Please enjoy June 5, 1944: Fireside Chat 29: On the Fall of Rome a great episode of the legendary Franklin D. Roosevelt - A Classic Old Time radio Show.
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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Ladies and gentlemen, the President ofthe United States, my friends. Yesterday,
on June fourth, nineteen forty four, Rome fell to American and Allied
troops. The first of the Axiscapitals is now in our hands, one
(00:26):
up and two to go. Itis perhaps significant that the first of these
capitals to fall should have the longesthistory of all of them. The story
of Rome goes back to the timeof the foundations of our civilization. We
(00:46):
can still see there monuments of thetime when Rome and the Romans control the
whole of the then known world.That too, is significant for the United
Nations are determined that in the future, no one city and no one race
(01:07):
will be able to control the wholeof the world. In addition to the
monuments of the older times, wealso see in Rome the great symbol of
Christianity, which had reached into almostevery part of the world. There are
other shrines and other churches in manyplaces, but the churches and the shrines
(01:33):
of Rome are visible symbols of thefaith and determination of the earliest saints and
martyrs that Christianity should live and becomeuniversal and tonight it will be a source
of deep satisfaction that the freedom ofthe Pope and the Vatican City is assured
(01:57):
by the armies of the United Nations. It is also significant that Rome has
been liberated by the armed forces ofmany generations, many nations. The American
and British armies who bore the chiefburdens of battle, found at their side
(02:17):
our own North American neighbors, thegallant Canadians, the fighting New Zealanders from
the far South Pacific, the courageousFrench and the French Moroccans, the South
Africans, the Poles, and theEast Indians. All of them fought with
(02:39):
us on the bloody approaches to thecity of Rome. The Italians, too,
forswearing a partnership in the Axis whichthey never desired, have sent their
troops to join us in our battlesagainst the German trespas on their soil.
(03:02):
The prospect of the liberation of Romemeant enough to Hitler and his generals to
induce them to fight desperately, atgreat cost of men and materials, and
with great sacrifice, to their crumblingeastern line and to their western front.
No thanks are due to them.If Rome was spared the devastation which the
(03:29):
Germans wreaked on Naples and other Italiancities. The Allied generals maneuvered so skillfully
that the Nazis could only have stayedlong enough to damage Rome at the risk
of losing their armies. But Romeis of course more than a military objective.
(03:52):
Ever since before the days of theCaesars, Rome has stood as a
symbol of authority. Rome was theRepublic, Rome was the Empire. Rome
was and is in a sense theCatholic Church, and Rome was the capital
(04:16):
of a united Italy. Later,unfortunately, a quarter of a century ago,
Rome became the seat of fascism andstill later one of the three capitals
of the Axis. For this quartercentury, the Italian people were enslaved,
(04:43):
they were degraded by the rule ofMussolini. From Rome. They will mark
its liberation with deep emotion. Inthe north of Italy, the people are
still dominated, threatened by the Nazioverlords and their fascist puppets. Somehow,
(05:05):
on the back of my head Istill remember a name, Mussolini. Our
victory comes at an excellent time,while our Allied forces are poised for another
strike at Western Europe, and whilethe armies of other Nazi soldiers nervously await
(05:29):
our assault, and in the meantime, our gallant Russian allies continue to make
their power felt more and more.From a strictly military standpoint, we had
long ago accomplished certain of the mainobjectives of our Italian campaign. The control
(05:51):
of the islands, the major islands, the control of the sea lanes of
the Mediterranean to shorten our combat andsupply lines. And the capture of the
airports such as the great airports ofPugia south of Rome, from which we
have struck telling blows on the continent, the whole of the continent, all
(06:15):
the way up to the Russian front. It'll be unwise to inflate in our
own minds the military importance of thecapture of Rome. We shall have to
push through a long period of greatereffort and fiercer fighting before we get into
Germany itself. The Germans have retreatedthousands of miles all the way from the
(06:43):
gates of Cairo, through Libya andthrough Nisia and Sicily and southern Italy.
They have suffered heavy losses, butnot great enough yet to cause collapse.
Germany has not yet been driven tosurrender. Germany has not yet been driven
(07:04):
to the point where she will beunable to recommence world conquest a generation.
Hence, therefore the victory still liessome distance ahead. That distance will be
covered in due time. Have nofear of that. But it will be
(07:27):
tough and it will be costly.As I have told you many many times,
in Italy, the people had livedso long under the corrupt rule of
Mussolini. But in spite of thetinsel at the top you have seen the
pictures of him, their economic conditionhad grown steadily worse. Our troops have
(07:54):
found starvation, malnutrition, disease,deteriorating education, a lowered public health or
by products of the fascist misrule.The task of the Allies in occupation has
been stupendous. We have had tostart at the very bottom, assisting local
(08:18):
governance to reform on democratic lines.We have had to give them bread to
replace that which was stolen out oftheir mouths by the Germans. We've had
to make it possible for the Italiansto raise and use their own local crops.
(08:39):
We've had to help them cleanse theirschools of fascist trappings. I think
the American people at a hall approvethe salvage of these human beings we're only
now learning to walk in a newatmosphere our freedom. Some of us may
let our thoughts run to the financialcost of it. Essentially, it is
(09:05):
what we can call a form ofrelief, and at the same time we
hope that this relief will be aninvestment for the future, an investment that
will pay dividends by eliminating fascism,by ending any Italian desires to start another
war of aggression in the future.And that means that there are dividends which
(09:31):
justify such an investment, because theyare additional supports for world peace. The
Italian people are capable of self government. We do not lose sight of their
virtues as a peace loving nation.We remember the many centuries in which the
(09:54):
Italians will lead us in the artsand sciences, enriching the line waves of
all mankind. We remember the greatsons of the Italian people, Galileo Marconi,
Michelangelo Dante, and incidentally, thatfearless discoverer who typifies the courage of
(10:20):
Italy, Christopher Columbus. Italy cannotgrow in stature by seeking to build up
a great militaristic empire. Italians havebeen overcrowded within their own territories, but
they do not need to try toconquer the lands of other peoples in order
(10:43):
to find the breadth of life.Other peoples may not want to be conquered.
In the past, Italians have comeby the millions into the United States.
They have been welcomed, they haveprospered, they have become good citizens,
(11:05):
community government leaders. They are notItalian Americans. They are Americans,
Americans of Italian descent. Italians havegone in great numbers to the other Americas,
(11:26):
Brazil and the Argentine, for example, hundreds and hundreds of thousands of
them. They have gone many othernations in every continent of the world,
giving of their industry and their talents, and achieving success and the comfort of
good living and good citizenship. Italyshould go on as a great mother nation,
(11:54):
contributing to the culture and the progressand the good will of all mankind,
developing her special talents in the artsand crafts and sciences, and preserving
her historic and cultural heritage for thebenefit of all peoples. We want to
expect the help of the future Italytward lasting peace all the other nations.
(12:20):
The post of fascism and Nazism oughtto help to give Italy a chance.
The Germans, after years of dominationin Rome, left the people in the
Eternal city on the verge of starvation. We and the British will do and
(12:41):
are doing everything we can to bringthem relief. Anticipating the fall of Rome,
we made preparations to ship food suppliesto the city. But of course
it should be borne in mind thatthe needs are so great, the transportation
requirements of our armies are so heavy, that improvement must be gradual. But
(13:07):
we have already begun to save thelives of the men, women and children.
Are wrong. This, I think, is an example of the efficiency
of your machinery of war, themagnificent ability and energy of the American people
in growing crops, in building themerchant ships, in making and collecting the
(13:31):
cargoes, in getting the supplies overthousands of miles of water, and thinking
ahead to meet emergencies. All thisspells, I think, an amazing efficiency
on the part of our armed forces, all of various agencies working with them,
(13:52):
and American industry and labor as awhole. No great effort like this
can be one hundred percent perfect,But the batting average is very, very
high, and so I extend thecongratulations and the thanks tonight. Are the
(14:16):
American people to General Alexander, whohas been in command of the whole Italian
operation, to our General Clerk,to General Lease are the Fifth and the
eighth Armies, to General Wilson,the Supreme Allied Commander of the Mediterranean Theater.
