Rescuing Mussolini 1943 Gran Sasso Then and Now
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- čas přidán 4. 04. 2024
- Rescuing Mussolini 1943 Gran Sasso Then and Now
After Italy's capitulation in the summer of 1943, the former iL Duce, Benito Mussolini was arrested by Marshal Pietro Badoglio's forces now loyal to the Allies and held in captivity in various locations across Italy, finally being held at the Campo Imperatore Hotel on the Gran Sasso Massif in the Abruzzo region of Italy.
It was the men of Fallschirmjäger Regiment 7 and Otto Skorzeny's Waffen SS Sonderverband z.b.V. Friedenthal who were tasked with rescuing Mussolini in a daring glider raid on the 12th September 1943 called Unternehmen Eiche (Operation Oak).
In this episode of WW2 Wayfinder, I visit Gran Sasso and the Campo Imperatore Hotel and look for the Then and Now images that can still be from the rescue of Mussolini by the Fallschirmjäger Regiment 7 and Otto Skorzeny's Waffen SS Sonderverband z.b.V. Friedenthal.
This is the first in two episodes I filmed on the Gran Sasso Massif about the rescue of Mussolini in September 1943.
#thenandnow #ww2wayfinder #gransasso #campoimperatore #fallschirmjäger #italy #ww2 #specialforces
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When I was a kid growing up in Germany, we often went to an Italian restaurant named “Gran Sasso.” The owner was named Gerlach and was the pilot who flew Mussolini off that mountain. I was quite young but I remember the old man and others sitting at the Stammtisch talking.
Great story. Which city?
Wow!!!! That’s amazing!!! Did he ever mention anything about it to you or hint at what he did back in the day?
This was fantastic. I often wondered what happen to the place but seeing your then and now made my day. Thank you for taking us along.
My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it and to see it now as a ski resort is quite something knowing what took place there all those years ago!
love it !!!! absolutley fantastic !!!!! thank you so much..Shaun.
Thank you Shaun, glad you enjoyed it and I’ll have a second episode from the Gran Sasso that takes an in-depth look at the raid out in the next few weeks!
@@WW2Wayfinder oooooooo looking forward to that one !! you have no Idea how much I love your content and especially then and now photos !! can't thank you enough for what you do ! ... Shaun.
FG42 is the unicorn of German arms. I recall this raid and you really nailed it ! History.
Our fathers won the war, but you show the other side.
Great video! Glad the dramatic iconic looking hotel is still there. Hopefully it will be restored some day. Would be a shame to lose a big part of history like that.
Thanks mate, and I agree it would be amazing to see the hotel brought back to life as it’s defiantly in a very sorry state at the moment unfortunately. The war aspect aside it’s a unique example of 1930’s architecture and should be restored!
That’s was a great episode, thanks
Thank you!
Another fine episode in your acclaimed 'Then and Now'-series. You have truly found a great angle to revive all those defining events in WW2. Keep 'em coming!
Thank you! I’ve got some great ones lined up for Normandy this year!
Another well done BEAUTY. Thank-you very much.
You’re most welcome!
Thank you! I live 200 in North of Gran Sasso and I enjoy very much this Italian content. If you come in Marche you'll be my guest
Thank you! I loved the Abruzzo area and definitely want to return as it was beautiful there, and the food was amazing!
Unbelievable to "be there" thanks to you, it really hasn´t change a lot, great video
It’s been a desire of mine for the longest time to visit Gran Sasso so was quite a thrill to be there and see just how unchanged the location was in real terms from 1943. Unfortunate that the hotel is all boarded up as I’d have loved to have walked around inside and seen Room 201 where Mussolini was held but I won’t complain too loudly as just being outside was incredible!
Amazing - well done, excellent investigation and planning !
Thank you! Gran Sasso has been a place I’ve wanted to visit for the longes time so was really excited to film this and it’s incredible just how close the area remains to 1943!
Love your work, thanks!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it and I’ll have a proper in-depth look at Operation Oak out at some point in the next few weeks so hope you enjoy that one too!
Top drawer as always. Very jealous, a place i've always wanted to visit.
Thanks mate!
This was definitely a bucket list for me and really pleased I’ve finally seen it. Just a shame the hotel was all closed up as I’d have loved to have seen the inside of it.
Another great Then and Now. Very informative as I really have not researched much of the Italian Champaign and events.
Thanks mate! I’ve got another from Gran Sasso I’ll have out in a few weeks time that goes into detail on the operation there. Still buzzing from having visited the location!
Outstanding coverage !
