Willy Wagner, il Tenente della Wehrmacht che volle farsi eroe.
This is a dead dimenticatissimo, I found myself with two rows of Marcello Veneziani a few years ago. One dead, which should be celebrated among the Righteous of the Second World War, whose history should be taught in Italian and German schools, and they would need to prominence. But, except in Trani, where did this heroism, virtually nothing is.
Heroic happening that players had perhaps too unpopular figures from the clichés of Resistance: A Catholic Bishop, two fascist and a German officer.
And here are the facts: September 16, 1943, Canadian troops with some element Badoglio aggregate, in a killing ' real ambush at the Cemetery of Trani 5 soldiers of the Wehrmacht, by ten wounded. Two days later, according to the International Law of War then in force, were rounded up fifty inhabitants of the Apulian town to be shot.
relatives and the residents ran to tell my own archbishop, Monsignor Francesco Petronelli, who rushed to the square MEP 'running, trying to persuade the young Austrian lieutenant to save the lives of those civilians. Viewed vain attempts, the 'high priest stood before the firing squad' s running already deployed, giving his life in exchange for that of prisoners. Now imitated in this by two Fascist leaders traesi present: the mayor, Giuseppe Pappolla , and Secretary of the fascia, Antonio Netherlands. This gesture convinced the 'official' German Army to free the hostages, although he was aware of what was waiting for this act of generosity. In fact, as known to every officer, noncommissioned officer and a German soldier at the time, that meant disobedience to orders over capital punishment. This did not stop the Catholic Lieutenant Jelo Weblo Will Wagner to act according to conscience: it was taken on higher orders and forced to dig his grave at the Cemetery of Trani, where he was shot. Subsequently, this episode was the subject of oblivion and confusion on the German side not to previous generations, and until recently was considered the protagonist of 'episode Lieutenant F. Kurtz. Only recently was credited to William Wagner, whose body was transferred to the Cemetery of Monte Cassino from the Germans for a further attempt to forget the 'what happened.
Again, though, that every officer, NCO and German soldier knew that every gesture of clemency contrary to the higher ranks would have meant his sentence. But for the 'Italy Erich Priebke , although subordinate Kappler, is equally guilty.
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