Monte Cassino/Historiale of Cassino

Montecassino/Historiale di Cassino

During World War II, the Monte Cassino Abbey and the nearby town of Cassino were the site of a decisive battle in the struggle over the Italian peninsula. Up to 80,000 soldiers died in action, and at least 250 civilians lost their lives.

History

The Abbey of Monte Cassino, located on a mountain about 130 km south-east of Rome, was established around 529 A.D. by St. Benedict of Nursia. The town of Cassino lies at the foot of the mountain. In 1944, fierce battles took place in the area. After taking Sicily in the summer of 1943, the Allies landed near Salerno in southern Italy on September 3, 1943. On September 8, the armistice between the Allies and Italy was announced; in reaction, German troops occupied the north of Italy. At the beginning of 1944, the front mainly stretched across the »Gustav Line«, a heavily fortified defence line of the Wehrmacht, which cut across Italy south of Rome and was meant to hinder the Allies' further advance towards the capital. The Monte Cassino mountain was the strategic core of the defence line.
About 1,000 civilians had sought refuge in the abbey. Most of them fled when fears arose that there the abbey would become a battle site. The approaching fighting was hinted at when German Oberstleutnant Julius Schlegel had the abbey's art treasures moved to Rome. Several hundred civilians, a few monks and abbot Gregorio Diamare remained at the abbey. On January 17, 1944, the Allies launched the first of four assaults on the mountain. On February 15, they bombarded the abbey with planes, destroying it completely. Despite fierce fighting, the Allies only managed to break the defence line during the fourth assault on May 12, 1944. The 2nd Polish Corps commanded by Lt. General Władysław Anders played a decisive role in capturing Monte Cassino. His units took the nearby mountains, suffering high losses, and encircled Monte Cassino. As a result, chief commander of the German troops in Italy Albert Kesselring ordered the evacuation of the mountain on May 18. The Allies could now advance to the north. On June 4, 1944, they liberated Rome.

Monte Cassino, February 1944, The destroyed abbey, Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-2005-0004

Monte Cassino, 2005, Commonwealth cemetery, abbey in the background, Barry Arnold

Victims

Nearly 200,000 soldiers of many nationalities fought in the Battle of Monte Cassino. The exact death toll is difficult to determine due to the differences in sources in the various countries as well as the complexity of the combat operations. The remains of some of the soldiers who died in action were returned to their home countries, however, many were buried on-site in Italy.
1,052 Polish soldiers who died in the Battle of Monte Cassino are buried close to the abbey, where monks tend to their graves; General Anders, who died in London in 1970, is also buried here. Further south, in Casamassima in the Apulia region, are the graves of 431 Polish soldiers who were wounded and died in the town hospital. 3,414 French soldiers who were part of units fighting for the Allies and who died in battles in central Italy are buried on the Venafro military cemetery to the east of Cassino. Among them were many men from North Africa. 4,271 soldiers of the »Commonwealth« (British, Indian, Nepalese, Canadian, New Zealand and South African soldiers) were laid to rest on the Commonwealth military cemetery in Cassino, 2,049 in Minturno. All of the US soldiers who died in action in Italy have been buried on the cemetery of Nettuno, south of Rome. Several hundred Italians too died fighting for the Allies at Monte Cassino. They lie on the Mignano Montelungo cemetery. 20,027 German soldiers, most of whom died at Monte Cassino, are buried on the Colle Marino cemetery, close to Cassino.
Sources vary as to the overall death toll: it is estimated that at least 15,000 allied and 15,000 German soldiers died, or even up to 60,000 allied soldiers and 20,000 Germans. At least 250 civilians lost their lives as a result of the battle. The area around Monte Cassino was completely devastated.

