From the Italian archives, declassified and available for the first time in English language , the story of Martha Kusch, known as “The Countess,” who was murdered and robbed of everything she had. Pedavena, May 1945
A bloody crime involving money, kept in the shadows because the murderers were the victors. This is the story told by Roberto De Nart in his latest book, “The Countess’s Money,” based on the 1950 trial records from the Belluno Court of Appeal, now housed in the Venice State Archives. “A virtual debt,” explains the author, “towards a woman who was denied any form of justice and, moreover, condemned to oblivion because her executioners were partisans.”
Martha Kusch was known as “The Countess” due to her romantic relationship with Count Marco Ottaviano Borgoncelli. He was killed in the autumn of 1944 because of his past as an officer in the Italian SS, while she met her end a few months later, in Pedavena (Belluno), after the war had already ended, on May 5, 1945. Witnesses describe her as a beautiful woman, as confirmed by the photos that portray her.
From the reconstruction of the events, based on over 400 documents examined by the author, including interrogations by the carabinieri and magistrates, and through the voices of 32 witnesses, an absolutely clean, unblemished profile of Martha Kusch emerges. She was killed by partisans for the sole purpose of seizing her money. The Countess’s money was the real motive for the murder.