Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nation's Treasures from the Nazis (49 page)

257
“All your efforts to take these masterworks away”
Anti, “Lettera ad Alexander Langsdorff,” 4 April 1945, Anti Papers, Serie 2, n.2, 95.

257
Anti then offered to send a vehicle to transport the art
Ibid.

257
“the Italian state held him”
Anti, “Removal of Works of Art from Tuscany to Bolzano,” 23 June 1945.

257
“It is feared by the Germans”
Ferraro, “Memo,” signed Antonio, 10 April 1945, Poggi Papers, Serie VIII, n.155, 5.

258
Cagiati sent Don Anelli three urgent telegrams
Don Guido Anelli, Report to Giovanni Poggi, November 1945, Private Collection, Italy.

258
code-named “Penance”
“Morale Operations Report for Period 1–31 May 1945,” NARA, RG 226, Entry 99, Box 25, 7.

258
Cagiati made arrangements for Don Anelli to be airlifted
Memo by Marchese Filippo Serlupi Crescenzi, Poggi Papers, Serie VIII, n.154, 4.

258
“We interrupt this program”
Bernard Asbell,
When F.D.R. Died
(New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1961), 85.

258
“I have lost a dear and cherished”
Ibid., 95.

258
“We were doubtful”
Ibid., 97.

258
“My Führer, I congratulate you!”. . . . “It is written in the stars”
Ibid., 99.

258
“Here, read it!”
Albert Speer,
Inside the Third Reich: Memoirs
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1970), 463.

259
In a letter dated April 15
“Memorandum for the President,” 18 April 1945, from “Memoranda for the President: Sunrise,” Studies in Intelligence, vol. 7, issue 2, accessed via CIA Center for the Study of Intelligence, cia.gov.

259
“Honored Mr. D”
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender,
129.

259
Elements of U.S. Ninth Army
Hastings,
Armageddon
, 426.

259
two and a half million Red Army soldiers
Hastings,
Inferno
, 600. The three Soviet fronts totaled 2.5 million men.

259
On April 13, Himmler ordered
Wolff,
Mit Wissen Hitlers
, 137.

260
“a chance to do something”
Dulles,
From Hitler’s Doorstep
, 503. Dulles cable 22949, April 18, 1945.

260 * Lang,
Der Adjutant
, 279; Dulles,
The Secret Surrender
, 120.

260
“In case I should lose my command”
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender
, 132.

260
“It appears that Himmler”
Dulles,
From Hitler’s Doorstep
, 503. Dulles cable 22949, April 18, 1945.

260
On April 17, Wolff endured
Wolff,
Mit Wissen Hitlers
, 141.

260
Unbeknownst to Wolff
Lang,
Der Adjutant
, 273.

260
Wolff demanded that the three. . . . In the predawn hours
Wolff,
Mit Wissen Hitlers
, 142.

261
“If I am going to be hung”
Lang,
Der Adjutant
, 281.

261
Wolff and Kaltenbrunner had to wait
Wolff,
Mit Wissen Hitlers
, 143.

261
“Kaltenbrunner has announced to me”
Ibid., 146

261
Wolff presented his best defense
Ibid.

261
When the meeting resumed
Ibid., 147–48.

261
“They will come with many more offers”
Ibid., 150.

261
“Be sure no important civilian prisoners”
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender,
150.

261
General Wolff departed
Wolff,
Mit Wissen Hitlers
, 151.

262
“By letter today JCS direct”
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender,
137.

262
“at this time on acceptable terms”. . . . “complications”. . . . “whole matter”
Ibid. Supporting documents to/from Alexander/AFHQ Message Center, “Operation Crossword, negotiations in Switzerland prior to surrender of Germans in North Italy: correspondence, minutes of meetings and telegrams.” The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, Public Record Office: WO 204/40.

262
made increasingly acrimonious accusations
Lingen,
SS und Secret Service
, 71.

262
they had been denied
Ibid., 66.

262
“violation of our agreed principle”
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender
, 125.

262
“for your frank explanation”
Ibid., 127.

