Tuesday, March 24, 2009

AS SEEN ON TV: COLONEL KAPPLER

Continuing with the showcase of historical figures from the 1983 TV movie "The Scarlet And The Black", today's "As Seen On TV" spotlights Colonel Herbert Kappler, the Gestapo SS officer in charge of security during the occupation of Rome in 1943 until the end of the war. Once Kappler was imprisoned after the war ended, his only visitor was Msgr. O'Flaherty, his opponent regarding the search for escaped prisoners of war. Msgr. O'Flaherty visited once a month, every month, and by 1959 he baptized Colonel Kappler into the Catholic faith.

BCnU!
Toby O'B

1 comment:

Bill Relph said...

I am fascinated with the story of Msgr. Hugh O'Flaherty. I just completed reading Brian Fleming's book: The Vatican Pimpernel. It details much of the brutality of Col. Kappler that the movie skips over. That the Msgr. would be Kappler's only visitor in the years after the war is the beautiful part of the story. Love and tolerance conquer all!