Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nation's Treasures from the Nazis (44 page)

142
Keller arrived the following day. . . . “We were called”
“Fine Arts Section,” Keller Papers, Box 19, Folder 10, 26.

143
Keller entered the palace. . . . Imprisoned inside the crates. . . . “The French captain in charge”. . . . The doctor hurriedly added. . . . After examining the unprotected paintings
Field Report, 11 June 1944, Keller Papers, Box 21, Folder 31.

144
protected-monuments sign posted
“Fine Arts Section,” Keller Papers, Box 19, Folder 10, 29.

144
“I am really very fortunate”
Letter to Kathy, 23 July 1944, Keller Papers, Box 7, Folder 48.

144
Giovanni Poggi received a summons
Cooper and DeWald. “Report on the German Kunstschutz,” NARA, RG 239, M1944, Roll 71, 16.

144
With barely a greeting . . . “if Villa Bossi-Pucci”
Poggi, “Relazione sui Monumenti e le Opere d’Arte di Firenze durante la guerra 1940–1945,” 5 June 1945, Poggi Papers, Serie VIII, n.157, 12.

145
fluent in both German and French
Elena Lombardi, ed.,
L’Archivio di Giovanni Poggi (1880–1961): soprintendente alle Gallerie fiorentine
(Florence: Edizione Polistampa, 2011), 40.

145
thirty-eight art repositories
Thirty-eight repositories and a summary of their contents are listed in Hartt, “Report on Deposits of Art-Treasures in Tuscany,” December 3, 1944, NARA, RG 239, M1944, Roll 67. This list includes repositories for works of art, archives, and church property throughout Tuscany. Hartt later noted only thirty-seven repositories in
Florentine Art Under Fire
. Fasola listed twenty-four in
The Florence Galleries and the War
. Poggi’s lists are inconsistent in the names and numbers of repositories.

145
which housed close to three hundred
Cesare Fasola,
The Florence Galleries and the War: History and Records
(Florence: Monsalvato, 1945), 79–94.

145
“a character who walked out”
Lombardi, ed.,
L’Archivio di Giovanni Poggi
, 41.

145
The following year, he helped recover
Press release of the Commune of Florence, dated 4 January 2005, for a meeting on the role of Giovanni Poggi in the retrieval of the
Mona Lisa
.
“Il Ritrovamento della Gioconda a Firenze.” Un convegno in onore del sovrintendente Giovanni Poggi
, 26 January 2005, Florence.

146
“due to agreements”. . . . “We are not rejecting”
Poggi, “Relazione sui Monumenti e le Opere d’Arte di Firenze durante la guerra 1940–1945,” 5 June 1945, Poggi Papers, Serie VIII, n.157, 12.

146
“frenzied lucidity”
(Lombardi)
. . . . almost six hundred major works
(Poggi) Lombardi, ed.,
L’archivio di Giovanni Poggi
, 36; Poggi, “Prima relazione sulla protezione delle opere d’arte mobili,” 20 June 1940, Poggi Papers, Serie VIII, n.154.

146
With the dramatic increase in Allied bombing
Poggi, “Relazione sui Monumenti e le Opere d’Arte di Firenze durante la guerra 1940–1945,” 5 June 1945, Poggi Papers, Serie VIII, n.157, 12.

147
The groupings of art
Ibid. Lists of the repositories also appear in various documents in Giovanni Poggi Papers, n.154, 3–4 and n.156, 31–42.

147
Villa di Torre a Cona
Hartt,
Florentine Art Under Fire
, 29.

147
The Castle of Montegufoni
Ibid., 18.

147
But Poggi made the decision
Cesare Fasola, “Perchè non abbiamo impedito l’esodo delle opere d’arte Fiorentine?”
Il Ponte
, May (1945), 141–46.

148
transported from Florence uncrated
Field Report, 7 June 1945, Keller Papers, Box 21, Folder 33, 2.

148
On June 18, 1944, Poggi had attended
Poggi, “Relazione sui Monumenti e le Opere d’Arte di Firenze durante la guerra 1940–1945,” 5 June 1945, Giovanni Poggi Papers, n.157, 12.

148
“It is too late”
Carlo Anti, “Agenda 1944,” 18 June 1944, Anti Papers, Serie 1, n. 2.

148
Poggi shrewdly parried the request with the Medici Family Pact . . . “never be removed”
Poggi, “Relazione sui Monumenti e le Opere d’Arte di Firenze durante la guerra 1940–1945,” 5 June 1945, Poggi Papers, Serie VIII, n.157, 12.

149
loaded 291 paintings
“Report on Deposits of Art-Treasures in Tuscany,” 3 December 1944. NARA, RG 239, M1944, Roll 67. Not surprisingly, accounts vary on the actual number of objects taken from Montagnana, from 257 (Poggi, “Relations dei Soprintendente alle Gallerie e Musei di Firenze,” 1 April 1945) to 297 (Hartt’s
Florentine Art Under Fire
).

