VANDALS IN ITALY

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 260, 31 July 1944, Page 6

VANDALS IN ITALY

Plunder And Wanton

Destruction

GERMANS’ ATTITUDE

(British Official Wireless.) (Received July 30, 9.40 p.m.) RUGBY, July 29.

Wanton destruction and vandalism has been a common feature of the German retreat north of. Cassino. In Sicily, where the Germans were still fighting with the Italians as theft Allies, and in the south of Italy, where even after the Italian capitulation, they were mainly preoccupied witli getting away, and the extent of Italy s defence was 'Still uncertain, there was little or no plundering or wanton destruction. At Naples it began with the burning of the university libraries and the destruction of art treasures and archives near Nola, and from that point onward the tale is one of sacrilege. Many cathedrals, churches, and museums have been stripped of treasures and desecrated. The Germans’ attitude is shown by a notice which they scrawled on a wall in Terracilia: ‘■Whoever comes after us won’t find a thing.”

VILLAGERS MURDERED

Further Instances Of Savagery (Official War Correspondent. N.Z.E.F.) NEAR FLORENCE, July 28. Since the atrocity near San Polo, which the New Zealanders investigated at first hand before their move into the present sector, they have encountered several more instances of the degeneration of the opposing troops. Though the Arezzo /area has provided the worst examples to date, this area south of Florence abounds with instances of savagery on tlmpart of retreating German troops. Two of these occurred as our advance neared,the little villages of Faborica and Tavarrielle, which are still within sound of shellfire. , T , Early on the afternoon of July -o. three families of peasants working on the fwm of an Italian nobleman in the Tavarnelle district, were told by the. Germans to. stay indoors. They did this unquestioningly. and were there when at i o’clock two Germans returned, ’lhe enemy soldiers segregated the men from the women, informed the men that they were wanted- at headquarters and marched them away. . , When a little distance down the road, the Germans suddenly turned and sprayed the marching line with sub-machinegun tire, killing all 12 of the Italian!;. The bodies were left lying in the roadway and the Germanswere not seen again. The episode at Faborica was similar. After leaving the village, two Germans returned and shot four villagers, one of whom survives though wounded in the neck. This occurred on July 25. The curious thing about these outrages is that in -both cases the villagers emphasize that they were not partisans. Normally-the peasants are quick to claim some vicarious glory in-identifying themselves with the local movements, but in these cases there just was not any. Looting Authorized.

The sole partisan activity in the neighbourhood occurred in another village where a German captain returning to billet late one night was accosted, stripped of his clothing, and left to make his way naked but unharmed. For this humorous prank, the enemy exacted full reprisals. Looting and despoliation were authorized throughout the district. Till their precipitate retreat the conduct of the Germans was not bad, though they lived on the country. In the closing stages of their stay, however, the peasants were mostly in hiding as Bvo types of search were being made —one for men of working age, and the other for young women.

OFFENSIVE SMASHED

German Rout In Montenegro (British Ofllcial Wireless.i (Received July- 30, 7.10 p.m.) ' RUGBY, July 29. A special communique from Marshal Tito’s headquarters says the Yugoslavs smashed a German offensive in Montenegro. One German S.S. division, units of the JBBth Grenadier regiment, and the fourth Brandenburg regiment totalling over 5000 men with strong support of tanks and planes, launched an attack against the town of Andrijcvica, with the object of capturing Berane and the Lim A alley. They succeeded in occupying Andrijevica’, and were approaching Berane when a Yugoslav column counter-attacked, while another outflanked the encircled Germans, who were routed. Marshal Tito’s troops captured great quantities of war material. A correspondent reports that the Dalmatian Island of Via or Lissa has been the base for successful raids by British and Yugoslav troops on enemy-held positions. Partisan and British-American forces operate in parallel under separate commands, and all civilian authority is in the hands of National Liberation Councils. Practically no Dalmatian island is fully occupied by the Germans, and they are ideal for commando and ranger raids.