7803 Partisan operations in Lunigiana

Great post, Derek. This is something that I've always been fascinated about & have heard a number of stories from older frieds living there about their experiences and memories of that time when Germans would raid or search villages for Partisans.

I'm also glad that the Museum has imporved their website as we'd tried to find the place a while back but (despite the signs) never managed to find it...

Thanks for that information Derek, I will get the book, we have both been very interested in the history of the area during the war. One of my neighbours told me how the Germans came to the village where we are, arrested a woman thought to have helped the partisans and took her away with them, not to return.

You're not in the area over the next 5 weeks?

[quote=julielunigiana;74109]Thanks for that information Derek, I will get the book, we have both been very interested in the history of the area during the war. One of my neighbours told me how the Germans came to the village where we are, arrested a woman thought to have helped the partisans and took her away with them, not to return.

You're not in the area over the next 5 weeks?[/quote]

Hi Julie. We're not around until the last weekend in November Will you be there?

I'd certainly recommend the book Julie [you too, tusc]. Filattiera get's a mention! There's an interesting [amusing even] part which explains why Pontremoli was relatively untouched by allied bombing, in comparison to Villafranca & Aulla.
BTW. The flag of Lett's International Brigade [a mix of the British & Italian flags] hangs in Pontremoli town hall and is paraded every year during the festa (not sure when that is). Keep a look out for it!

Is this the book Derek? 'Love and War in the Appenines'
If so it is cheaper from Amazon -see link below:

[url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-War-Apennines-Picador-Books/dp/0330280244/ref=sr_1_1/203-4927690-3082333?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192621675&sr=1-1]Amazon.co.uk: Love and War in the Apennines (Picador Books): Books: Eric Newby[/url]

Lorraine

Thanks for this Derek, I think that might just make a useful Christmas present (which I get to enjoy too :winki:).

[quote=Lorraine;74275]Is this the book Derek? 'Love and War in the Appenines'..........[/quote]
No, the book is [B]ROSSANO (An adventure of the Italian Resistance)[/B] by Major Gordon Lett, DSO, FRGS. and noted:
here -> [URL]http://www.italymag.co.uk/2005/news-from-italy/the-monte-san-martino-trust/[/URL]
here -> [url=http://www.prisonerofwar.org.uk/book_reviews.htm#ROSSANO%20(An%20adventure%20of%20the%20Italian%20Resistance)%20by%20Major%20Gordon%20Lett]Book Reviews[/url],

and avilable from the Trust

Oops! Soz, thought that was the 'title' of the paragraph.

I have got the book now and am looking forward to reading it. Keith Kilby was extremely helpful and very interesting. We also read in Kinter Beever's book 'A Tuscan Childhood' that a lot of damage was done to Aulla in April 1945when a mortar round from the partisan position in the mountains hit a German ammunition train sitting in the station. The railway lines were thrown up onto the roof of the Fortezza!

Have sent you a PM

We would love to get the Lett book, Rossano (An adventure of the Italian Resistance), and have sent two emails to the Monte San Martino Trust to get ordering details. But, have not received any response. How did those of you who have obtained a copy order it? Were you able to have it sent to you in Italy?

Thanks for any help you can give.

[quote=Peter and Diane;76269]We would love to get the Lett book, Rossano (An adventure of the Italian Resistance), and have sent two emails to the Monte San Martino Trust to get ordering details. But, have not received any response. How did those of you who have obtained a copy order it? Were you able to have it sent to you in Italy?

Thanks for any help you can give.[/quote]

Hi. Give Keith Kilby a call on the phone. The number is on the Trust's website. I wouldn't say email is checked or used on a regular basis.
I got 2 copies sent to Ireland so sending the book to Italy shouldn't be a problem. Send him a registered letter with enough money to cover the cost of the book (£10) and the postage to Italy (and maybe a small donation to the Trust?).

If you're contacting him, can you tell him about the interest being generated here on the forum? Perhaps Gordon Lett's son will be interested?
Thanks.

