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Cavallero Diaries

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by stefano » Thu Dec 06, 2007 1:53 pm

hey guys,
I discovered the other day that Cavallero not only had a diary but had it published. I have no idea how I could have been so interested in WWII Italy for so long and not know about this!

anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any background about the diaries? do you all know if he ever edited them (I know he died in 1943) or if there's a possibility that someone else went through them? How valuable are they as a source of Italy in World War II?

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by Lupo Solitario » Thu Dec 06, 2007 9:31 pm

In short:

-Cavallero diary covers the period in which he was the JCS of Italian armed forces
-it had been published first time in 1948 by Cappelli and in the '90s by Ciarrapico
-Cavallero probably modified something in them during summer 1943 but anyway died sooner and dramatically before ending the work
-The published part is anyway partial. The original (which I believe is in Defence archives) is certainly larger
-It's taken as a highly valuable source. Lucio Ceva's works are always highly based on it.

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by Davide Pastore » Thu Dec 06, 2007 10:35 pm

Last July, while researching at USSMM, I came upon a line in the Reference Index talking about them:

Dattiloscritti, privi di data, redatti dall'Ufficio Storico riferentisi all'operazione C3 Malta e copia dattiloscritta del diario del generale Ugo Cavallero sullo stesso episodio della 2ª guerra mondiale
[page 67 of the Guida]

So I asked casually, "Can I see them?"

USSMM: "Impossibly. They can't be viewed by researchers."

Me (intrigued): "Why?"

USSMM: "Because they are still secret!"

Me (even more intrigued): "Secret?
:idea:
Maybe containing some parts never published before? WOW!"
:D


USSMM: "We don't know this. [to be precise, they had not the slightest idea who Cavallero was
:wink:
]. But since it is a diary, and so of course containing material of a personal nature, it falls under the Law About Privacy, and so cannot be seen until 70 years after publication. Come back in 10 years."
:roll:


The file was eventually seen (not without fatigue and discussions).
It contains... the diary of Cavallero, January 1942 to September 1942, apparently with no difference compared with the published version
:evil:
(but I did not check it word by word).

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by FB » Fri Dec 07, 2007 12:52 am

Lupo Solitario wrote:In short:

-Cavallero diary covers the period in which he was the JCS of italian armed forces
-it had been published a first time in 1948 by Cappelli and in the '90s by Ciarrapico
-Cavallero probably modified something in them during summer 1943 but anyway died sooner and dramatically before ending the work
-The published part is anyway partial. The original (which I believe is in Defence archives) is certainly larger
-It's taken as an high valuable source. Lucio Ceva's works are always highly based on it.

Correct as always Lupo

The published part is indeed an abstract of the original. The "real" diary - if memory serves me as these are details coming from the preface of my (old!) copy of the diary - is something like 12 volumes, with many more details and attachments of original documents. It was a Col whose name escapes me at the moment, who was in charge of keeping the diary up to date. Cavallero was pretty maniacal about it: he wanted everything to be noted in it, with evidence attached.

Indeed the diary was a powerful weapon, both offensive and defensive, at least in Cavallero's mind.

Best regards

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by stefano » Fri Dec 07, 2007 3:35 am

so, in short, take the diaries with a grain of salt but overall they're a good source... are there any particularly famous or important entries? I've checked the book out from my university's library but I don't know when I'll have time to read it all, I just want to get a sense for it
 
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