There is a claim that German prisoners-of-war in Malta offered to rebuild the theatre in 1946 with the Government declining due to Union pressure; the more likely reason was that hardly anyone of these prisoners of war could be expected to be qualified masons.
A rumor suggests that German POWs in Malta suggested rebuilding the theatre in 1946, which the government rejected because of Union opposition. The more probable explanation is that most of these POWs would not have been skilled masons.