Carabinieri recover Red Cross documents from World War II

Color maps and typewritten dossiers dating back to the Second World War, produced by the Technical Health Office of the Central Committee of the Italian Red Cross and relating to anti-aircraft and anti-chemical attack plans of various Italian cities (Agrigento, Avellino, Belluno, Bergamo, Brescia, Caltanissetta, Catanzaro, L'Aquila, Lucca, Lecce, Macerata, etc.), were returned to the Italian Red Cross following the work carried out by the Carabinieri of the Rome Nucleus of the Cultural Heritage Protection Command.

The material had been put up for sale online by a private individual, only to be seized following a complaint addressed to the Carabinieri. After the necessary investigations and the related legal documents, the documents are thus returned to the CRI and will be kept in the Historical Archive of the Association.

“The most sincere thanks to the Carabinieri, with whom the Red Cross has always collaborated, for allowing us to bring home documents that are an integral part of our history – said the Vice President of the Red Cross, Rosario Valastro – and for the support activity carried out during the Second World War by the Italian Red Cross and its Volunteers. In the face of the conflict and the emergencies that arose from it, the CRI was ready, confirming its commitment to serving any vulnerability.

These documents are the indelible sign of the perseverance and passion that move our women and men, and they are a symbol of a firm will that, today as then, distinguishes our work even in the most delicate contexts and in the face of great challenges. We are working to make our archive, which has branches throughout Italy, accessible again. In Trieste, for example, we have evidence of the Julian-Dalmatian exodus, in which the Red Cross worked to help the refugees. Having such a prestigious past is a boost for us for the future. We are heirs to an important history”.