Why the Krauts Always Make the Best Villains
I worked with some German pilots when I was an Army Aviator. They were, without exception, loyal, professional, disciplined and fun. However, during World War II, the Devil had his way with those people. The Nazis were uniformly horrible. While today’s Germans strive mightily to free themselves of the historical baggage, it will still take generations to cleanse that taint.
In early September 1943, units of the German 2nd Parachute Division were dispatched to establish coastal defenses near Palidoro which fell underneath the jurisdiction of the Torre Carabinieri. On Sept. 22, several fallschirmjägers were pawing through boxes of abandoned munitions when something went off. Two of the German paratroopers died, and several more were wounded.
War is a messy, wasteful thing, arguably the messiest and most wasteful of all foolish human pursuits. It invariably results in vast quantities of deadly junk left lying about. Curiosity, not the isolated purview of the feline, young soldiers invariably explore. Under such sordid circumstances, accidents inevitably happen. However, the fallschirmjäger commander did not see it that way.
The German commander pinned the blame on some vague unknown locals. The Germans believed their former allies to be traitorous. Subsequently, suspicions and tensions ran hot. They demanded that the local Carabinieri assist in locating those responsible. Salvo D’Acquisto was the top cop in charge.
D’Acquisto conducted an investigation and tried to convince the German commander that the deaths had been an unfortunate accident. The Nazi officer was hearing none of this. He directed his troops to round up 22 random civilians to be executed in reprisal. He saw this as an opportunity to send a needed message.
In addition to the 22 civilians, the Germans also took D’Acquisto into custody. They then proceeded to interrogate the lot of them viciously, D’Acquisto included. When further information was not forthcoming, the Germans gave the captured Italians shovels and directed them to dig their own graves.
If you’ve ever had the pleasure of digging a really big hole with a shovel, that takes a minute. I’m also fairly sure their hearts weren’t in it. Regardless, in due time, the graves were complete, and the Germans prepared to execute the captured civilians. At that point, Salvo D’Acquisto stepped forward and confessed to the killings.
D’Acquisto declared that he alone was responsible and that everyone else was innocent and should be released. 17-year-old Angelo Amadio was one of the Italian civilians subsequently granted his freedom. Before the Germans let him go, he saw Salvo D’Acquisto executed by firing squad.
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