MALCOLM TUDOR
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80 YEARS AGO TODAY, the 27th of April 1945, Benito Mussolini was captured by Italian partisans in the town of Dongo on Lake Como. During the night his fugitive convoy from Milan had been reinforced by a force of two hundred men of the German Luftwaffe in retreat. The combined column had been halted at a partisan roadblock in the early morning and an agreement negotiated. The German troops and vehicles would be allowed to proceed after an inspection in Dongo town square, but all the Italians and civilian vehicles would have to be handed over to the partisa
With rumours of Mussolini’s presence in the convoy sweeping the town, to seek to avoid this fate he was persuaded to clamber onto one of the German lorries wearing the coat and steel helmet of a Luftwaffe sergeant and to slump down in the back as if drunk.
One of the partisan officers making the inspection called Urbano Lazzaro had his attention drawn to this suspicious looking figure and, tapping him on the shoulder, said: ‘Comrade.’ He didn’t move or reply.
‘Your Excellency,’ Lazzaro cried, still tapping him on the shoulder. There was again no word or gesture in response.
Finally, Lazzaro yelled ‘Cavalier Benito Mussolini,’ and the figure gave a start. Lazzaro vaulted onto the lorry. The man remained silent and motionless. His helmet was pulled down over his eyes and his coat collar entirely covered his face.
Lazzaro recalled: ‘I took his helmet off and saw his bald pate and the shape of his head. I took his sunglasses off and removed his greatcoat. It was him, Mussolini!’
The dictator’s intention had been to cross the border with Switzerland in order to escape the partisan rising and the arrival of the Allied armies. But instead he was shot next day alongside his young lover, Claretta Petacci.
You can read the whole story in ‘Mussolini, The Last 10 Days, A New Investigation,’ available now in Amazon Kindle and in Kindle Unlimited and also in paperback at www.amazon.co.uk and www.emiliapublishing.com
With rumours of Mussolini’s presence in the convoy sweeping the town, to seek to avoid this fate he was persuaded to clamber onto one of the German lorries wearing the coat and steel helmet of a Luftwaffe sergeant and to slump down in the back as if drunk.
One of the partisan officers making the inspection called Urbano Lazzaro had his attention drawn to this suspicious looking figure and, tapping him on the shoulder, said: ‘Comrade.’ He didn’t move or reply.
‘Your Excellency,’ Lazzaro cried, still tapping him on the shoulder. There was again no word or gesture in response.
Finally, Lazzaro yelled ‘Cavalier Benito Mussolini,’ and the figure gave a start. Lazzaro vaulted onto the lorry. The man remained silent and motionless. His helmet was pulled down over his eyes and his coat collar entirely covered his face.
Lazzaro recalled: ‘I took his helmet off and saw his bald pate and the shape of his head. I took his sunglasses off and removed his greatcoat. It was him, Mussolini!’
The dictator’s intention had been to cross the border with Switzerland in order to escape the partisan rising and the arrival of the Allied armies. But instead he was shot next day alongside his young lover, Claretta Petacci.
You can read the whole story in ‘Mussolini, The Last 10 Days, A New Investigation,’ available now in Amazon Kindle and in Kindle Unlimited and also in paperback at www.amazon.co.uk and www.emiliapublishing.com
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