HC Deb 01 February 1944 vol 396 cc1110-5
8. Mr. Keeling

asked the Secretary of State for War what information he has as to the deliberate destruction by the Germans of works of art and historic buildings in Italy; and whether he will publish particulars in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Sir J. Grigg

I am circulating in the OFFICIAL REPORT particulars of two major instances which have come to my notice of Italian works of art and historical archives being deliberately and wantonly destroyed by German troops acting under the orders of the German military authorities.

Mr. Keeling

Will the right hon. Gentleman continue from time to time to give publicity to any similar acts of destruction?

Sir J. Grigg

Yes, Sir, in so far as they come to my notice. But I do not guarantee that all the cases of destruction will come to my notice; in fact I am quite certain they will not, at any rate for the time being.

Following are the particulars:

Up to the present I have had information of two instances of deliberate and organised destruction of Italian works of art by the German Army. One of these has been fully described in the Press, namely, the burning of the Royal Society's Library in the University of Naples. That outrage was committed by troops acting under orders and was carried out methodically; the Italian guards who attempted resistance were shot, armed pickets in the streets kept the Italian fire brigades away from the scene, the bookshelves were soaked with petrol and the troops having flung hand-grenades into the rooms remained in the vicinity until the fire could be seen to have taken thorough hold.

The second instance is that of the Villa Montesano at Livardi near Nola. In this isolated country villa the Italian authorities had deposited a quantity of art treasures from Naples, 866 cases of selected documents from the State archives, a quantity of pictures, china and arms and armour of the Alangievi Museum; the deposit was in the charge of an administrative archives official and four guardians.

According to the reports I have received, on 28th September a German foraging party discovered the deposit and on the following day a German officer with about six men arrived from Nola and in the presence of the archives official opened selected cases and verified their contents. On that day the Chief Superintendent of South Italian Archives wrote to the German Command at Nola pointing out the importance of the archives deposit to European history. On 30th September a German incendiarist squad arrived, produced and tore up the Superintendent's letter, saying that the German Command knew everything and had given the order to burn the deposit. They put straw and incendiary powder in the various rooms of the villa and set fire to it. They then went off but returned an hour later to inspect progress; during that time the Italian official and his four men had saved what they could, but it was very little. The registers of the Hohenstaufen and Angevin Kings of Naples, of the Kings of the House of Aragon, of the Spanish and Austrian Viceroys and of the Bourbon dynasty, records of European history, ranging from the year 1239 to 1811 A.D., perished almost without exception, as did the civic and monastic charters going back to the 8th Century. Between 60 and 70 paintings were lost, including an early portrait of Botticelli and a Madonna and Child by Luini; of the china and the armour little remains.

9. Mr. Keeling

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he can now make a statement about the protection of works of art and historic buildings in parts of the Continent occupied or to be occupied by British troops.

Sir J. Grigg

As the statement is rather long, I will, with the hon. Member's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Mr. Keeling

As this is a question of very considerable interest I wonder whether the right hon. Gentleman would consider answering it at the end of Questions with the permission of Mr. Speaker?

Sir J. Grigg

I am in the hands of the House but it is quite a long statement. It would take five or 10 minutes to read it. I am quite ready to do so but I did not wish to take up the time of the House.

Mr. Molson

As it is a matter on which a number of Members may wish to put supplementary questions, I hope that that will be done.

Hon. Members

No.

Following is the statement:

I would remind the House that the pursuit of our military operations to a successful conclusion must necessarily override all other considerations. Subject to this one essential proviso, the importance of protecting works of art and historic buildings is fully appreciated and Allied commanders and those under them have the responsibility of doing all they can to avoid or limit damage to monuments and artistic collections in the theatres of operations. The steps taken to carry out this responsibility in operations in the Mediterranean have been as follows:

In Tripolitania and Cyrenaica the majority of the Italian and Arab staff was retained, under the direction of a British officer who was an archaeologist by profession. In my view this organisation is satisfactory, provided that British technical supervision is available. The officer originally appointed for this purpose has, I understand, been posted elsewhere but steps are being taken either to recall or replace him.

As regards Italy and Sicily, an order was issued in April, 1943, by Allied Force Headquarters enjoining on all ranks the obligation of treating monuments and works of art with respect. In order to assist the Allied commanders in carrying out their responsibilities, a number of officer experts—English and American—was sent to North Africa to serve on the Civil Affairs staff of the Army commanders. In the United States independent committees of scholars had been formed to supply advice to the Army, and in August, 1943, a special civil Commission was set up by the President to co-ordinate these committees and to collaborate with the military authorities.

The duties assigned to the officer experts sent out to North Africa were:—

  1. (1) To prevent any wanton or avoidable damage being done by Allied troops or others to Italian monuments and works of art in territories occupied by us.
  2. (2) By "first-aid" methods to prevent the further deterioration of historic 1114 buildings or monuments which have suffered war damage.
  3. (3) To amass and check evidence of wanton destruction by the Germans of objects of art or of theft of such objects, with a view to ultimate compensation or restitution.

These duties require special knowledge in a very wide field which no one man can possess; but the whole field is reasonably covered by the body of officer experts now employed.

A great deal of valuable work has been done by the officer experts in Sicily; for instance, in Palermo no less than 18 buildings of importance are at present being sufficiently repaired under their supervision to prevent further deterioration. But there was reason to believe, especially after the invasion of Italy, that the existing organisation was not fully effective. Accordingly, in the autumn of 1943 I instructed Lieut.-Colonel Sir Leonard Woolley, who had been appointed to be the Archaeological Adviser to the Director of Civil Affairs in the War Office, to visit Sicily and Italy at the earliest opportunity. As a result of his visit it was found that in practice the organisation which had been set up required modification to adapt it to the conditions in the field, and that the authority of those in charge of these matters required further definition and strengthening. As regards the organisation it is now proposed that there should be a separate sub-commission for Monuments and Fine Arts within the Allied Control Commission. The Director and the Deputy Director of this sub-commission will have at their disposal the services of the experts, who have been formed into pools so that they can be distributed to the best advantage. An advanced pool has been posted to 15 Army Group Headquarters and officers are attached from it to the staffs of the Fifth and Eighth Armies, who can call for additional experts from the pool as and when necessary.

At Sir Leonard Woolley's suggestion General Eisenhower issued general orders reiterating and emphasising the importance of protecting monuments and works of art and setting out the responsibilities of commanders in this matter. The text of these orders is appended to this answer. Such few cases as there have been of avoidable or wanton damage are at present under special examination with a view to disciplinary action.

In view of the probability of military operations elsewhere than in Italy, plans are already being made for similar organisations to be set up in these theatres. In making these plans, full advantage is being taken of the experience gained in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, in order that the mistakes which were made in the initial stages of those campaigns, and which in the circumstances were perhaps inevitable, may be avoided.

Following is the text of the orders: