Rome – City in Terror

The Nazi Occupation 1943–44

Victor Failmezger

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Paperback

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English

Osprey
03 August 2021

History; Second World War; Battles & campaigns

'Victor Failmezger’s passion for the city of Rome is matched by his extensive knowledge of its dark recent past.' - Joshua Levine, author of Dunkirk: The History Behind the Major Motion Picture

In September 1943, following wave upon wave of Allied bombing, Italy announced an armistice with the Allies. Shortly afterwards, the German army disarmed Italian forces and, despite military and partisan resistance, quickly overran Rome. Rome – City in Terror is a comprehensive history of the nine-month-long German occupation of the city that followed.

The Gestapo wasted no time enforcing an iron grip on the city once the occupation was in place. They swiftly eliminated the Carabinieri, the Italian paramilitary force, rounded up thousands of Italians to build extensive defensive lines across Italy, and, at 5am one morning, arrested more than 1,000 Roman Jews and sent them to Auschwitz. Resistance, however, remained strong. To aid the thousands of Allied POWs who escaped after the dissolution of the Italian army, priests, diplomats and escaped ex-POWs operating out of the Vatican formed a nationwide organization called the ‘Escape Line’. More than 4,000 Allied POWs scattered all over Italy were sheltered, clothed and fed by these courageous Italians, whose lives were forfeit if their activities were discovered. Meanwhile, as food became scarce and the Gestapo began to raid on homes and institutions, Italian partisan fighters launched attack after attack on German military units in the city, with the threat of execution never far away.

This is the compelling story of an Eternal City brought low, of the terror and hardship of occupation, and of the disparate army of partisan fighters, displaced aristocrats, Vatican priests, Allied POWs and ordinary citizens who battled for the liberation of Rome.

By: Victor Failmezger
Imprint: Osprey
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm,
Weight: 678g
ISBN: 9781472841292
ISBN 10: 1472841298
Pages: 496
Publication Date: 03 August 2021
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Victor Tory Failmezger is a retired US Naval Officer. In the early 1970s, he was stationed at NATO in Naples, Italy and in the early 1980s he served as the Assistant Naval Attache in Rome, Italy, where he participated in the celebration marking the 40th anniversary of the liberation of Rome. A later tour found him as the Director of the US Navy Science and Technology Group, Europe in Munich, Germany. He is a graduate of the US Foreign Service Institute (Italian) and the Defence Language Institute (German). After retirement he worked as a consultant in the private sector and for the US Department of Energy and NASA. His recent works include the popular American Knights (2015).

Reviews for Rome – City in Terror: The Nazi Occupation 1943–44

In Rome - City In Terror, Victor Failmezger retells the story of the harrowing days leading up to the Allied liberation of Rome in 1944. Between partisan warfare against the hated Nazi occupiers and the constant stream of escaped Allied prisoners-of-war, scrambling towards freedom along the Escape Line, Failmezger vividly reveals that Rome was far from the quiet Open City it was purported to be. If you want something to read while waiting for the COVID lockdown to end, this is the book! -- Leo Barron, author of * Patton at the Battle of the Bulge * Victor Failmezger's passion for the city of Rome is matched by his extensive knowledge of its dark recent past. -- Joshua Levine, author of * Dunkirk: The History Behind the Major Motion Picture * 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. * Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review *