Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nation's Treasures from the Nazis by Edsel Robert M

Author:Edsel, Robert M. [Edsel, Robert M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 2013-05-06T00:00:00+00:00

AFTER RETURNING TO his headquarters from the second meeting with Dulles and the “military advisers,” Wolff once again turned his attention to the artwork. At the time, Wolff and Gauleiter Hofer had reached an understanding that neither would make decisions about the art without the other’s consent. But Hofer’s alliance with his fellow Austrian—SS General Ernst Kaltenbrunner—meant he couldn’t be trusted. Others shared Wolff’s opinion. General Director of Fine Arts Carlo Anti had long believed that, “in view of Hofer’s anti-Italian feeling there was reason to be very anxious for the fate of our works of art,” noting that even Dr. Ringler “confessed to me that he felt unsafe.” Hofer apparently distrusted Ringler because he was Catholic and not a Nazi Party member.

Meanwhile, Wolff’s secret discussions with the Allies had begun to complicate his working relationship with Langsdorff. Unaware that Wolff had ulterior plans for the treasures, Langsdorff had urged Ringler to press Hofer to allow an Italian supervisor at the repositories. He expected Hofer to agree readily. Instead, Langsdorff was surprised when he received notice on March 21 from Ringler that “the Gauleiter in agreement with Obergruppenführer Wolff had refused to give permission for [Superintendent of Galleries of Genoa] Morassi’s journey for the purpose of permanently controlling the treasures. . . .” Wolff’s sudden and unexplained shift confounded Langsdorff. Weeks would pass before he would understand the reason.

Gauleiter Hofer wasn’t the only perceived threat to the art. The nearby population had little reason to defend Italian patrimony; most considered themselves Tyrolean. Dr. Ringler wrote Langsdorff to inform him that “the farmers are tired of this endless standing guard [at the repositories] and [complained] that nobody was at their farms taking care of the fields. One did not understand this effort of precaution, if at the same time our art in the Reich is going under.” Carlo Anti bluntly summarized the risk: “Dangerous are the South Tyroleans, and not so much the Germans.”

On March 21, Wolff set out by car for Kesselring’s headquarters, known as Adlerhorst (Eagle’s Nest), a complex of bunkers that had served as Hitler’s command post and residence during the five weeks of the Ardennes offensive. Because of Allied strafing, a drive that should have taken him five hours consumed a day and a night. Upon arriving at headquarters, near the spa town of Bad Nauheim, about twenty-five miles north of Frankfurt am Main, Wolff learned to his astonishment that Allied forces were just ten miles away. The deteriorating situation on the battlefront had forced Kesselring to begin evacuating his headquarters less than two weeks into his new assignment.

With field telephones ringing and Kesselring barking orders to his commanders, Wolff found it difficult to conduct sensitive discussions. Battlefield conditions supported Wolff’s argument for an early surrender, but Kesselring refused. “The idea is a good one for Italy,” Kesselring informed Wolff. “But it cannot be carried out by myself for the Western front. I am too new in this command.” While Kesselring wouldn’t surrender his forces, he did

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