Luigi Romersa was born in Reggio Emilia in 1917, and pursued a career as a journalist, which would take him far and wide, both before, during, and after World War II, including to extreme locations such as three bases at the South Pole and an American base in Greenland. In 1944, he went on a mission to Germany, mandated by Mussolini and with Hitler’s permission, to document the progress of German secret weapons projects. On this occasion, he gained access to the secret base at Peenemünde and the Wolf’s Lair (Wolfschanze) in Rastenburg, East Prussia, the very day after the assassination attempt on the Führer (he is responsible for the famous photo of the German dictator pointing out the ruins of the meeting room to the Duce). He also witnessed one of three explosions (probably “dirty” nuclear bombs) on the Baltic island of Rugen, between the winter of 1944 and early 1945.
