Italian Carabinieri, who are responsible for the protection of cultural heritage, have returned five documents to the state that were prepared by Benito Mussolini for his meeting with Adolf Hitler, which took place on April 22, 1944, in Salzburg, as reported by RIA Novosti.
This discovery was prompted by regular inspections of the antique market, as well as a signal from the Archival and Bibliographic Administration of Piedmont and Aosta Valley about the appearance of documents at auction that required permission for free circulation and possible export.
“The initial investigation showed that the handwritten sheets put up for sale contain notes, the handwriting of which, according to preliminary data, belongs to Benito Mussolini, confirmed by his monogram 'M' at the bottom of the last sheet,” the Carabinieri reported.
These documents represent a detailed list of topics divided into three categories: "Armed Forces," "Politics," and "Economics and Labor." Although the date is missing, the content of the notes corresponds to the issues discussed at the meeting between Mussolini and Hitler in the spring of 1944. An examination confirmed the authenticity of the manuscripts by comparing them with other known autographs. The characteristic folding of the sheets into quarters also indicates that these are working notes, which were often carried in a pocket.
The investigation established that the documents had been circulating in the antique market since the end of World War II, presumably since April 1945, when, amid the collapse of the Italian Social Republic—the last puppet state of Mussolini—his personal archives and the archives of some government institutions disappeared.
Since the records were created by the head of government in the course of his official duties and pertain to matters of state and international policy, they are recognized as historical heritage belonging to the Italian state. The documents will subsequently be transferred to the archives of the Italian Ministry of Culture for scientific research and preservation.