(14:39):
To General Devas, his American deputy, to General Eca, to Admirals
Cunningham and Hewitt, and to alltheir brave officers and men. May God
bless them and watch your and overall of our gallant fighting men. Ladies
(15:07):
and gentlemen, you have heard thePresident of the United States, and now
our national anthem. Oh time yousee fine the answer lie want the behad
(15:28):
t last pays bloss side signs throughthe many spies, for the party was
wors a godly way on the rackabout me. I I was still b
Ladies and gentlemen, the President ofthe United States, my friends. Yesterday,
on June fourth, nineteen forty four, Rome fell to American and Allied
troops. The first of the Axiscapitals is now in our hands, one
(00:26):
up and two to go. Itis perhaps significant that the first of these
capitals to fall should have the longesthistory of all of them. The story
of Rome goes back to the timeof the foundations of our civilization. We
(00:46):
can still see there monuments of thetime when Rome and the Romans control the
whole of the then known world.That too, is significant for the United
Nations are determined that in the future, no one city and no one race
(01:07):
will be able to control the wholeof the world. In addition to the
monuments of the older times, wealso see in Rome the great symbol of
Christianity, which had reached into almostevery part of the world. There are
other shrines and other churches in manyplaces, but the churches and the shrines
(01:33):
of Rome are visible symbols of thefaith and determination of the earliest saints and
martyrs that Christianity should live and becomeuniversal and tonight it will be a source
of deep satisfaction that the freedom ofthe Pope and the Vatican City is assured
(01:57):
by the armies of the United Nations. It is also significant that Rome has
been liberated by the armed forces ofmany generations, many nations. The American
and British armies who bore the chiefburdens of battle, found at their side
(02:17):
our own North American neighbors, thegallant Canadians, the fighting New Zealanders from
the far South Pacific, the courageousFrench and the French Moroccans, the South
Africans, the Poles, and theEast Indians. All of them fought with
(02:39):
us on the bloody approaches to thecity of Rome. The Italians, too,
forswearing a partnership in the Axis whichthey never desired, have sent their
troops to join us in our battlesagainst the German trespas on their soil.
(03:02):
The prospect of the liberation of Romemeant enough to Hitler and his generals to
induce them to fight desperately, atgreat cost of men and materials, and
with great sacrifice, to their crumblingeastern line and to their western front.
No thanks are due to them.If Rome was spared the devastation which the
(03:29):
Germans wreaked on Naples and other Italiancities. The Allied generals maneuvered so skillfully
that the Nazis could only have stayedlong enough to damage Rome at the risk
of losing their armies. But Romeis of course more than a military objective.
(03:52):
Ever since before the days of theCaesars, Rome has stood as a
symbol of authority. Rome was theRepublic, Rome was the Empire. Rome
was and is in a sense theCatholic Church, and Rome was the capital
(04:16):
of a united Italy. Later,unfortunately, a quarter of a century ago,
Rome became the seat of fascism andstill later one of the three capitals
of the Axis. For this quartercentury, the Italian people were enslaved,
(04:43):
they were degraded by the rule ofMussolini. From Rome. They will mark
its liberation with deep emotion. Inthe north of Italy, the people are
still dominated, threatened by the Nazioverlords and their fascist puppets. Somehow,
(05:05):
on the back of my head Istill remember a name, Mussolini. Our
victory comes at an excellent time,while our Allied forces are poised for another
strike at Western Europe, and whilethe armies of other Nazi soldiers nervously await
(05:29):
our assault, and in the meantime, our gallant Russian allies continue to make
their power felt more and more.From a strictly military standpoint, we had
long ago accomplished certain of the mainobjectives of our Italian campaign. The control
(05:51):
of the islands, the major islands, the control of the sea lanes of
the Mediterranean to shorten our combat andsupply lines. And the capture of the
airports such as the great airports ofPugia south of Rome, from which we
have struck telling blows on the continent, the whole of the continent, all
(06:15):
the way up to the Russian front. It'll be unwise to inflate in our
own minds the military importance of thecapture of Rome. We shall have to
push through a long period of greatereffort and fiercer fighting before we get into
Germany itself. The Germans have retreatedthousands of miles all the way from the
(06:43):
gates of Cairo, through Libya andthrough Nisia and Sicily and southern Italy.
They have suffered heavy losses, butnot great enough yet to cause collapse.
Germany has not yet been driven tosurrender. Germany has not yet been driven
(07:04):
to the point where she will beunable to recommence world conquest a generation.