263
pulled the plug on Operation Sunrise
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender,
137; Erasmus Kloman,
Assignment Algiers: With the OSS in the Mediterranean Theatre
(Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2005), 88; Harry S. Truman,
Memoirs by Harry S. Truman: 1945: Year of Decisions
(New York: Konecky & Konecky, 1955). Truman’s book says Churchill was the one who insisted the plug be pulled and he went along, but Churchill’s memoirs do not state that it was his decision.

263
Unaware of the Western Allies’ change. . . . Dulles first contacted General Alexander
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender
, 139–40.

263
“It is more essential than ever”. . . . “No negotiations”
Dulles and Gaevernitz, “The First German Surrender,” 38.

263
Three days later, news leaked
Walter Schellenberg,
The Labyrinth: Memoirs of Walter Schellenberg, Hitler’s Chief of Counterintelligence
(New York: Da Capo Press, 2000), 399–402.

263
“shrugged his shoulders”
Dulles and Gaevernitz, “The First German Surrender,” 38.

263
Aware of the threat posed
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender
, 156.

263
convinced Gauleiter Hofer
Ibid., 132.

264
Wolff had deliberately avoided telling
Wolff,
Mit Wissen Hitlers
, 133–34.

264
“occupation of the Alpine region”
Hofer, “National Redoubt,” NARA, RG 549, M1035, B-458, 14–15.

264
“engaged in no negotiations”
Salter,
Nazi War Crimes
, 98.

264
“You know the incredible difficulties”
Wolff to Husmann and Waibel, April 25 1945, NARA, RG 226, Entry 190C, Box 8.

264
The third and fourth pages. . . . “SS families”. . . . “Immediate and Preferred Protection”. . . . “untouched coin collection”
Karl Wolff, “Sofortiger u. bevorzugter Schutz folg. Gebäude,” 25 April 1945. NARA, RG 226, Entry 190C, Box 8.

264
Quirinal Palace
Lang,
Top Nazi
, 307.

264
The other two buildings. . . . “contains approximately 300”. . . . “approximately 300 other oil paintings”
Wolff, “Sofortiger u. bevorzugter Schutz folg. Gebäude,” NARA, RG 226, Entry 190C, Box 8.

265
Wolff arranged for Langsdorff
Langsdorff Diary, February 1944–May 1945, Alexander Langsdorff Papers, Private Collection.

265
“the Italian population in order to”
Don Guido Anelli, Report to Giovanni Poggi, November 1945, Private Collection, Italy; Marchese Filippo Serlupi Crescenzi, “Promemoria sull’opera svolta dal sig. Maggiore Alessandro Cagiati,” Poggi Papers, Serie VIII, n.154, 4.

265
Anelli also recruited a fellow priest
Serlupi Crescenzi, “Promemoria sull’opera svolta dal sig. Maggiore Alessandro Cagiati,” Poggi Papers, Serie VIII, n.154, 4.

266
blacked-out roads
Field Report, 26 April 1945, Keller Papers, Box 21, Folder 33.

266
“. . . death, misery, ruination”
Letter to Parents, 25 April 1945, Keller Papers, Box 5, Folder 27.

266
“What a break to have met”
Letter to Kathy, 29 June 1945, Keller Papers, Box 8, Folder 55.

266
But Mauldin had never met
Mauldin,
Up Front
, 215.

266
Zampetti had since learned. . . . He immediately transcribed his notes
Croft-Murray, “Displaced Works of Art from Florence,” April 27, 1945, NARA, RG 331, 10000/145/401.

267
As a consequence
Hartt,
Florentine Art Under Fire
, 96.

267
However, not wanting to leave anything to chance
Poggi, “Memo,” 11 November 1944, Poggi Papers, Serie VIII, n.155, 5.

Chapter 25: Surrender

269
At noon on April 28
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender
, 172.

270
The first official meeting began at 6 p.m
Dulles and Gaevernitz, “The First German Surrender,” 42.

270
Major General Kislenko
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender
, 174.

270
While Wenner appeared ready
Ibid., 175

270
During the morning of April 29. . . . hostilities in Italy would end
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender
, 176–77. The surrender document says only: 1200 hours (Greenwich Mean Time), but London, and Italy, were on GMT+2, double summer time, during the war.