Thanks Derek!

We will call this week and order the book. And, we'll be happy to let him know about the interest on the forum.

Diane and Peter

I will definitely get this book for my partner for Xmas. Thank you for letting us know.

I've just been notified of a new book out called "At War in Italy 1943-1945"

the blurb says "This book relates the experiences of British and Allied servicemen who fought Germans and Fascists in WWII Italy. Using eyewitness accounts and wartime top-secret official reports, the author describes Allied PoW escapes, secret missions by land, sea and air, and guerilla warfare alongside the Italian partisans"

You can see more at [url=http://www.emiliapublishing.com/]Emilia Publishing - books on Prisoners of War and SOE in Italy.[/url]

[quote=annec;76858]I've just been notified of a new book out called "At War in Italy 1943-1945"[/quote]

Thanks for that. Let us know what it's like if you decide to buy.

[quote=annec;76858]I've just been notified of a new book out called "At War in Italy 1943-1945"

the blurb says "This book relates the experiences of British and Allied servicemen who fought Germans and Fascists in WWII Italy. Using eyewitness accounts and wartime top-secret official reports, the author describes Allied PoW escapes, secret missions by land, sea and air, and guerilla warfare alongside the Italian partisans"

You can see more at [url=http://www.emiliapublishing.com/]Emilia Publishing - books on Prisoners of War and SOE in Italy.[/url][/quote]

If you're interested in that, and you're in Montefalcone, you'll probably be interested in this:

ASSOCIAZIONE CASA DELLA MEMORIA
(HOUSE OF REMEMBRANCE ASSOCIATION)
Centre for Peace Education – Social Non-Profit Organization

INVITES YOU TO A MEETING ON

THE SERVIGLIANO PRISON CAMP
(1915 – 1955)
with the presentation of a film (in Italian) about the history of the camp
and explanations, if necessary, in English, after each part:
1st World War POW - 2nd World War POW – Jewish Concentration - Refugees.

Friday 14 December 2007 - 6 p.m.

PIZZERIA “RE LEONE”, SERVIGLIANO
(after the meeting dinner for those who can stay, at a cost of about 20 euro)

Email [email]info@casadellamemoria.org[/email] [url=http://www.casadellamemoria.org]The Servigliano Prison Camp[/url]
iscritta al Registro Regionale delle ONLUS

_______________________________________________________

Keith Killby, who is the president of the Monte San Martino Trust, was a prisoner here in Servigliano, and hid for the winter (1943-44) in Monte San Martino, whence the name of the Trust.

Have a look at our website too.

I hope to see you Friday 14th.

Giangiacomo

Are you involved in this in some way giangiacomo?

For a glimpse of life in Servigliano this is worth looking at (very funny in places also):

[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/48/a1986348.shtml]BBC - WW2 People's War - Anecdotes from Life as a POW Taken by the Italians[/url]

[quote=annec;77981]Are you involved in this in some way giangiacomo?[/quote]

Yes, I'm on the Board of Directors of Associazione Casa Della Memoria and did the website. I'm also organizing this dinner.

Giangi

I am delighted that news of my new book, 'At War in Italy 1943-1945: True Adventures in Enemy Territory,' has reached the Italy magazine forums.

As Annec kindly mentions, full details are on the Emilia Publishing website at [URL="http://www.emiliapublishing.com"]Emilia Publishing - books on Prisoners of War and SOE in Italy.[/URL]

My Italian mother and grandparents helped Allied escaped prisoners of war and my British father was a soldier in the 8th Army.

I look forward to taking part in the forums.

