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Silence on Monte Sole
A genuine classic. Not to be missed. By one of the masters of nonfiction. Monte Sole - Mountain of the Sun - had the bad luck to lie on the main route of withdrawal of the retreating German armies in autumn 1944. As the allied advance stormed up Italy to the very shadow of Monte Sole, Axis frustration over their retreat and the harassing Italian partisans reached its peak. With full authorization of Field Marshall Albert Kesselring, and with an infusion of dread SS reinforcements, the Germans determined to neutralize Monte Sole. The result was, in Kesselring's chilling words, "a war operation". Jack Olsen re-creates the unspeakable three-day butchery of innocent Italian civilians that ranked among the blackest atrocities in the history of man's inhumanities to man. Kirkus The story of the Italian mountain villagers who lived on Monte Sole trying to survive the war and the horror that overtook them on September 29, 30 and October 1, 1944, when the retreating German army massacred 1800 of the citizens of Monte Sole. Olsen, a writer with a penchant for mountains (The Climb to Hell), tells the story well. The mountain--a 2000-foot peak in central Italy, some fifteen miles south of Bologna--had been a haven for Partisans. For this reason the Germans mistrusted the villagers, but the ugly rastrellamento (purge) occurred more by chance than Monte Sole happened to be located on the main route of the retreating army, and the SS deemed it necessary to ""neutralize"" the mountain. In operational terms, this meant mass-murder. The book is based on the accounts of survivors, the few official records, courtroom testimony, and visible scars. It begins with the postman on his rounds, and by this device visits with most of the contadini (tenant farmers) of the region, the priests, the storekeeper, the elders. They are simple people, family-oriented rather than nationalistic, and often likably eccentric. It is their very individuality that makes the ensuing chapters on the mass-murder so effective. Compelling, compassionate--rarely sentimental--a stirring book. The award-winning author of thirty-three books, Jack Olsen’s books have been published in fifteen countries and eleven languages. Olsen's journalism earned the National Headliners Award, Chicago Newspaper Guild's Page One Award, commendations from Columbia and Indiana Universities, the Washington State Governor's Award, the Scripps-Howard Award and other honors. He was listed in Who's Who in America since 1968 and in Who's Who in the World since 1987. The Philadelphia Inquirer described him as "an American treasure." Olsen was described as "the dean of true crime authors" by the Washington Post and the New York Daily News and "the master of true crime" by the Detroit Free Press and Newsday. Publishers Weekly called him "the best true crime writer around." His studies of crime are required reading in university criminology courses and have been cited in the New York Times Notable Books of the Year. In a page-one review, the Times described his work as "a genuine contribution to criminology and journalism alike." Olsen is a two-time winner in the Best Fact Crime category of the Mystery Writer’s of America, Edgar award.
- GenresHistoryWorld War IIItaly
323 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 2, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 22, 2017
Silence on Monte Sole was a free Kindle book, but the formatting was absolutely terrible. I fought my way through since the unknown-to-me nonfiction account of poor, ordinary Italians slaughtered by the Germans during World War II demanded my persistence. If not for the horrific editing, this book would have received a higher rating. Olsen provides numerous details of many family structures so it is very easy to forget the exact relationship.
The first third of this lengthy book details the ordinary days of the poor citizens on the mountain. Their lives are not easy, barely subsistence level, and the war has only added to their misery. Yet these people find joy in their families and their faith. By 1944, they are exhausted by war and they hope for an Allied landing. But, in many ways, they are apolitical and their desire for peace has more to do with their basic needs then any military belief. The German presence on the mountain, along with Fascists and partisans, has caused many skirmishes and some deaths yet most people did their best stay out of the way and just survive another day.
The widespread massacre of the mountain's citizenry encompasses the middle third. Entire families, regardless of age or gender, are wiped out in firing squad executions that spread up through the mountain's small communities. The few survivors, weakened by wounds and despair, manage to live because of the weight of the bodies atop of them. Struggling out from the bloody corpses of their friends and family members, the survivors face horrific conditions with no food, medical care, shelter, or water. They are numb with loss and their future is uncertain at best.
The final third of this book covers the post-war period. Monte Sole is now a desolate area with few outsiders knowing or understanding the scope of the massacre that occurred. The few Germans held accountable for the thousands of deaths seek parole or redemption, but too few are known. The vast majority of the machine gun wielding soldiers and officers are lost to history.
I stuck with this book because it is too easy to regard historical events as a list of dates and names of battles. Too often what is lost are the human costs of war as ordinary people do inhuman acts in the name of country or religion.
The first third of this lengthy book details the ordinary days of the poor citizens on the mountain. Their lives are not easy, barely subsistence level, and the war has only added to their misery. Yet these people find joy in their families and their faith. By 1944, they are exhausted by war and they hope for an Allied landing. But, in many ways, they are apolitical and their desire for peace has more to do with their basic needs then any military belief. The German presence on the mountain, along with Fascists and partisans, has caused many skirmishes and some deaths yet most people did their best stay out of the way and just survive another day.
