NAZI VANDALISM IN ITALY

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 15, 13 October 1943, Page 5

NAZI VANDALISM IN ITALY

Ancient Buildings And Documents IRREPLACEABLE LOSS

(By Telegraph.— Press Assn. —Copyright.) LONDON, October 12.

Specially selected British Army officers, some of whom came from the British Museum, the National Gallery and the Royal Institute of British Architects, are at work in .southern Italy with the aim of protecting works of art and cultural buildings and monuments. Necessary temporary repairs to damaged buildings are alreddy being put in hand. An example of calculated German vandalism has been reported by a correspondent. On September 19 Germans in Naples rounded up 300 men, women and chil’dren, from whose number a man was taken and killed in front of the university, this because, the Germans said, a civilian had killed a German nearby. So far there was nothing unusual in this. But the Germans followed up their demonstration by setting lire to the University of Naples. The university, dating from 1224, was the third oldest in Europe. The Germans poured petrol on the books and furnishings and then hurled in hand grenades. At the same time the building of the Royal Society of Naples, erected in 1400 and once one of the proudest institutions of learning in Italy, was set on fire.

The fire raged for four days, and the Germans forebade the firemen to go to it. Ancient manuscripts, books and frescoes were destroyed. In this fire were lost more than 200,000 irreplaceable vellums and other documents.