270
“The German Commander-in-Chief”
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender
, 179.

270
Unanticipated delays in their return
Ibid., 180–83.

270
Later that morning
Ibid., 195.

271
Lake Karer
Lang,
Der Adjutant
, 289.

271
Four days earlier
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender
, 190.

271
On the way, Dollmann stopped
Ibid., 191.

271
“was very nervous of the whole thing.”
CSDIC/CMF/X 168, Conversation between Wolff and Huegel, 26 May 1945, Donovan Nuremberg Trial Collection, Cornell Law Library, 3.

271
“What will you do”. . . . “You can be sure”
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender
, 192.

272
Gauleiter Hofer’s farmhouse
Wolff,
Mit Wissen Hitlers
, 177.

272
“As soldiers we [have] to obey”
Kesselring,
The Memoirs of Field-Marshal Kesselring
, 288–89.

272
For that reason, Kesselring
CSDIC/CMF/X 168, Donovan Nuremberg Trial Collection, 3.

272
After departing Hofer’s farmhouse. . . . “that he would no longer”
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender,
193–94.

272
“honor and loyalty”
Ibid.

273
on April 28, he held a meeting
Lang,
Der Adjutant
, 288.

273
claiming this was the first time
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender,
195.

273
“a constructive solution”
Hofer, “National Redoubt,” NARA, RG 549, M1035, B-458, 16.

273
Hofer then demanded
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender
, 195.

273
“People are going over my head!”
Ibid.

273
“unconditional surrender”
Ibid., 195.

274
“Fight—don’t think about negotiating”
Ibid.

274
Kesselring’s near-exact repetition
Lang raises the idea in
Der Adjutant,
313, that during his incarceration at Nuremberg, SS Gruppenführer Walter Schellenberg, chief of German espionage, informed Wolff that the traitor was the Chief of the Swiss Defense, Colonel Roger Masson, Waibel’s superior.

274
“disappeared—his courage had given out completely”
CSDIC/CMF/X 168, Donovan Nuremberg Trial Collection, 4.

274
“Kaltenbrunner is now attempting”
Dulles,
From Hitler’s Doorstep
, 517. Dulles telegram 9519, April 29, 1945.

274
Having just learned about
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender
, 184.

274
Schweinitz and Wenner finally reached
CSDIC/CMF/X 168, Donovan Nuremberg Trial Collection, 4.

275
Around 7 a.m. on May 1
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender
, 197.

275
“prevent [Röttiger] from blowing out his brains”
CSDIC/CMF/X 168, Donovan Nuremberg Trial Collection, 5.

275
Wolff the salesman went to work
Ibid.

276
Röttiger even apologized
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender
, 198.

276
relinquish control of Army Group C back to Schulz
CSDIC/CMF/X 168, Donovan Nuremberg Trial Collection, 6.

276
At 6 p.m. . . . Further fighting was futile
Dulles and Gaevernitz, “The First German Surrender,” 49.

276
when Schulz and Wolff tried
CSDIC/CMF/X 168, Donovan Nuremberg Trial Collection, 6.

276
At 9:30 p.m. . . . After placing another call
Dulles and Gaevernitz, “The First German Surrender,” 49.

276
With the arrival of warm sausages and mustard
Dulles, “Diary-notes of events leading to the surrender of the German armies in Italy,” Notes of Wolff & Harster, 63.

276
One of the subordinate commanders
Dulles,
The Secret Surrender
, 199–200.

276
Wolff sent a second message to Alexander
CSDIC/CMF/X 168, Donovan Nuremberg Trial Collection, 7.

277
“It is reported from the Führer’s headquarters”
“Karl Doenitz: Announcement of Hitler’s Death, May 1, 1945,” Federal Communications Commission, http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1945/1945-05-01a.html.

277
“At the end of his struggle”
Ibid.

277
“breathed a sigh of relief”. . . . “There were tears in our eyes”
CSDIC/ CMF/X 168, Donovan Nuremberg Trial Collection, 7.