Thank you! I’ll have another episode out from Gran Sasso that goes into more detail on the raid. It should be out by mid to late May I think, I just need some free time to finish editing it together!
Great presentation! It's an area which hasn't changed much over the years. It's the operation itself imo which makes it so interesting for a "then" and "now" visit.
Thank you! It was amazing to stand there knowing it’s basically still the same as it was 81 years ago! Very much a bucket list item for myself to visit!
Very awesome I remember hearing about this on the history channel years ago. Really interesting.
Thank you! I’ll have a separate episode out soon that looks at the raid in detail!
I have never seen this footage!! Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Very cool episode!
Thank you! I’ll have a second one from Gran Sasso out soon that looks more in-depth at the operation itself.
@@WW2Wayfinder COOL! I look forward to that!
Great video!! Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it!
I always wondered where that hotel was. Excellent commentary and keep up the WWll history.
That was amazing! Thanks for sharing ;)
My pleasure Rob! Glad you enjoyed and something a little different! Thanks again for watching!
Fascinating as always
Thank you!
Another great piece. Thank you.
Think there was any friction between Mussolini the self proclaimed Nietzschean Superman who was "sempre ragione" and Skorzeny, the P.T. Barnum of self promotion and epitome of the Herrenrasse?
Thank you!
Would make a cracking good movie
100%! They could even film on location given how little it’s all changed!
Pls visit colditz, I had the pleasure of being there but unable to see a few things of interest. Would love to see and hear your take on things. Thank you and keep up the awesome work you do
I was there last October!
It’s taken me a while to edit the episode on Colditz as I was struck down by a virus when I was there and struggled a bit to get my points across but I hope to have that out in a presentable state within the month!
One of my father’s friends was at that time a very young Fallschirmjäger- he was one of the soldiers in Operation Oak - after the war being an Austrian citizen, he worked with the Austrian Railways and he became a well known local painter in 🇦🇹 . I do not like to mention his name here as his family may not like it. Probably not many people knew , that he was one of the guys who participated in Operation Oak ….
Oh wow! Did he ever talk about the mission to your or his time in the Fallschirmjäger?
@@WW2Wayfinder he talked to my father about it, to me, being a young kid, not. He had a peculiar habit, when greeting with a handshake, he kept the hand with tight grip and continued talking and opened his hand only after a couple of minutes. If you provide me with your e-mail address, I could send you his name and some links with examples of his paintings. Furthermore I could send some proposals of places you might be interested to visit in 🇦🇹, e.g. the place where Stalag XVIIIA was …
Nuevo suscriptor. saludos desde Texas Muy interesante tu canal 👍
Thank you and welcome to the channel!
Jon, glad you got to put another ✔️ on your bucket list. Such dramatic history for a little known hotel in the Italian mountains. I believe Il Duce didn't relish the act of being rescued he knew he was going from a prisoner of the italian gov. to a puppet for the nazi regime. Great video as always.
Thank you!
Yes Mussolini I think was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea at this point (I’d agree he deserved his fate!) and was so depressed that being rescued was somewhat underwhelming for him.
Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed the episode and thank you so much for the support!
Great video…Although I noticed at 14.23 that someone over your shoulder enters the former hotel…Just wondered why you couldn’t.
That’s the tunnel to the toilet, ski room and the cable car station. The access into the main section of the hotel is sealed from the inside as well. You’ll see the tunnels in my second video all about the raid itself when it’s on here in the next few weeks.
Great stuff.
Thank you!
Fantastique moments que vous partagez. , toujours autant de précisions .
merci beaucoup! Je suis heureux que vous ayez apprécié et j'aurai un autre épisode approfondi sur le raid sur Gran Sasso dans les prochaines semaines ! Merci encore!
Not much different very nice thanks for sharing!!✌️🇺🇲
Thanks! And yes it’s amazing just how close to the wartime state that part of the mountain remains.
I’ll have another episode out in the next few weeks that takes a detailed look at the mission itself!
Something a bit different, cheers Jon.
Glad you enjoyed it! I’ll have e a second episode from Gran Sasso out in the next weeks where I take an in depth look at the raid!
Did the Fallshirmjager suffer any casualties in the raid Jon..??
Other than some bumps and scrapes from rough landings that was it. Only one shot was fired and that was from a Fallschirmjäger who had a negligent discharge with his weapon as he exited the glider!
I love your content, i love WW2 history of about 20 years, hope I can go to Europe someday to visit these WW2 remains
Thank you!
Superb work, well done, idea for another video, film locations of Von Ryan's Express 🪖
Thank you!
I haven’t seen Von Ryans Express for a while now so will have to watch it this weekend! Thank you for the suggestion!