Editing Monte Cassino (section)

==Treasures==
In December 1943, some 1,400 irreplaceable manuscript [[Codex|codices]], chiefly patristic and historical, in addition to a vast number of documents relating to the history of the abbey and the collections of the [[Keats–Shelley Memorial House]] in Rome, had been sent to the abbey archives for safekeeping. German officers Lt. Col. Julius Schlegel (a Roman Catholic) and Capt. Maximilian Becker (a Protestant), both from the [[1st Fallschirm-Panzer Division Hermann Göring|Panzer-Division Hermann Göring]], had them transferred to the Vatican at the beginning of the battle.<ref>Atkinson (2007), p. 399</ref>

Another account, however, from revisionist author [[Franz Kurowski]]'s ''The History of the Fallschirmpanzerkorps Hermann Göring: Soldiers of the Reichsmarschall'', notes that 120 trucks were loaded with monastic assets and art which had been stored there for safekeeping. Robert Edsel (2006), on the other hand, speculates it might have been looting. The trucks were loaded and left in October 1943, and only "strenuous" protests resulted in their delivery to the Vatican, minus the 15 cases which contained the property of the [[Museo di Capodimonte|Capodimonte Museum]] in Naples. Edsel goes on to note that these cases had been delivered to Göring in December 1943, for "his birthday". This is, however, unproven.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Rescuing Da Vinci: Hitler and the Nazis Stole Europe's Great Art, America and Her Allies Recovered It|last=Edsel|first=Robert M.|publisher=Laurel Pub.|year=2006|isbn=9780977433490|pages=[https://archive.org/details/rescuingdavincih0000edse/page/107 107]|url=https://archive.org/details/rescuingdavincih0000edse/page/107}}</ref>