Regards,
Malcolm Tudor

[quote=annec;76858]I've just been notified of a new book out called "At War in Italy 1943-1945"

the blurb says "This book relates the experiences of British and Allied servicemen who fought Germans and Fascists in WWII Italy. Using eyewitness accounts and wartime top-secret official reports, the author describes Allied PoW escapes, secret missions by land, sea and air, and guerilla warfare alongside the Italian partisans"

You can see more at [URL="http://www.emiliapublishing.com/"]Emilia Publishing - books on Prisoners of War and SOE in Italy.[/URL][/quote]

I wondered why sales of "Rossano" were up last year! Now I know, from this correspondence. For those who are interested in the history of the partisan war in Northern Tuscany, I organise commemorative events each year. These range from small ceremonies at the mon uments at La Cisa and Ponsano Magra to the S.A.S. executed there, to recreations of the partisan/P.O.W. escape routes down through the old Gothic Line. All are welcome.
Brian Gordon Lett

I'm really pleased this post came up again or I would never have heard about the book, which I hope can still be ordered.

Although it is historical fiction. I just finished an interesting book on the resistance in Northern Italy titled "A Thread of Grace" by Mary Doria Russell. It tells the story of a vast underground effort by Italian citizens who saved 43,000 Jews during the final phase of WW2, through the lives of a charismatic resistance leader, an Italian rabbi's family, a priest and a disillusioned German doctor. I highly recommend it.

[quote=Brian Gordon Lett;100797] I organise commemorative events each year. These range from small ceremonies at the mon uments at La Cisa and Ponsano Magra to the S.A.S. executed there, to recreations of the partisan/P.O.W. escape routes down through the old Gothic Line. All are welcome.
Brian Gordon Lett[/quote]

Is that the walk in April from Ponzano Superiore to the Resistance Museum? We live in Ponzano, so may join it next year.

I can thoroughly recommend 'Rossano' by Major Lett.

It covers the entire period from the September 1943 Armistice to the Liberation, and reveals the author's experiences as partisan leader, British Liaison Officer, and Allied Military Governor.

Altogether, one of the best books to come out of wartime Italy.

Regards,
Malcolm Tudor

Writer/historian

[quote=Brian Gordon Lett;100797]I wondered why sales of "Rossano" were up last year! [/quote]

Brian - is it still possible to obtain the book? I tried the link but it didn't work. Many thanks.

Tony, you need to ring Keith Kilby in London 020 7431 0433 and he will post you a copy. He is a lovely man to talk to.
ciao
pam

Worth adding to a book list for those interested in what went on in this part of Italy is Denis Forman's 'To Reason Why':
[url=http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/?product_id=1662]Pen and Sword Books: To Reason Why by Sir Denis Forman[/url]

I don't know whether anyone has been able to watch a new movie from Spike Lee called "Miracle at St Anna". It was premiered in Italy while I was there in September but I did not have a chance to watch it. I am still waiting for the film to be shown in Spain, later this year. It deals with some real events which took place in a small village between the Garfagnana and Massa Carrara and apparently some of the former partisans in the area did not appreciate it very much. But others say that the film is superb and that it shows the courage of many Italians who helped, risking their lives, the Allied soldiers (in this case four Americans) who were in danger.
Anyway, here is the official site for the movie: [url=http://miracleatstanna.movies.go.com/]Miracle at St. Anna - The Official Website[/url]

It's based on the novel by James McBride:
[url=http://www.ciao.co.uk/Miracle_at_Sant_Anna_James_McBride__Review_5417752]Miracle at Sant' Anna - James McBride - Review - Simply a Beautifull book[/url]

It'd be interesting to know what is fact and what is fictional...

Some info on why this is controversial in Italy: [url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/spike-lee-film-opens-war-wounds-in-italy-948609.html]Spike Lee film opens war wounds in Italy - Europe, World - The Independent[/url]
I don't think it's arrived in the UK yet either

Yes, I have read about the controversy and I am looking forward to seeing the film in the future.
As for the role, or the alleged role of the partisans... we know that it was customary for all men to leave villages as soon as they felt there was any danger, as the Nazis usually started gathering all able men and shooting them or sending them to camps first. So it was normal for them to escape. Their own families would have begged them to do so. What happened at St Anna was a real tragedy but the way it is depicted in both the book and the film, aparently has a high fictional content.
Anyway, I think it would be interesting to watch.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc8OaVkWjfI]YouTube - Sant'Anna di Stazzema, 12-8-1944. Video 1/2 (english subtitles)[/ame] - Enio Mancini who survived the massacre. The video is in two parts

