By Maya Hobart
Throughout the war, Edmund Stinnes made his homes available for The Secret Surrender negotiations. Edmund’s homes overlooked a remote and sleepy fishing village on the shores of Lake Maggiore, while the estate on Monte Verità had terraces and vineyards. Monte Verità means Mountain of Truth in Italian. The vineyards were laden with fragrant, lush purple grapes from which the local Tessiner wine is made. There are two picturesque houses on the estate made of Tessiner pink terracotta stone, lime, and wood. Edmund bought the property from Baron von Wrangel during the 1920s; Wrangel was a Russian pacifist and humanist. The Wrangel house was used for international peace conferences during WW1 which saved the lives of thousands of men during the war.
Operation Sunrise was the code name for the diplomatic activities of a small group of courageous men who met secretly in 1945 in Ascona and Monte Verità to negotiate the end of World War Two.
The other men included Allen Dulles, who later became the head of the CIA. Other important meeting participants were Gero vs Gaevernitz, Dulles’s good friend and right-hand man. Gero vs Gaevernitz was Edmund’s brother-in-law, a naturalised American, he was crucial figure in the negotiations that led to the end of the Second World War due to his charisma and close connection to senior members of the Resistance Movement in Germany. He was later awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
General Max Waibel, a senior officer in Swiss Intelligence, senior Allied generals, and Italian military leaders were also present at the meetings.
General Karl Wolff deserves special mention. He was Himmler’s representative and commander of all SS troops in Italy and crucial at the discussions. Swiss neutrality during the war meant they could maintain vital connections with the German and Allied Intelligence.
General Wolff and other senior officials agreed to defy Hitler and Himmler’s orders to ‘scorch the earth’ during the delicate negotiations. Hitler’s orders entailed the burning and destroying of the remnants of the industry and economy of Italy and the rest of Europe, including Germany itself.
The negotiations averted the scorching of the earth and saved the lives of millions of men during the war.
The entire process, referred to as ‘Sunrise,’ was one of the most successful intelligence operations of our time.
