The First Phase: 'Wallenstein I'

The first phase of Operation ‘Wallenstein’ began in late June 1944 in the area south of the Po and was directed against partisan formations in the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia. Before German units advanced into the mountain areas of the northern Apennines, road traffic was controlled, roadblocks were set up and the movements of the population were monitored. These measures were intended to seal off the operational area, interrupt escape and supply routes, and restrict the mobility of the partisans.

The following photographs show this policing framework of the operation: signposts and warning signs, checks by the Geheime Feldpolizei, or Secret Field Police, and the inspection of vehicles, movement papers and identity documents. They make clear that anti-partisan warfare consisted not only of military sweep operations, but also of control over space, mobility and the population. At the roadblocks in particular, occupation rule became tangible as an everyday practice of surveillance, intimidation and screening.

Large-scale anti-partisan operations generally followed a recurring tactical pattern. The terrain defined as a ‘bandit area’ was first sealed off by blocking groups in order to close escape routes and control movement within the operational area. As the cordon tightened, one or more assault groups entered the area. Their task was to locate partisans, force them into combat or flight, and destroy their positions, shelters and supply structures. The blocking groups then had the task of intercepting those who attempted to break through the cordon.

The following photographs show such operations in the mountain areas of the northern Apennines. At altitudes between 1,500 and 2,000 metres, conditions were particularly difficult: steep slopes, narrow paths, confusing terrain and changeable weather complicated marching, orientation, supply and security. The images document the advance of a detachment through the mountains and illustrate the practical challenges of anti-partisan warfare in this terrain.

The image sequence shows the march of a Luftwaffe unit in early July 1944 through a valley in the Lunigiana, in the province of Massa-Carrara, on the border between Tuscany, Emilia and Liguria. The soldiers are descending from the Apennines; the ruined castle of Treschietto near Bagnone can be seen in the background. The photographs were taken at the end of the first phase of Operation ‘Wallenstein’.

The images show marching columns, halts, encounters with villagers, the transport of baggage and supplies, the search of forestry workers’ huts and the burning of buildings. These photographs do not show open physical violence against the civilian population. Some images instead convey the impression of orderly encounters and apparently voluntary assistance.

Precisely here lies their propagandistic visual logic. The camera presents the use of civilian labour, the confiscation of supplies and the destruction of shelters as part of the controlled routine of a military operation. Coercion remains largely outside the frame, but is present in the power relations of occupation: in the presence of armed soldiers, in the control over property, food, transport and labour, and in the threat faced by the affected population.

The photographs therefore do not simply document the reality of the operation, but a view of it framed by the propaganda photographers. They show apparent normality – and at the same time point to the violence on which that normality rested.

While the preceding images make violence visible above all indirectly, the following image sequence documents an execution at the end of the first phase of Operation ‘Wallenstein’ in the Lunigiana. The precise location where the photographs were taken is not known; the identity of the victim and of the soldiers involved is also still unknown.

In connection with Operation ‘Wallenstein’, executions took place in at least eight locations in the Lunigiana in early July 1944. A total of 37 people were killed, whom the German units classified as partisans or as supporters of the Resistance. In fact, several of them had no demonstrable connection to the Resistenza.

By publishing these photographs, we hope to receive information from local researchers that might help identify the victim and clarify the circumstances of his killing.