The Vatican Pimpernel (9 page)

O'Flaherty's link man in the American College was Monsignor Joseph McGeogh. US Government funds were channelled through Tittmann to aid the prisoners in hiding there. Initially Tittmann took the view that the American operation would be independent but as the months went by he soon found that he had to rely more and more on O'Flaherty and the care of American escapees was handled in the same way as all the other Allies. Mother Mary in her diary charted the changing circumstances in the city:

The ordinary routine detail of daily life was also becoming difficult:

In July 1938, the Mussolini Government had published its ‘Manifesto of the Race' in which Italian Jews were referred to as ‘unassimilable aliens'. This was followed by the introduction of a number of anti-Jewish laws and regulations. They first made it illegal for Jews to study or teach in any Italian school or university and ensured that books written by Jewish authors were removed from all libraries. Hundreds of Jews were sacked from their jobs in various branches of the Civil Service, the universities and other professions. As it happens, the Jewish community in Rome had made a huge contribution to its intellectual life. Many of its leading university professors were Jewish and approximately 100 of these lost their occupations as a result. It was also required that all non-Italian-born Jews should leave the country. This particular requirement had not been implemented in the intervening years. However, during the summer and autumn of 1943, the Jewish community became a particular target for the increasingly strong German authorities.

Von Weizsaecker, the German Ambassador, and his second-in-command Kessel, who was fairly outspoken in his anti-Nazi views, met in mid-September to discuss the likely fate of the Jews living in Rome. They agreed that the outlook was extremely serious and they arranged to warn the Jewish community through a third party. The Swiss journalist de Wyss notes ‘hundreds of rumours about the coming persecutions … the population is half crazy… Everybody is in a cold sweat.'
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Unfortunately, the leaders of the 12,000-strong Jewish community in the city treated this warning and these rumours with some scepticism. The Jewish community in Rome had not suffered the same sort of persecution as had occurred elsewhere which created a false sense of security. However, the diplomats' concern was well founded. Himmler had issued an instruction to Kappler, the Head of the Gestapo in the city, to proceed with the arrest and deportation of the Jews of Rome. There is some evidence that Kappler was not happy to receive this instruction, not for reasons of sympathy with the Jewish community, but because he felt it was a politically stupid step to take. Also, he doubted whether he had enough men available to him to carry out this exercise and he anticipated that the non-Jewish population would be very hostile to such action. However, he did meet the leaders of the Jewish community on 26 September and demanded 50 kg of gold. They were given 36 hours to raise this and told that if they were not successful 200 Jews would be deported to Germany. This may have been Kappler's way of circumventing Himmler's instruction but it clearly left the leaders of the community with a difficulty. By Tuesday 28 September the gold had been collected with assistance from the Vatican on the instructions of the Pope. The gold was transmitted to Berlin. However, the authorities in Berlin were not happy and orders were issued that their original instructions must be implemented. Plans were put in place to round up Jews on 16 October starting at 5.00 a. m., one hour before sunrise. Ultra intercepts recently released make it clear that the Allies were well informed about what was happening because Kappler's report, made around midnight on that day, of the actions he had taken, came into Allied possession immediately:

Kappler further reported that the attitude of the Italian population was one of passive resistance but noted that a large number of instances had occurred where members of the community made more active efforts on behalf of their Jewish neighbours. On Monday 18 October the captured Jews were sent to concentration camps in Germany. Mother Mary comments:

This appalling episode obviously had an effect on the attitudes of the local people and immediately led to an increase in the level of activity by the resistance movement. In response to this, a new group was set up by the authorities under the leadership of a half-German/half-Italian called Pietro Koch who took charge of a group known as the ‘special police unit' which became the most ruthless and effective anti-partisan Fascist organisation in Rome.

The demands on the Council of Three and their helpers were increasing by the day. At the same time, the security situation in Rome was becoming tighter. It became clear to the three and indeed to D'Arcy Osborne who was their ‘off the record' adviser that some additional organisational skills were needed to ensure the continued effectiveness of the escape line. In effect, they needed a Chief of Staff. As happened so often with O'Flaherty, just when he needed assistance an opportunity presented itself. Sam Derry was a member of the Royal Artillery. He had been one of the thousands who escaped at Dunkirk and had been subsequently transferred to North Africa where he found himself captured at the beginning of 1942. He managed to make an escape on that occasion but was captured again – ironically by the same German unit – the following July. He was subsequently imprisoned in the Chieti Camp in Italy. He was not long there when he was invited to join the escape committee. In the spring of 1943, there had been a leak of information to the authorities in the camp and a lot of senior people who were members of the escape committee were removed to another camp. As a result, Derry, although not long there and fairly junior, ended up in charge of the escape committee and very soon there were no fewer than six escape tunnels under construction. Whenever one was discovered, another was started. Soon he was moved also. However, before he left Chieti he had organised a number of successful escapes for colleagues.

Derry had guessed correctly that Sulmona, the new prisoner-of-war camp he had been moved to, was only a staging post and that ultimately he and his colleagues would be transferred to Germany. Accordingly, he was not too surprised when a number, including himself, were ordered to march to the railway station. On the journey through northern Italy he managed to jump from the train, on the spur of the moment, and make his escape. Escapes like this were quite common during the War but obviously were fairly hazardous. Aside from the risk of being shot by the guards when jumping off the train, there was the danger of serious or fatal injury in the fall. In any event, Derry survived and eventually located a peasant smallholding that he kept under observation the following day. He realised his only hope was to throw himself on the mercy of the occupants who were an elderly couple with no English. Derry had very little Italian. However, by a judicious use of the odd word and plenty of sign language, it became clear they were willing to accommodate him and he spent the night in their barn. At this stage, he had no idea where in Italy he was but the next morning, surveying the scene, he realised he was within sight of Rome. On that day also, his host managed to make it clear to him that there were others like him in the general locality and at nightfall two local youths came to him and guided him to a warren of caves where he met a group of his fellow countrymen who were being assisted by the locals. While they were being fed and protected by the locals, it was obvious to Derry that, with the onset of winter, living in the caves was not a realistic proposition and he decided he would have to seek assistance. When he went back the next night to meet the group he found that others had joined them and there were now about 50 British soldiers, 120 miles behind enemy lines. He decided that the only feasible plan was to head for Rome in the hope that he might be able to make contact with some British diplomat. Again, by a mixture of sign language and the odd Italian word he conveyed to the elderly couple who were looking after him that he wanted to meet the local priest. On meeting him, he asked the priest to arrange for a message to be conveyed to ‘anybody English in the Vatican'. He addressed a letter ‘to whom it may concern' and signed it ‘S. I. Derry, Major', and conveyed the fact that there was a group in urgent need of financial assistance and clothing. On the third day, the priest returned and handed over to Derry 3,000 lire (the equivalent of £12 at that time or over €600 in current terms). He had just one request, which was that the Major would provide a written acknowledgement that the money had been handed over. This the Englishman happily did, but in his written acknowledgement of the money he also requested more. Just four days later the priest returned again and handed over another 4,000 lire and this time requested Derry to meet the priest's superior. When Derry asked who his superior was, the priest was evasive. Despite this, the Major decided that he had no choice. The priest arranged for a smallholder, named Pietro Fabri, who delivered vegetables to Rome two or three times a week, to pick up the Major early one November morning. The group consisted of Fabri, the Major and one of Fabri's daughters. Before they reached the city boundary where there was a checkpoint, Fabri gestured to the Major to take cover and so he found himself under a pile of cabbages. The farmer was well known to the guards as a regular delivery man and so they passed through the checkpoint without any difficulty. Near the markets, Fabri brought the Major to a door, rang the bell and introduced him to a man named Pasqualino Perfetti. There was another man in the room by the name of Aldo Zambardi who informed Derry that he had been sent there to meet him. Less suspicious clothing was required for Derry which Zambardi provided, including his own overcoat.