The 1943 Naples post office bombing occurred on October 7, 1943, after the U.S. Fifth Army had captured

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

(October 1) and reached the

Volturno River The Volturno (ancient Latin name Volturnus, from ''volvere'', to roll) is a river in south-central Italy. Geography It rises in the Abruzzese central Apennines of Samnium near Castel San Vincenzo (province of Isernia, Molise) and flows southea ...

(October 6). The

Palazzo delle Poste, Naples The ''Palazzo delle Poste'' (Italian: "Post Office Palace") is located in Piazza Matteotti in central Naples. It is an example of architecture completed during the fascist government of Benito Mussolini. Another such example is the nearby ' ...

, an imposing structure, completed in 1936 is located in the center of the city, was looted by Nazi troops during the occupation. After their retreat it became occupied by families who were made homeless by the bombing and destruction heaped on the city. This happened during the insurrection that was known as the ''" Four days of Naples"'' that had taken place a few weeks earlier. On that morning a series of violent explosions ripped through the building and caused heavy damage to the surrounding buildings and the death of more than 100 people, including women, children and members of a

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

unit. The unit was commanded by General Matthew B. Ridgway. An investigation determined that the explosion was the result of several time bombs planted by Italian fascists six days earlier. A reporter from the ''Time'' and ''Life'' magazines, Will Lang Jr., was no more than from the explosion when it occurred. The shockwave threw him to the ground, and the impact sprained his right arm. A photographer for ''LIFE'' magazine,

Robert Capa Robert Capa (; born Endre Ernő Friedmann, ; October 22, 1913 – May 25, 1954) was a Hungarian-American war photographer and photojournalist. He is considered by some to be the greatest combat and adventure photographer in history.Kershaw, Al ...

, and ''Acme News'' photographer Charles Corte began taking pictures of the shattered Post Office and the carnage lying in the streets. One of the physicians on hand was Brigadier General Edgar Hume whose office was across the street from the post office.

References

*Will Lang Jr.'s account of the Naples Post Office explosion may be found in: :: ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' dated: November 1, 1943
link
:: ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' dated February 14, 1944

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naples post-office bombing, 1943 Explosions in 1943 October 1943 in Europe Naples in World War II Italian campaign (World War II) 1943 in Italy Building bombings in Italy Attacks on office buildings in Europe Terrorist incidents in Europe in 1943 Attacks on post office buildings Attacks on government buildings and structures in Europe Attacks on buildings and structures in 1943