Beautiful and cultivated, Princess Mafalda was the daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and his wife, Elena.
She married Prince Phillip of Hesse against the wishes of his parents. They had four children. Prince Phillip worked for the Nazis and became an intermediary between the Nazis and Mussolini. He apparently had a high position in the Nazi party. However, he also helped some wealthy Jewish friends escape to Holland.
Princess Mafalda annoyed Hitler by speaking out on behalf of the Jews especially when he wanted Mussolini to crack down on them. When Italy surrendered to the Allies, Hitler decided to take his revenge. He arrested Prince Phillip and imprisoned the Princess in Buchenwald. When the Allies bombed an ammunitions factory in Buchenwald, the poor Princess's arm was badly burned. She died during an operation to amputate the arm.
You can see a photo of the Princess here: Princess Mafalda NB: It's a fair way down the page.
Mafaldine Pasta
Mafaldine pasta was apparently named after the Princess. You can read more about that here: mafaldine pasta
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13 years ago
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4 comments:
Viola, thanks for such an interesting post. I definitely want to read more on this princess- there's so much written about Umberto, but i've never really read much about her. Please let me know if there's a good book you suggest.
Hi Ms. Lucy,
Thank you very much. I'd like to read more about her too, but the only book that I found is in Italian. I'll try to find one about her husband.
Best Regards,
Viola
Oh, I really don't mind that at all, I read Italian! Email me if you have a title (if you have time of course...no rush:)
Hello,
I tried to send you an email but I didn't have any luck! The book is: 'Mafalda di Savoia, dalla reggia al lager di Buchenwald by Cristina Siccardi.' The title translates Mafalda of Savoy from the royal palace to the concentration camp at Buchenwald - the book includes testimony from several survivors who wrote to Mafalda's children after the war - to tell them how she died ..." (The Alexander Palace.com)
Enjoy!
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