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv-fsRM1d_s&feature=related]YouTube - Sant'Anna di Stazzema, 12-8-1944. Video 2/2 (english subtitles)[/ame] - this is the second part

I had wondered what on earth the military ethos was behind the behaviour of the Germans towards the population of their erstwhile allies. This, from another forum, seems to explain it pretty comprehensively:

[url=http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=34951]Axis History Forum • View topic - Nazi Anti-Partisan Reprisals in Italy 1944[/url]

The massacres in Abruzzo at Pietransieri and Gessopalena were amongst the first to be carried out, I gather.

A superb book, both in content and literary style, about the war in Italy (though not focusing on the Italian people) is "Vessel of Sadness" by William Woodruff. I can completely recommend this book.

[quote=alma;107030]A superb book, both in content and literary style, about the war in Italy (though not focusing on the Italian people) is "Vessel of Sadness" by William Woodruff. I can completely recommend this book.[/quote]

Couldn't agree more, alma. ONe of the best anti-war books I've read. by someone who was involved in the events he fictionalises in this book.

The author died very recently, aged 90-odd I think

Ciao Pam
Thanks for that - will give him a call. BTW Congratulations, you're a Senator! Will PM you.
Helen

Very strong ...very important... not to forget.
I'm collecting info about the prison camp number 68, where English prisoners were interned ,located in Vetralla 68 kms. north of Rome. In a short while photos of the camp and an article will be up on my website. Meanwhile if you know of anyone who was a "guest" there, I would be very grateful to learn of them.
Grazie,

Replying to the variety of comments above, may I make two points:
Firstly, for those who are interested in the massacre at Sant'Anna di Stassema, one of the thoroughly unsatisfactory aspects to the story is that when evidence emerged a few years ago as to those responsible, it proved impossible to extradite to Italy the guilty men. One in particular [Sommer] was tried and convicted in his absence in La Spezia, but continued [and continues?] to live comfortably abroad.
The massacre in Sant' Anna was one of the worst, but it was not unique in the area. As many will know, the village of Vinca was also visited by a combination of Brigata Nera and Waffen SS in August 1944, and all inhabitants of the village were murdered in the most horrible circumstances. The young priest heard of what was going on, and returned to the village to protest. He was then murderd too. The bodies of many of the dead [including women and babies] were stripped naked, mutilated, and put on display in the village as a deterrent. Bob Walker Brown, the Captain of the S.A.S. Operation Galia, who passed that way in February 1945 as his troop exfiltrated, described the surviving villagers [those who had not been there on the day] as being "windy". Not surprising!
The massacre at Pietransieri in the Abruzzo was similar. The village received a "visit", and every living soul was murdered [one baby survived under the body of her mother]. In 2001, on one of the San Martino Freedom Trails, we visited that village for a very moving ceremony.
There is a clear pattern to the massacres. In September 1943, the armistice was signed and Italy tried to withdraw from the war. The Germans, as everyone knows, refused to go. The first real defensive line that the Germans established was along the Sangro river and through Monte Cassino. It was called the Gustav Line. What the Germans did was to "cleanse" the areas close behind their front lines of any possible resistance. It was essential to them that they could supply their front line without hindrance by partisan activity or by escaping Allied POW's. If one visits the memorials behind the old Gustav line, one frequently sees dates of executions and murders in late September and early October. That was because the Germans were "cleaning up" behind the newly established Gustav Line. Exactly the same thing happened in northern Tuscany in the summer of 1944. The Germans withdrew from the Gustav line in May 1944. They established their next line of defence across Italy starting from the area of Carrara/Massa on the west coast. This was called the Gothic Line. In the same way that Pietransieri was situated just behind the Gustav Line, so Vinca was just behind the Gothic Line, and Sant'Anna di Stassema was almost in the midst of it. The Germans could not afford any trouble in that area, and therefore the massacres were used to deter the local population. There was a further massacre at Forno, again just behind the Gothic Line.
History suggests therefore that this was a deliberate policy of terror. It did not work, and there was much partisan activity in the marble mountains throughout the period from the summer of 19944 until liberation in April 1945.
Incidentally, the row over the film rumbles on, and I will endeavour to put up onto this forum a copy of the leaflet currently being circulated by the ANPI in opposition to the film.The local partisan associations in the area of Sant'Anna feel that the film has badly distorted history.