Hence, therefore the victory still liessome distance ahead. That distance will be
covered in due time. Have nofear of that. But it will be
(07:27):
tough and it will be costly.As I have told you many many times,
in Italy, the people had livedso long under the corrupt rule of
Mussolini. But in spite of thetinsel at the top you have seen the
pictures of him, their economic conditionhad grown steadily worse. Our troops have
(07:54):
found starvation, malnutrition, disease,deteriorating education, a lowered public health or
by products of the fascist misrule.The task of the Allies in occupation has
been stupendous. We have had tostart at the very bottom, assisting local
(08:18):
governance to reform on democratic lines.We have had to give them bread to
replace that which was stolen out oftheir mouths by the Germans. We've had
to make it possible for the Italiansto raise and use their own local crops.
(08:39):
We've had to help them cleanse theirschools of fascist trappings. I think
the American people at a hall approvethe salvage of these human beings we're only
now learning to walk in a newatmosphere our freedom. Some of us may
let our thoughts run to the financialcost of it. Essentially, it is
(09:05):
what we can call a form ofrelief, and at the same time we
hope that this relief will be aninvestment for the future, an investment that
will pay dividends by eliminating fascism,by ending any Italian desires to start another
war of aggression in the future.And that means that there are dividends which
(09:31):
justify such an investment, because theyare additional supports for world peace. The
Italian people are capable of self government. We do not lose sight of their
virtues as a peace loving nation.We remember the many centuries in which the
(09:54):
Italians will lead us in the artsand sciences, enriching the line waves of
all mankind. We remember the greatsons of the Italian people, Galileo Marconi,
Michelangelo Dante, and incidentally, thatfearless discoverer who typifies the courage of
(10:20):
Italy, Christopher Columbus. Italy cannotgrow in stature by seeking to build up
a great militaristic empire. Italians havebeen overcrowded within their own territories, but
they do not need to try toconquer the lands of other peoples in order
(10:43):
to find the breadth of life.Other peoples may not want to be conquered.
In the past, Italians have comeby the millions into the United States.
They have been welcomed, they haveprospered, they have become good citizens,
(11:05):
community government leaders. They are notItalian Americans. They are Americans,
Americans of Italian descent. Italians havegone in great numbers to the other Americas,
(11:26):
Brazil and the Argentine, for example, hundreds and hundreds of thousands of
them. They have gone many othernations in every continent of the world,
giving of their industry and their talents, and achieving success and the comfort of
good living and good citizenship. Italyshould go on as a great mother nation,
(11:54):
contributing to the culture and the progressand the good will of all mankind,
developing her special talents in the artsand crafts and sciences, and preserving
her historic and cultural heritage for thebenefit of all peoples. We want to
expect the help of the future Italytward lasting peace all the other nations.
(12:20):
The post of fascism and Nazism oughtto help to give Italy a chance.
The Germans, after years of dominationin Rome, left the people in the
Eternal city on the verge of starvation. We and the British will do and
(12:41):
are doing everything we can to bringthem relief. Anticipating the fall of Rome,
we made preparations to ship food suppliesto the city. But of course
it should be borne in mind thatthe needs are so great, the transportation
requirements of our armies are so heavy, that improvement must be gradual. But
(13:07):
we have already begun to save thelives of the men, women and children.
Are wrong. This, I think, is an example of the efficiency
of your machinery of war, themagnificent ability and energy of the American people
in growing crops, in building themerchant ships, in making and collecting the
(13:31):
cargoes, in getting the supplies overthousands of miles of water, and thinking
ahead to meet emergencies. All thisspells, I think, an amazing efficiency
on the part of our armed forces, all of various agencies working with them,
(13:52):
and American industry and labor as awhole. No great effort like this
can be one hundred percent perfect,But the batting average is very, very
high, and so I extend thecongratulations and the thanks tonight. Are the
(14:16):
American people to General Alexander, whohas been in command of the whole Italian
operation, to our General Clerk,to General Lease are the Fifth and the
eighth Armies, to General Wilson,the Supreme Allied Commander of the Mediterranean Theater.
(14:39):
To General Devas, his American deputy, to General Eca, to Admirals
Cunningham and Hewitt, and to alltheir brave officers and men. May God
bless them and watch your and overall of our gallant fighting men. Ladies
(15:07):
and gentlemen, you have heard thePresident of the United States, and now
our national anthem. Oh time yousee fine the answer lie want the behad
(15:28):
t last pays bloss side signs throughthe many spies, for the party was
wors a godly way on the rackabout me. I I was still b
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