities, and the cardinal said that many of Italy’s bishops were spontaneously making pleas of this kind as well. A similar report of the support by Italy’s high clergy was sent to Guariglia by Babuscio Rizzo from the Italian embassy to the Vatican on August 10; n. 2572/979, ASDMAE, AISS, b. 164.
At the same time, Maglione made a request of the foreign minister. The Vatican had learned that the new government was planning to replace Luigi Federzoni as head of the prestigious Royal Academy of Italy with the renowned humanist, Benedetto Croce, a man known for his diffidence toward the institutional church. Such an appointment, argued the cardinal, would be offensive to all good Catholics. Responding to his request, Guariglia assured him that there was no plan to appoint a new head of the academy. Indeed, having been established under Fascism and closely bound to it, the academy would be allowed to die. Rocco, Ministry of Popular Culture, Appunto per Guariglia, August 9, 1943, and Guariglia reply, August 10, 1943, nn. 29648, 2602/989, ASDMAE, AISS, b. 130. See also AAV, Arch. Nunz. Italia, b. 31, fasc. 7, ff. 2r, 3r, 4r.
