Sisters in Resistance: How a German Spy, a Banker's Wife, and Mussolini's Daughter Outwitted the Nazis

348 Pages·2022·13.955 MB·English

by  Tilar J. Mazzeo

Copyright © 2022 by Tilar J. Mazzeo
Jacket design by Sarah Congdon. Letters courtesy of Jacqueline de Chollet; images of the
women courtesy of the author; image of building by Shutterstock. Cover copyright © 2022
by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Mazzeo, Tilar J., author.
Title: Sisters in resistance : how a German spy, a banker’s wife, and Mussolini’s daughter
outwitted the Nazis / Tilar J. Mazzeo.
Other titles: How a German spy, a banker’s wife, and Mussolini’s daughter outwitted the
Nazis
Description: First edition. | New York : GCP, 2022. | Includes bibliographical references
and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021053690 | ISBN 9781538735268 (hardcover) | ISBN
9781538735275 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Ciano, Edda Mussolini, Contessa. | Purwin, Hilde, 1919-2010. | Ciano,
Galeazzo, conte, 1903-1944. The Ciano diaries. 1946. | World War, 1939-1945—Italy. |
Italy—History—German occupation, 1943-1945. | Espionage, German—Italy—History
—20th century. | World War, 1939-1945—Secret service—Germany. |
Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei. Schutzstaffel.
Reichssicherheitshauptamt. Amt VI. | Ciano, Galeazzo, conte, 1903-1944—Death and
burial. | Italy—Politics and government—1922-1945.
Classification: LCC DG575.C52 M39 2022 | DDC 945.091—dc23/eng/20211112
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021053690
ISBNs: 9781538735268 (hardcover), 9781538735275 (ebook)
E3-20220602-DA-NF-COR
E3-20220429-DA-NF-ORI
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Also by Tilar J. Mazzeo
Cast of Characters
Preface: The Inferno
Prologue: The German Spy and Mussolini’s Daughter
Chapter 1: The Grand Council
Chapter 2: Tramontana
Chapter 3: Flight to Exile
Chapter 4: Gallo
Chapter 5: Arrest
Chapter 6: The Last Card
Chapter 7: Operation Conte
Chapter 8: Blackmailing Hitler
Chapter 9: The Trial of Verona
Chapter 10: Emilio
Chapter 11: Refuge in Switzerland
Chapter 12: Father Pancino
Chapter 13: Germania
Chapter 14: The Banker’s Wife
Chapter 15: The House of Spies
Chapter 16: My New Found Friend
Chapter 17: Lunch at Monthey Station
Chapter 18: The Ciano Diaries
Chapter 19: The Rose Garden
Epilogue: Into Thin Air
Acknowledgments
Discover More
Endnotes
Questions for Discussion
Photos
About the Author
Also by Tilar J. Mazzeo
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of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton
Irena’s Children: The Extraordinary Story of the Woman
Who Saved 2,500 Children from the Warsaw Ghetto
The Hotel on Place Vendôme: Life, Death, and
Betrayal at the Hotel Ritz in Paris
The Secret of Chanel No. 5: The Intimate History
of the World’s Most Famous Perfume
The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire
and the Woman Who Ruled It
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Cast of Characters
The Ciano-Mussolini Family
Edda Mussolini Ciano—Favorite child of Italy’s blustering dictator,
Benito Mussolini, she was forced into a desperate attempt to blackmail her
father and Hitler to try to save the life of her husband, Galeazzo Ciano.
While on the run from the Gestapo, she used the pseudonym Emilia
Santos. She was mother to three young children during the war: Fabrizio,
Raimonda, and Marzio. Her wartime lover was Emilio Pucci.
Galeazzo Ciano—Mussolini’s foreign minister and son-in-law, he was
repulsed by the state secrets of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy and tried to
organize a coup to remove Mussolini from power and to broker a separate
peace with the Allies. His devout mother, Carolina Pini Ciano,
disapproved of his wife. His brother-in-law Massimo Magistrati held a
diplomatic post in Switzerland.
Benito Mussolini—Italy’s fascist dictator, he inspired the young Hitler
but found by the middle of the Second World War that now the Führer gave
the orders. Confronted with the choice between pardoning his son-in-law
and pleasing Hitler, Mussolini wavered. His wife was Rachele Mussolini.
His mistress was Clara Petacci. He sent his son Vittorio Mussolini to hunt
down and return Edda, by whatever means necessary.