MEETING IN ZURICH

On March 8, 1945 Dulles and Gaevernitz met with Wolff, and he made a favorable impression on them. Although Wolff did not specifically indicate how he would end the war in Italy, he did make further concessions to the Allies to show his sincerity. He assured the release of 350 Anglo-American POWs and the release of the last handful of Jews held in northern Italy. He also pledged that he would end warfare against the Italian partisans. Wolff also said that it would be difficult to persuade Kesselring to break his oath with Hitler. However, he proposed that he would immediately return to Italy to convince Kesselring to do what was in the best interests of the German people rather than adhere to the orders of the Fuhrer. Although Wolff’s plan was vague, Dulles was enthusiastic about the proposal. He was most impressed with the fact that Wolff had freed both Parri and Usmiani and promised to end the war against the partisans. The key to a successful negotiation was convincing Kesselring, and this remained an uncertain possibility.

In addition to this uncertainty, there was a very serious error in the reports that were sent to London, Washington, and Caserta. The Allied military leaders were led to believe that the German army had expressed an interest in surrender, when in actuality the Axis army leadership in Italy was not even aware of Wolff’s mission. When director of the OSS, William Donovan, altered Dulles’s report, he also communicated a more positive picture of Wolff’s mission than what really existed. This overenthusiastic message was then given to President Roosevelt, the Combined Chiefs of Staff, and the Secretary of State. Thus, the American government was given the impression that an operation was underway to end the war in Italy.

Source:

Smith, Bradley F. & Agarossi, Elena. Operation Sunrise: The Secret Surrender. New York: Basic Books, 1979.