Starred review from July 15, 2020
A look inside the German occupation of Rome, spanning the period between the Allied landings in southern Italy and the liberation of the city just before D-Day. By the spring of 1943, it was clear to most Italians that the Allies were winning, and the Italian king, Vittorio Emanuele III, made plans to depose Mussolini and seek a separate peace. The Germans responded by clamping down on Rome as if it were an enemy city rather than the Axis ally it had been until that point. In telling the story of that occupation, Failmezger, a former U.S. Naval officer, has made good use of official records, but the appeal of this account is the author's focus on the experiences of several individuals--Italians, Germans, and other foreigners, mainly British. While the war ground on as Allied troops advanced from the south, its impact on events in Rome was indirect. Both sides were aware of the negative propaganda that would accompany any serious damage to the city itself, and the Allies attempted to confine their bombing raids to "exclusively military targets"--though the bombs "did not always follow the plan." Meanwhile, Rome's citizens faced food shortages, sky-high inflation, sporadic infrastructure failure, and oppression, including the roundup of Italian Jews and harsh reprisals for any resistance. Many Romans responded by doing what they could to oppose the Germans, whether it was aiding fugitive Allied soldiers or joining partisan groups to take the fight directly to the occupiers. Much of the action of the narrative centers on the Vatican, where diplomats from Allied countries used their positions to aid and support escaped POWs and other fugitive military personnel who found their ways to Rome. Throughout, Failmezger presents fascinating stories and characters from a dramatic period of the war on the Italian front. Highly recommended for anyone interested in World War II history.
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