[quote=barn_elms;107025]The massacres in Abruzzo at Pietransieri and Gessopalena were amongst the first to be carried out, I gather.[/quote]
I wonder if you've perhaps visited Gessopalena since I believe it is down your way, Barn Elms.

There are some photos on Google Earth which are labelled "[I]vecchio paese[/I]" that show a sort of district of the town quite separate from what is now obviously the main population centre. This "old town" seems to be deserted with some buildings in ruins.

There are no shortage of ruined buildings around most towns and villages in Abruzzo, but given the history of the place, I did immediately think of [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oradour-sur-Glane"]Oradour-sur-Glane[/URL]. But, then again, maybe that area of Gessopalena was deserted due to earthquakes or some other mundane reason.

Can you shed any light on this?

Al

I also thought of Oradour-sur-Glane as I used to know one of the survivors. He was in hospital in a nearby town because of an acute case of appendicitis which required surgery and his parents were with him. This is how they survived. Sometimes it is fate.

[quote]
I wonder if you've perhaps visited Gessopalena since I believe it is down your way, Barn Elms.
[/quote]

Funnily enough I was within a stone's throw of this place on Saturday after visiting Taranta Peligna, where the place had been razed to the ground by the germans in WWII, as part of their scorched policy. We were heading for Pizzoferrato where Maj. Lionel Wigram (co-creator of the Maiella Brigade of partisans) was shot at the start of the battle to try to dislodge the germans from their stronghold in the village. A relatively large number of partisans and their families, considering the size of the community, were subsequently killed by firing squad. We lost four british soldiers in the battle, in addition to Wigram.

There's so much on the internet about Gessopalena, pretty harrowing some of it, that I've left off visiting the memorial for another time. I'll bear your question in mind when I do and look particularly at the older area.

[quote]
History suggests therefore that this was a deliberate policy of terror
[/quote]
In view of Brian Lett's observation above, it's probably worth drawing attention again to the link that I posted earlier in this thread. It gives the official WWII translation of the captured top secret german orders, which show that the policy of severe reprisals against civilians, if german soldiers were injured or killed by partisans, was to be implemented regardless of age or sex of the victims.

All this, along with our activities in the current conflicts, makes me convinced that the Geneva Conventions can't be spoken of too often, and should form part of the training and education of everyone, especially children in their formative years:
[url=http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/genevaconventions]The Geneva Conventions: the core of international humanitarian law[/url]

[SIZE="3"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"]I've just joined this forum and want to say "Thank you" to everyone - it's really illuminating. I've just asked Keith Kilby for a copy of the Gordon lett book, and look forward to receiving it and reading it shortly.

A fascinating book that I found quite by chance in Pontremoli recently is:
Laura Seghettini: La prima donna partigiana a Pontremoli

These memoirs of a former partisan is uniquely moving. I wonder if any else has in this forum has any further information about the author or her story?

Here's a link to the website describing the book:
[U][url=http://www.comune.pontremoli.ms.it/root/Cronaca/NewsScheda.asp?idnews=125]Comune di Pontremoli - Sito ufficiale[/url][/U][/FONT][/SIZE]

Laura Seghettini is a splendid lady, now in her nineties. She keeps fit by walking her dog every day. She is small of stature, but strong of spirit!
I am being interrupted by work - sorry. More soon.

Thanks for sharing!