War Memorial in Rome

[DerBlitzer]

On a recent trip to Rome, I was looking for WWII sites (not many to be found, it seems, that are marked or preserved). One was the former Nazi prison, now a museum run on a shoestring budget, which was similar to one I saw in Cologne.

Another was this plaque, which was located not far from the Capitoline Hill, and very near the remains of an ancient temple. I don't know enough Italian to translate it, so I didn't know what it commemorated. Could someone here translate this?

[DerBlitzer]

Hmm, not sure if the image link appeared or not.

Try again:

Rome War Memorial

[Andreas]

It is a small place near Teatro Marcello, at the entrance to the Ghetto of Rome. The plague commemorates the first deportation of Jews from Rome, and I believe they were assembled on this place on 16 October 1943. If I understand it correctly this first deportation consisted of 2,090 persons.

I passed there regularly last year, since our wedding list was kept in a shop set up in the small old church overlooking the Piazza.

All the best

Andreas

[Andreas]

A few days after the Germans captured Rome (Sept. 9-10, 1943), Himmler ordered immediate preparations for the arrest and deportation of all Jews in Rome and the vicinity - over 10,000 persons. H. Kappler, the S.S. Commanding officer in Rome, first extorted 50 kg of gold from the Jewish community, to be paid by September 26 (on 36 hours' notice), with a warning that 200 Jews would otherwise be put to death. The gold, which was collected among the Jews without resorting to outside aid, was delivered on time. Nevertheless, on September 29, a special German police force broke into the community offices and looted the ancient archives; and on October 13, looted the excellent and priceless libraries of the community and the Rabbinic college. On October 16, a mass huntdown of Rome's Jews was carried out by German forces, who under Kappler and Dannecker's orders made house-to-house searches on every street, and arrested all the Jews - men, women, and children. Some of the population assisted Jews in escaping or hiding, but nevertheless 1,007 Jews were caught and sent to Auschwitz where they were killed (October 23, 1943). From then on, until June 4, 1944, the day of the liberation, the methodic roundup of Jews hiding in the "aryan" homes of friends or in catholic institutions continued. In this latter period over 1,000 Jews were caught and put to death at Auschwitz. A total of 2,091 Jews (1,067 men, 74 women, and 281children) were killed in this manner. Another 73 Jews were among the 335 prisoners executed in the Fosse Ardeatine, outside Rome, as a retaliatory measure against Italian partisan action against the Nazi occupants in Rome.

The rector of the German church in Rome, bishop A. Hudal, made futile attempts to defend the Jews. The Pope was requested publicly to denounce the hunt for Jews, but he did not respond, although he agreed to the shelter offered to individual Jews in catholic institutions including the Vatican.

http://www.bh.org.il/Communities/Archive/rome.asp

September 16

Germany occupies Rome with about 10,000 troops.

September 16

Himmler discusses the Jewish question with Ernst Kaltenbrunner, head of the Reich Security Main Office.

*September 18

Karl Wolff, formerly Himmler's liaison to Hitler and now appointed Highest SS and Police Leader for Italy, arrives in Rome and begins to work with new Fascist militia.

*September 21

Germans seize and ship off gold from Italy's state bank to Milan.

*September 24

German police attaché in Rome, Herbert Kappler, reports to Berlin that the Vatican had sold some Spanish, Argentinean, Mexican, and Portuguese visas to Jews trying to leave Rome on a train for Spanish diplomats.

September 26

Kappler starts to extract gold from Rome's Jewish community.

*September 29

Kappler reports that measures against Jews are creating Italian sympathy for them.

*October 6

Kappler indicates that Wolff had sent (Reich Security Main Office official) Theodor Dannecker to Rome to seize all Italian Jews in lightning actions and forward them to Germany. Although this action could not be carried out in Naples because of unfavorable conditions, preparations for the action in Rome have been concluded.

**October 6

Kappler receives an order to seize the 8,000 Jews in Rome, who are to be liquidated. A German diplomat suggests use of these Jews for work on fortifications in Italy as an alternative.

*October 11

Kaltenbrunner issues a stern order to Kappler as follows:

It is precisely the immediate and thorough eradication of the Jews in Italy which is [in] the special interest of the present internal political situation and the general security in Italy. To postpone the expulsion of the Jews... can no more be considered than the idea mentioned of calling up the Jews in Italy for what would probably be very unproductive labour under responsible direction by Italian authorities. The longer the delay, the more the Jews who are doubtless reckoning on evacuation measures have an opportunity by moving to the houses of pro-Jewish Italians of disappearing completely. [Dannecker] has been instructed in executing the RFSS [Himmler's] orders to proceed with the evacuation of the Jews without further delay.

October 15

Heinrich Mueller, head of the Gestapo, talks with a German Foreign Office official about the difficulties of seizing Jews in foreign countries with limited police manpower. He indicates misgivings about Hitler's order to roundup the Jews of Rome.

*October 16

Kappler reports to Kaltenbrunner that German forces managed to seize 1,259 Jews in Rome. The Italian police were considered unreliable in this action, and the Italian public engaged in passive resistance. Although the German police had to release the part-Jews, foreign Jews, and families in mixed marriages, they are scheduled to ship off 1002 Jews on October 18.

*October 20

Wilhelm Harster, commander of the Security Police and SD for Italy, reports that the transport of Jews from Rome numbered X70469 left Rome at 9 a.m. on October 18 and is travelling by way of Vienna and Prague to Auschwitz.

http://www.archives.gov/iwg/reports/june-2000.html

All the best

Andreas

[laca25]

Hi!

I was furtunate enough to go to Rome recently and of course I was looking for WW2 or some sort of a military museum. I went inside the Vittorio Emanuel monument but I would be interested to see something else as well. Could anybody give me may be some more point of interest?

Best regards

Laszlo

[DerBlitzer]

Check out this excellent guide to WWII sites in Rome and elsewhere in Italy:

Guide to WWII sites in Rome and elsewhere in Italy

It led me to see the Museo Storico della Liberazione di Roma (Museum about the Liberation of Rome) at the site of a former Nazi prison. The museum's descriptions are all in Italian, but if you don't speak the language you can still get a sense of the place. It's still frightening. A little off the beaten track.

Also, there's a monument to the massacre of Italians at the Ardeatine caves, where the Germans shot 335 Italians in retaliation for a partisan bomb. At Via Ardeatine.

[laca25]

Thank you!

[Andreas]

Great guide!

All the best

Andreas

[weags2]

This book might interest you. The Battle for Rome : The Germans, the Allies, the Partisans, and the Pope, September 1943-June 1944 by Robert Katz.

I just finished it and found it interesting. Detailed accounts of the German occupation and retaliations, partisan actions, OSS involvment, and the actions of the Pope (or lack thereof). If you are looking for a detailed account of the fight between the German occupiers and Roman Partisans you will be pleased. If you are looking for detailed accounts for the Allied battles and race for Rome look elsewhere. It is available for 10 bucks at amazon.

Regards,

WeAgs2