Nazi Atrocities In Roma

Paola and I took in some fascinating WWII history yesterday.  This history has been in the news lately -- including in the U.S. -- because of the recent death in Rome of the 100-year old convicted Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke.  The story is a chilling one.  (See www.nytimes.com/2013/10/12/world/europe/erich-priebke-nazi-who-carried-out-italian-massacre-dies-at-100.html?_r=0; www.cnn.com/2013/10/11/world/europe/italy-nazi-criminal-death/ www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/world/europe/no-quarter-for-former-ss-captain-reviled-even-in-death.html; www.economist.com/news/obituary/21588337-erich-priebke-unrepentant-organiser-ardeatine-caves-massacre-died-october-11th-aged; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Priebke.)

In March 1944, members of the Italian resistance killed 33 German soldiers who were stationed in Rome.  The Third Reich immediately ordered reprisals.  The record is unsettled, but some historians believe that the order came directly from Hitler.  The upshot is that the Nazi SS officers stationed in Rome were directed to kill 10 Italians for each Nazi who had died.  There were initially talks of killing up to 50 Italians for each Nazi life taken, but the number in the end was 10.  Erich Priebke was the SS chief at the time in Rome.  He was in charge of the massacre that would follow.

The SS drew up a list of 330 Italians to murder.  Most of the Italians chosen for slaughter had been charged previously with some crime against the Third Reich.  To be sure, most of the charges were likely false or trumped up.  But, on the actual written list, a crime was listed next to the name of the Italian to be killed.  Among the 330, the list contained 75 Italian Jews.  There was no crime mentioned on the list, however, for these 75: next to each of their names, the list simply said "Jew."

The Nazis took these 330 men and boys to a cave outside of the city center, just off of the Appian Way.  The victims were then taken in groups of 5, their hands bound behind their backs, and shot in the back of the head.  Many of the victims were kneeling in front of already-shot compatriots when they were shot.  In the melee, an extra 5 Italians were killed, bringing the total of slaughtered victims to 335.

Erich Priebke led this effort.  He escaped prosecution after the war by fleeing to Argentina, traveling under cover of a passport that the Vatican provided.  Priebke lived in Argentina for 50 years, where he was a respected member of his community.  He ran a deli, and was known to be a gregarious fellow and a tireless dancer.

In 1994, Sam Donaldson and a team of ABC journalists confronted Priebke.  After years of legal wrangling, he was extradited to Italy and convicted of war crimes.  Because of his age, the court sentenced Priebke to house arrest.  Priebke died at his home in Roma earlier this month.  He was 100.

To the end, Priebke never repented.  He admitted his conduct.  He even did so with Sam Donaldson.  But Priebke claimed that he was just following orders.

There is a somber but well-done memorial and little museum at the Fosse Ardeatine in Roma.  Paola and I visited there on Wednesday.  The most moving section of the memorial is an enclosed but outdoor cave (of sorts) that has a coffin for each of the 335 murder victims.  Each coffin bears a cross or a Jewish Star of David.  There are inscriptions at the sight in Italian, some Latin, and some Hebrew.

A 15-year old Jewish victim.  (A Star of David is faintly visible up at towards the top of the coffin.)