865.01/2161a: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Chargé at Algiers (Chapin)
686. For Reber. You will remember that in November the Italian Government inquired of the Control Commission of Allied intentions as regards the occupation of Rome. It is understood that in making this inquiry the Italian Government wished to preserve the status of the capital as an open city67 and considered that under these circumstances it would not be possible for the Allied or Italian Governments or military headquarters to be set up there after its liberation.
The Foreign Office proposed to reply to the Italians along the following lines:
The British and American Governments have never recognized that Rome is an open city and have no intention of departing from their present attitude which is to ignore appeals addressed to them on that subject. The chances of a successful reconstruction of the Italian Government would be reduced if it were established outside Rome; the machinery of the Italian Government could function efficiently only through the various ministries in Rome; and that therefore the Italian Government should recognize that in its own interests as well as that of the Allies it should not throw away the advantage of reestablishing itself in Rome.
As the Department had the question up at that time with the President and the U.S. Chiefs of Staff, we told the Embassy here that we were giving further consideration to the whole question but that we could not at that time concur in the British draft reply to the Italians.
The British have recently asked us again if we agreed with their position as stated in the draft reply to the Italians. The Embassy has been informed that, while we have not recognized Rome as an open city, we would not wish to make any statement to the Italians or publicly which would commit us or tie our hands with respect to any possible opportunity which might arise effectively to safeguard the religious and historical monuments of Rome during the battle for the capital; that we prefer to leave the door open on the question of the open city status of Rome and that, consequently, we could not concur with the first part of the proposed British reply to the Italian Government through the Control Commission. With respect to the Italian Government reestablishing itself in Rome, the Embassy was informed that we saw no objection to replying to the Italians along the lines in the latter part of the British draft to the effect that it would be to the advantage of the Italian Government to reestablish [Page 1037] itself in Rome after the liberation of the capital; that we had always anticipated that the Italian Government would reestablish itself in Rome.
Your recent reports would indicate that the Italian Government itself now intends to return to Rome and it may not be necessary to make any reply to the inquiry of last November.
- For correspondence regarding the appeals of the Vatican that the American and British Governments refrain from bombing Rome, see Foreign Relations, 1943, vol. ii, pp. 910 ff.↩