The widespread massacre of the mountain's citizenry encompasses the middle third. Entire families, regardless of age or gender, are wiped out in firing squad executions that spread up through the mountain's small communities. The few survivors, weakened by wounds and despair, manage to live because of the weight of the bodies atop of them. Struggling out from the bloody corpses of their friends and family members, the survivors face horrific conditions with no food, medical care, shelter, or water. They are numb with loss and their future is uncertain at best.
The final third of this book covers the post-war period. Monte Sole is now a desolate area with few outsiders knowing or understanding the scope of the massacre that occurred. The few Germans held accountable for the thousands of deaths seek parole or redemption, but too few are known. The vast majority of the machine gun wielding soldiers and officers are lost to history.
I stuck with this book because it is too easy to regard historical events as a list of dates and names of battles. Too often what is lost are the human costs of war as ordinary people do inhuman acts in the name of country or religion.
March 30, 2018
This is a beautiful book well worth the difficult decision to read about war horrors. Jack Olsen's introduction says much better than I could why to read it: "Even though it will often seem so, this is not a book about German evil and Italian innocence. This is a book about the effects of war . . . So long as there are wars, there will be massacres like Monte Sole and corruptible human beings of all races, willing to carry them out." Buried in politically motivated lies on all sides, Olsen has unearthed the lives and humanity of an all but forgotten time.
One note. I did not deduct from my scoring from this but the e-book edition I read (in Kindle Unlimited) was a disgrace. The book was poorly scanned and converted with thousands of uncorrected errors. Unless you can find a better version of the e-book, take the hard cover out of the library.
One note. I did not deduct from my scoring from this but the e-book edition I read (in Kindle Unlimited) was a disgrace. The book was poorly scanned and converted with thousands of uncorrected errors. Unless you can find a better version of the e-book, take the hard cover out of the library.
September 8, 2024
Probably one of the heaviest books I’ve ever read, but it’s an important story. The victims and survivors of Monte Sole are worth remembering.
December 18, 2016
Thought engaging reading
As a religious and age in mid-eighties, have studied and seen some of the atrocities that have occurred. It has been difficult to comprehend the depravity of some. I have toured several of the death camps of the Jewish holocaust, to understand how a culture could embrace that thinking is compounded when you include the deaths and carnage of Monte Sole in Italy. I truly would like to tour and pray there.
As a religious and age in mid-eighties, have studied and seen some of the atrocities that have occurred. It has been difficult to comprehend the depravity of some. I have toured several of the death camps of the Jewish holocaust, to understand how a culture could embrace that thinking is compounded when you include the deaths and carnage of Monte Sole in Italy. I truly would like to tour and pray there.
July 8, 2016
A horrible reminder about just how much we can all be dehumanised by war. Not all that long ago a mountain community was targeted for elimination.
This book, written less than 25 years after the events it describes, conveys a sense of horror and helplessness that I would be happy never to read about again. That said, it is important that such events are documented for general consumption and not simply archived for legal or academic purposes. The way in which the story is told is now dated and the book could do with a new edition covering the fifty or so yeas since publication, but the importance of the core content I believe warrants four stars.
This book, written less than 25 years after the events it describes, conveys a sense of horror and helplessness that I would be happy never to read about again. That said, it is important that such events are documented for general consumption and not simply archived for legal or academic purposes. The way in which the story is told is now dated and the book could do with a new edition covering the fifty or so yeas since publication, but the importance of the core content I believe warrants four stars.
March 28, 2020
This is not an enjoyable book. But it is a harrowing story that deserves to be read to see the terrible cruelty that humans can inflict on one another.
The book is in two main parts. The first, the story of a group of villages around Monte Sole, south of Bologna. The lives and struggles of the people there. The second, the systematic slaughter of those innocent villagers by German SS troops. It ends with the aftermath of the massacre, and the folorn attempts of the survivors to rebuild their lives.
There is little political commentary in the book, just a little at the end. It is the story of the people themselves, their helplessness and their betrayal.
The book is in two main parts. The first, the story of a group of villages around Monte Sole, south of Bologna. The lives and struggles of the people there. The second, the systematic slaughter of those innocent villagers by German SS troops. It ends with the aftermath of the massacre, and the folorn attempts of the survivors to rebuild their lives.
There is little political commentary in the book, just a little at the end. It is the story of the people themselves, their helplessness and their betrayal.
April 8, 2016
Heartbreaking historical tragedy
The gutwrenching true story of a Nazi atrocity in Italy in October 1944, told from the eyes of the survivors. As usual, Olsen accurately nails down what the eyewitnesses saw and felt. A very emotionally tough read, especially he last half of the book.
The gutwrenching true story of a Nazi atrocity in Italy in October 1944, told from the eyes of the survivors. As usual, Olsen accurately nails down what the eyewitnesses saw and felt. A very emotionally tough read, especially he last half of the book.
April 5, 2018
While I am sure the back story was necessary, it seemed tedious, and I never got past it.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews