Feeding Rome
The problem of feeding the Roman population as military operations came closer to the Eternal City occupied the Pope's thoughts in the latter days of the German occupation. On February 26, the Holy Father's close personal friend, Enrico Galeazzi, and Father Pancrazio Pfeiffer were invited to Marshall Kesselring's headquarters on Monte Soracte, where they discussed the question of supplies for Rome with General Westphal, the German chief of staff. As far as supplies were concerned, they told the German official, the situation of Vatican City could not be separated from the situation of Rome itself. The two visitors were assured that the German military commander was cognizant of the Romans' need for food. But General Westphal complained of the indifference and passivity of the local population. "The general," the papal aides reported, "announced somewhat emphatically that if the citizens of Rome continued to fail to collaborate with the German authorities to ease these difficulties, the Marshall intends to withdraw his protection from the city, as regards food." In fact, however, Vatican trucks were allowed to proceed to the North to collect food supplies.
In further concern for feeding Rome, the Vatican proposed the creation of a "Vatican flotilla", which would have consisted of about 20 small coastal vessels which would have plied between Ostia or Civita Vecchia and northern ports, bringing supplies. The plan never materialized, however, because the Germans delayed their approval and later, when the Allies were in Rome, they, too, rejected the proposal.
The Vatican's efforts to assure a stable food supply for the citizens of Rome were further hampered by an unreliable communications system. For example, between June 4, 1944, when the Allies entered Rome, and the following October, no courier bags were permitted to leave or enter the Vatican, so, for more than four months, the Vatican was effectively cut off from the rest of the world. The only regular contact possible during this interval was through Vatican Radio. In the meantime, diplomatic reports and other messages essential to the conduct of Church affairs piled up in Madrid, Lisbon or Berne, awaiting clearance from Allied authorities. The only exceptions to the embargo occurred when military personnel with authorization to leave or enter Rome unofficially brought letters with them. The Holy See did not protest the communications blockade, hoping no doubt that the problems would soon be alleviated. Instead, they continued for months.