Italy seeks German ex-soldier over 'Captain Corelli' massacre:
ABC News
Italian military prosecutors are seeking to try a former German soldier in connection with a massacre of Italian troops on the island made famous in the novel and film "Captain Corelli's Mandolin", a report said.
La Republica daily said their target was Otmar Muelhauser, 88, who as a junior officer commanded the firing squad which shot General Antonio Gandin, head of the Italian Acqui division, on the island of Cephalonia in 1943.
German troops massacred the division which was occupying the Greek island after Italy surrendered in World War II and went over to the allies.
La Repubblica said Muelhauser, who now lives at Dillingen, near Munich, had said several times he was only doing his duty as the Germans considered the Italians as traitors.
Italian prosecutors opened an inquiry into Muelhauser in March 2004 at the request of the sons of two victims of the massacre.
German prosecutors shelved their own investigations in 2007.
According to Italian historians, some 5,000 members of the Acqui division were shot by the Germans after surrendering at the end of a week-long battle in September 1943.
They had voted to resist after being called on to lay down their arms when Italy changed sides.
Gandin, who refused to be blindfolded, died crying, "Long live Italy, long live the king," according to Muelhauser's own account.
The incident was the climax of Louis de Bernieres prize-winning best-seller Captain Corelli's Mandolin, which was also made into a film.
The only German officer to be tried for the massacre was General Hubert Lanz, commander of the unit responsible, the XXII Corps, was sentenced to 12 years in jail by the Nuremberg war crimes court in 1948.
1 comments:
Gentlemen,
The first thought that came to mind was “don’t go there”. But my cynical nature got the best of me, and I conjured up the notion that the Italian initiative is probably related to some current issue regarding bilateral/business agreements between Germany and Italy. If Italian military prosecutors insist on pursuing the indictment, they are surely going to be presented with humiliating, not to say embarrassing, information regarding the conduct of the “provisional” Italian government that negotiated the armistice with the Allies. The words perfidy and treachery will surface again and again, not to mention some well-guarded government secrets. For one thing, Marshal Badoglio had actually relinquished command of all Italian forces to the German Wehrmacht, for reasons that were not entirely clear. At the same time, the very first clause of the armistice agreement demanded a cessation of ALL hostilities by Italian forces. This did not imply, at that time, that Italian forces would fight on the Allies side. I suspect the old Marshal didn’t want the Germans shooting up his auto-train to Pescara after he ignominiously left Rome with the King.
General Gandin, though a decorated soldier with the Iron Cross (a German medal), lost control of his command when placed under a difficult but manageable situation (it happened elsewhere with no adverse results); this is in fact what led to the massacre. He knew that to take any military action against his Axis ally was tantamount to treason. Soldiers are executed for that in ALL armies. Since he chose not to continue fighting along side his German allies, he had no recourse but to surrender to the Germans and transfer all arms over to them. He dithered because of opposition by his subordinates who should have been censured. He acted irrationally by flip-flopping on decisions. In addition, he knew for example that Italian forces in Yugoslavia chose, in many instances, to stay and fight with the Germans against expansionist Slavic troops. As such, the barbarity and ferocity with which the Germans responded should not have been unexpected. It is sadly another example of Italian officers failing the rank and file.
If the Italian military prosecutors go ahead with trying the junior officer (now almost dead), stereotypes about Italian military incompetence will rear their ugly head. Is that what they want? Aren’t there enough negative stereotypes about Italians? Is not Italophobia rampant in Europe?
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