In 1922 the Kingdom of Italy became a dictatorship under the »Duce« (leader) Benito Mussolini (1883–1945) and his fascist party. Until the mid-1930s there was barely any evidence of public anti-semitism in Italy; discriminatory measures were not introduced until 1938. At the time, around 46,000 Jews were living in Italy. During this period, the Italian state also included the Istrian peninsula and a number of islands that are now part of Greece, such as Rhodes, which had a Jewish community rich in tradition. The Italian government was a close ally of the German Reich but was not involved in the mass deportations of Jews to German extermination camps until autumn 1943. It was only following the occupation of the north of the country by the German Wehrmacht (the south had already been liberated by American and British troops) that the German SS and police began to implement plans to systematically deport the Italian Jews. The Jews were initially held in detention camps and then transported halfway across Europe to Auschwitz, where many were killed in the gas chambers on arrival. Between 7,000 and 8,500 Jews from Italy (excluding Italian-occupied territory) were murdered or died as a result of brutality. Tens of thousands of Italian Jews and Jewish refugees were able to survive by emigrating or going into hiding with the help of non-Jews. The Allied liberation of southern Italy spared over 2,000 Jews from deportation by the German regime. The period 1943 to 1945 saw violent conflicts between the German occupation forces and Italian partisans from the communist-dominated resistance movement »Resistenza«. German troops responded with horrific reprisal measures and massacres, for example in Marzabotto and in the Ardeatine Caves near Rome. More than 400,000 Italians – soldiers, civilians and partisans – died during the Second World War. Once the war was over, the partisan campaign became a key feature of Italian national identity and the Italian culture of memory cultivated the myth that the country had liberated itself from fascism. There was barely any confrontation with the widespread Italian support for Mussolini. The best-known sites of memory such as the former concentration camp at Risiera di San Sabba near Trieste or the memorials at Marzabotto and the Ardeatine Caves are dedicated to the resistance, as are many museums. However, there are few memorial sites at former detention camps for Jews and where these do exist they tend to commemorate the liberators rather than the victims. One example is Villa Emma in Nonatola, where Jewish children were able to survive in hiding. One feature linking many of these sites is their focus on human rights education for the present and future. In recent years, the memory of the deported and murdered Jews has become more prominent. In 2013, the Memoriale de la Shoah di Milano opened in Milan’s central railway station, and in 2023, the decision has been made to create a central holocaust memorial in Rome.

Remembrance

Some of the monks who had fled to Rome returned to the ruins of the Abbey of Monte Cassino already in July 1944. On February 16, 1945, a commission for rebuilding the abbey was established. This undertaking had a highly symbolic significance in post-war Italy. Many well-known artists took part in the reconstruction, which was carefully carried out on the basis of the original plans from the 6th Century. Many countries participated in the process, and the abbey's art treasures were returned. On October 24, 1964, Pope Paul VI consecrated the basilica of the reconstructed abbey, declaring St. Benedict the patron saint of Europe.
The abbey is home to a museum which presents the eventful history of the site. Monte Cassino is a tourist magnet due to its many testimonies to medieval history, attracting visitors from all over the world. About 1.5 million people visit Cassino every year.
The graves of thousands of soldiers of different nationalities can be visited on military cemeteries in and around Cassino.
In 2006, the »Historiale« museum was opened on the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino, in memory of the battle and in honour of the many soldiers who lost their lives. In 2017, the museum was closed. It is unclear whether it will open again.

Monte Cassino, May 1944, Polish soldiers during the battle, in: Melchior Wańkowicz: Bitwa o Monte Cassino, Rome 1947

Monte Cassino, 2009, Polish military cemetery, Michel Guilly

Possibilities

Guided tours in several languages, events, guided tours of the area around Monte Cassino in cooperation with the archaeological museum and the abbey

Open

The museum was closed in 2017.

Contact

http://www.museohistoriale.org/

info@museohistoriale.org

+39 0776 313 852

via San Marco 23
03043 Cassino

Monte Cassino, 2011, »Cassino Memorial« on the Commonwealth military cemetery, Farawayman, Creative Commons CC BY 2.0

Monte Cassino, 2008, The reconstructed abbey, Maria Cioffi

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