149
“At one blow”
Hartt,
Florentine Art Under Fire
, 20.

149
Gerhard Wolf requested that Langsdorff
Poggi, “Relations dei Soprintendente alle Gallerie e Musei di Firenze,” 1 April 1945, NARA RG 331, 10000/145/363; Poggi, “Lettera a Carlo Anti,” 19–20 July 1944, Anti Papers, Serie 2, Salvaguardia patrimonio artistico italiano/Opere d’arte toscane trasferite dalle Autorità Germaniche in Alto Adige, n.2, 9.

149
three German trucks
Tutaev,
The Consul of Florence
, 195.

149
“that since the castle of Oliveto”
Poggi, “Relations dei Soprintendente alle Gallerie e Musei di Firenze,” 1 April 1945, NARA, RG 331, 10000/145/363.

149
The unloading of paintings commenced
Ibid.

150
Conti then shared
Ibid.

150
Poggi began by informing Langsdorff
Cooper and DeWald, “Report on the German Kunstschutz,” NARA, RG 239, M1944, Roll 71, 7.

150
June 18 meeting
Poggi, “Relazione sui Monumenti e le Opere d’Arte di Firenze durante la guerra 1940–1945,” 5 June 1945, Poggi Papers, Serie VIII, n.157, 12.

150
prepare a memorandum
Poggi, “Promemoria per il Col. Langsdorff” (no date), Poggi Papers, Serie VIII, n.154, 4; Cooper and DeWald, “Report on the German Kunstschutz,” NARA, RG 239, M1944, Roll 71, 7.

150
“The rescue of art objects by the troops”
Armeeoberkommando 14, Chef des Generalstabes an Deutsche Botschaft, z.Hd. Gesandtschaftsrat Berger, Betr.: Bergung von Kunstgegenständen, 14 July 1944, Kunstschutz Papers, Siviero Archive.

151
“bishops of Bologna or Modena”
Ibid.

151
German troops had in fact attempted
Langsdorff, “Bericht über Bergungsfahrten von Kunstwerken aus dem Frontbereich bei Florenz der Abt. Kunst-, Archiv- und Bibliothekenschutz des Bevollmächtigten Generals der Deutschen Wehrmacht in Italien in der Zeit vom 16.7.–14.8.44,” 21 August 1944, Kunstschutz Papers, Siviero Archive.

151
the bishops had turned them away
Renato Bartoccini, “Promemoria per l’eccellenza il Ministro,” 31 July 1944, Anti Papers, Serie 2, n.2, 15; Antonino Sorrentino, “Lettera a Carlo Anti,” 20 August 1944, Anti Papers, Serie 2, n.2, 27; Alfredo Barbacci, “Lettera a Carlo Anti,” 21 August 1944, Anti Papers, Serie 2, n.2, 28. Telex/Telegram, Langsdorff to Regierungspräsident Kanstein, 17 July 1944, Kunstschutz Papers, Siviero Archive.

151
“Some art deposits in villas”
Cooper and DeWald, “Report on the German Kunstschutz,” NARA, RG 239, M1944, Roll 71, 7. Also see Telex/Telegram Langsdorff to Regierungspräsident Kanstein, 17 July 1944, Kunstschutz Papers, Siviero Archive.

151
report that he had inspected the castello
Poggi, Handwritten Memo, 17–18 July 1944, Poggi Papers, Serie VIII, n.155, 5.

151
his promise to find and return
Poggi, Handwritten Memo, 19 July 1944, Poggi Papers, Serie VIII, n.155, 5.

151
“handed over by the troops”
Langsdorff, “Bericht über Bergungsfahrten von Kunstwerken,” 21 August 1944, Kunstschutz Papers, Siviero Archive.

152
“separated from the rest”
Cooper and DeWald. “Report on German Kunstschutz,” NARA, RG 239, M1944, Roll 71, 7.

152
receipt for “two undamaged pictures”
Ibid.

152
Langsdorff had already checked out
Ibid.; Poggi, Handwritten Memo 19 July 1944, Poggi Papers, Serie VIII, n.155, 5.

Chapter 15: Guardian Angels

154
“the past contending with the present”
Samuel Rogers, “Florence,” lines 5–6.

154
“represented the pledge of love”
“Manifesto del Comitato per la raccolta dei fondi,” in Comitato per la ricostruzione del ponte a S. Trinità,
Il ponte a S. Trinità
(
Florence: Tip. E. Rinaldi, 1957), 15.

155
“Florence is too beautiful”
Tutaev,
The Consul of Florence
, 94. In Rahn’s memoirs,
Ruheloses Leben
, pp. 260–61, he dated this meeting to late July 1944, but Tutaev’s book, written in 1966, relied upon documents and extensive discussions with Rahn and other key participants in an effort to reconstruct the timeline of the events.

155
first suggested by
Fasola,
The Florence Galleries and the War
, 56.

155
But for a city to be declared “open”
Elia Dalla Costa, “Storia vera su Firenze “città aperta,” in Comnène,
Firenze “città aperta.” Contributo per la storia dell’occupazione tedesca in Italia
, 69–70.

155
German forces had positioned
Ibid., 71.

156
German leaders referred to Florence
Tutaev,
The Consul of Florence
, 134–35; Schramm, ed.,
Kriegstagebuch des Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Wehrmachtführungsstab), Band IV: 1. Januar 1944–22. Mai 1945, Erster Halbband,
533.

156
After four years of service
Tutaev,
The Consul of Florence
, 17.

156
Seeking to distance himself
Ibid., 21.

156
During Hitler’s 1938 visit
Archivio Storico del Comune di Firenze, ed.
Firenze. 9 Maggio 1938
. Small collection of essays on the occasion of the exhibition “Il ritorno all’ordine. 1938—L’immagine di Firenze per la visita del Fuhrer,” 25 September–31 October 2012 (Florence: P.O. Archivi e Collezioni Librarie Storiche, 2012), 15. 

156
“any other cross, if not that of Christ”
“Biography of Elia Dalla Costa,” Archivio Storico Diocesano, Florence.

157
“His Eminence Cardinal Elia Dalla Costa”
Filippo Serlupi Crescenzi Report, “La difesa dei tesori artistici e culturali fiorentini,” undated, Private Collection, Italy.

157
While he pleaded with the German commanders
Cardinal Dalla Costa, “Lettera al Maresciallo Kesselring,” 1 July 1944, Elia Dalla Costa Papers, Archivio Storico Diocesano, Florence.

157
“in order to truly protect Florentine works of art”
Serlupi Crescenzi Report, “La difesa dei tesori artistici e culturali fiorentini.”

157
“I had to ask Serlupi” . . . “to turn the interest”
Poggi, “Relazione sui rapporti intercorsi tra la R. Soprintendenza alle Gallerie e il marchese avv. Filippo Serlupi Crescenzi, nel periodo antecedente la liberazione di Firenze,” 28 June 1945, Poggi Papers, Serie VIII, n.154, 4.

157
“Marchese Serlupi did not miss one chance”
Bernard Berenson, “Per la verità,” June 20, 1945, Private Collection, Italy.

157
Carlo Steinhäuslin, a native Florentine. . . . particularly concerned with protecting the city’s water pipes
Paolo Paoletti, “Il console svizzero Charles Steinhauslin,” in Giorgio Mollisi,
Svizzeri a Firenze: Nella storia
,
nella cultura, nell’economia dal Cinquecento ad oggi
(Lugano: Ticino Management, 2010), 406–14; Carlo Steinhäuslin, “Che cosa ho fatto per Firenze. Appunti giornalieri per i miei figli” (bound manuscript by Carlo Steinhäuslin, consul of Switzerland in Florence during the German occupation: notes on the events between 26 July and 25 August 1944, with copies of documents), Deutsches Historisches Institut, Rome, Archiv, N 9 Gerhard Wolf, IV. Schriften Dritter, no. 61.

158
“an official declaration”
Tutaev,
The Consul of Florence
, 118.

158
“never realised what it was like”
Ibid., 120.

158
“I therefore have to say”
Alfred Jodl letter to Nicola Comnène, 12 May 1944, Private Archive, Italy.

158
Working out of a home
Tutaev,
The Consul of Florence
, 126.

158
“tables laden with thick whips”
Ibid., 127.

158
Rahn gently ordered his friend
Tutaev,
The Consul of Florence
, 207.

158
German
Embassy at Fasano
Jürgen Klöckner, “Verhinderter Archivalienraub in Italien, Theodor Mayer und die Abteilung ‘Archivschutz’ bei der Militärverwaltung in Verona 1943–1945,” in
Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken
, vol. 86 (Rome: Deutsches Historisches Institut, 2006), 501.

159
Gerhard Wolf left the city . . . “ashamed of what the German soldiers”
Steinhäuslin, “Che cosa ho fatto per Firenze. Appunti giornalieri per i miei figli,” 31 July 1944, Deutsches Historisches Institut, Rome, Archiv, N 9 Gerhard Wolf, IV. Schriften Dritter, no. 61, note 4.

159
On Saturday, July 29, German commanders
Tutaev,
The Consul of Florence
, 221.

159 * Comnène,
Firenze “città aperta,”
49.

159
Poggi, Dalla Costa, and Steinhäuslin composed a letter
Letter signed by Dalla Costa, Poggi, and others, July 30, 1944, in Comnène,
Firenze “città aperta,”
86.

159
“For me a bridge is just a bridge”
Tutaev,
The Consul of Florence
, 208.