Wartime Pope begged allies not to bomb Rome
Pope Pius XII personally wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Second World War to beg him to spare Rome from bombing.
A newly disclosed letter has unveiled the extent of the Vatican's anguish over Allied raids on the city and its cultural and architectural treasures.
The British and Americans began raids on Rome on May 16, 1943. One of the heaviest raids was on July 19, 1943, when more than 500 Allied aircraft bombed railway freight yards, steel factories and an airstrip, causing hundreds of civilian casualties.
During the air assault, tens of thousands of tons of bombs were dropped, for the loss of 600 aircraft and 3,600 aircrew....
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
A newly disclosed letter has unveiled the extent of the Vatican's anguish over Allied raids on the city and its cultural and architectural treasures.
The British and Americans began raids on Rome on May 16, 1943. One of the heaviest raids was on July 19, 1943, when more than 500 Allied aircraft bombed railway freight yards, steel factories and an airstrip, causing hundreds of civilian casualties.
During the air assault, tens of thousands of tons of bombs were dropped, for the loss of 600 aircraft and 3,600 aircrew....