The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1945-06-21
cd out of the Italian dictatorsh
is broken in spirit.
UNDER CONSTANT CARE

cd out of the Italian dictatorship,
is broken in spirit.
UNDER CONSTANT CARE
Her once proud carriage seems
almost shrunNCn ner attractive
though never beautiful face aged
far beyond its 35 years. The
Countess Edda MuSsoljni Ciano
is wreck of her imposing self,
Under a plebian s s u m e d
name. she is living in sanitor-
ium in a little Swiss mountain
village not far from Lake Cen
eva. under continual care of a
psychiatrist, p ! e d e d to the
Swiss government not TO give in
terviews or receive publicity.
Her children are living with
friends. and now speak pure
Swiss German. They visit her
occasionally. ! was present on
one such occasion. II was obvi-
Gus that she misses them great
~, but recognizes the -inadvis-
ability of having them stay at
the sanatorium.
In series Of informal talks
over several days found Edda
torn between love of her lats
father, whom she apparently
worshipped unreasoningly, and
love for her late husband, vic
tim Of her fathers vengeance
Before the Fascist debacle,
over period of years, it was
common knowledge that Ciano
had many m stresses and that he
lived with one Of them as late
as the Spring of 1913 in 4 soe-
cia11y built apartment at the
Porta San Sebastiano corner OF
the Via Appia. Edda, for her
part, was known TO have had
several lovers, including the son
Of Hungarian Regent Horthy and
one Of Goering's adiutants. Now,
however, she appears to have a
consuming postmortem love for
the Count.
She reads every newspaper
she can lay her hands on, and
has frequent fits Of despair when
she finds herself "unjustly' crit
icized II is her firm contention
that she never had knowledge Of
or interest in affairs Of state. and
that her husband. even as for
eign minister, was pappet who
had to do what he was told.
When Edda entered Switzer-
land in company OF Marchese
Pucci, friend Of Eiano's from
Florence, newspapermen noticed
that she seemed unusually fat.
From this they concluded, and
published, that she was bearing
a child of Pucci's.
The truth, as she told II to
me. is that she had concealed
on her person series Of diaries
kept by Count Ciano since 1899.
which her husband had sent to
her by Pucci.
The children were sent on
ahead. on December II, 1913.
She declined to leave Italy be-
cause she hoped to help Ciano
in connection with his summary
trial for treason. When the hear
ings began she was living in an
undiscloscd village near the
Swiss border A few hours later
Pucci arrived with the diaries
and a message from Ciano:
PUBLISH DIARIES"
81 wish that YOU Immediately
60 TO Switzerland. | know / am
lost and you can't help me. My
last wish is that you publish
these diaries. They will tell the
world about the entire guilt Of
the Nazis and Of many Of our
Fascists, and that they must be
blamed for bringing about the
war against which struggled in
vain"
Edda and Pucci entered Swift
zcrland without much difficulty
that same evening. After glanc-
ing through the diaries and de-
termining their content, h c
Countess sent Pucci back TO It.
ally with instructions TO tell the
Eascists aud rorhans her father