The Glaswegian Who Saved An Italian Village

Sounds like some woman!
"The name Jeannie von Mumm may be little known in Scotland, but her extraordinary courage in the face of Nazi oppression is likely to be remembered for centuries to come in a fishing village on the Italian Riviera. Born in Glasgow to a wealthy Scots family, von Mumm became a folk hero for her actions in 1945 at Portofino, near Genoa. Portofino is now an upmarket tourist destination.
The village is today one of Italy’s most upmarket tourist destinations. Visitors from around the world fall in love with its picturesque harbour, traditional coastal buildings and variety of restaurants. But life could have been very different for Portofino if its historic heart had not been saved from destruction during the dying days of World War Two. As the occupying Nazi army was pushed back by the invading Allies from the south, the local commander received an order to destroy the village and block its natural harbour. It was then Jeannie, a Portofino resident since 1920, sprang into action. She had previously lived in Germany and was fluent in the language - she had no fear of speaking to the officer in charge.
Her adopted daughter, Käthe Watt-Wolff, witnessed the conversation that followed between von Mumm and Commander Ernst Reimers. “Frau von Mumm brought to mind the monster of his plan,” she later wrote. “She told him that he would violate the laws of humanity, and that this atrocity would return like a boomerang to his own head.” Portofino was spared as the Nazi army retreated north."
http://www.scotsman.com/heritage/people-places/the-glaswegian-who-saved-an-italian-village-from-the-nazis-1-4263693

 

Bellissimo

 

Great story!