and in consequence, the Nazi regime sent several Divisions to occupy their former ally and secure their "soft underbelly". This is a very important piece of the puzzle to understand what really happened during those days in Florence. For Panerai this was not a business, they were forced to deliver whatever was requested. Refusing to cooperate with the occupiers would have been considered an act of sabotage, a death sentence basically. According to Maria Teresa Panerai, the Germans arrested several Panerai employees to put pressure on Giuseppe Panerai. Also, the Germans never paid for anything. Then, in July 1944, shortly before Florence was liberated by the British 8th Army, the Germans raided the Panerai workshop and confiscated everything usefull. Watches, instruments, machines, etc. They shipped everything to the Arturo Junghans watch factory in Venice. Venice, where the Kampfschwimmers had a training camp on a small island, was still under German control behind the heavily fortified Gothic Line.