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Interview with Gualtiero Silvio Cosolo
Gualtiero Silvio Cosolo recalls attending the Ceriani vocational school in Monfalcone, and every day at the same time the air raid siren went off and the children would run to the nearest shelter. He describes the bombing of 7 March 1944 and the…
Interview with Federico Martinotti
Federico Martinotti reminisces over the Pavia bombing on the 26 September 1944, describes the effects on the buildings near the Ticino River (the old bridge being the aiming point of the attack), mentions the salvaging of valuable items from the…
Interview with Adriana Ventriglia
Adriana Ventriglia remembers the bombings of Milan. She talks about her evacuee life in the Lodi countryside and describes how her father was injured in a train strafing. She mentions her early life in a mixed family, the impact on anti-Semitic laws,…
Interview with a survivor of the Karigador bombing
The interviewee recalls the day when he and his cousin plundered a ship with a cargo of furniture, clothing and foodstuffs, which was moored at Karigador. He describes how the harbour was suddenly bombed and strafed. He recalls how they hid behind a…
Interview with Guido Dell’Era
Guido Dell’Era recollects daily life in wartime Milan, stressing inadequate war preparation. He describes a disciplined, regimented society which later turned to disillusionment. He recollects the declaration of war, the fall of the fascist regime…
Interview with Maurizio Ghiretti
Maurizio Ghiretti describes his early life at Monticelli Terme, a small town near Parma. He remembers various episodes of wartime hardships: food shortages; a tree taken down at night for firewood; men hiding in concealed rooms to avoid roundups; and…
Interview with Annunciata Buffadossi
Annunciata Buffadossi recollects her wartime life in Milan. Annunciata describes poor-quality housing in a low-class neighbourhood close to potential targets; emphasises how much she feared Germans and Fascists; and speaks with affection of her old…
Interview with Adriano Landini
Adriano Landini (b. 1930) recalls his childhood living in the poor neighbourhood of Santa Croce in Reggio Emilia. He describes the profound sense of solidarity during wartime, stressing the community spirit among the so-called ‘popol giost’ (the…
Interview with Ferruccio Bergomi
Ferruccio Bergomi recalls his early life as a street urchin in the Precotto neighbourhood in Milan - describes monkey business, horseplay, fierce rivalries, melees, pilfering sundries and street games with friends. He gives an eyewitness account of…
Interview with Sara Ventriglia
Sara Ventriglia, the daughter of a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, recalls her early life in wartime Milan. She describes the alarm being sounded and she and her family getting quickly dressed to reach a nearby shelter. She recollects moments…
Interview with Pietro Varesi
Pietro Varesi describes wartime life in Pavia, focussing on the Borgo neighbourhood. He mentions the Ticino bridges as primary targets for bombers; recalls bent shop shutters and debris on the streets; stresses the limited accuracy of bombing and the…
Interview with three survivors of the Po valley bombings
The group remembers wartime hardships endured near Pavia and Piacenza. They recalled several stories, such as a farmhouse being thoroughly searched for partisans; children questioned; people injured by shell splinters; a makeshift dugout used as…
Interview with Tullio Magnani
Tullio Magnani remembers his wartime years in the Pavia province. Although his father was blacklisted as a subversive communist, he did not have any trouble at school. He recounted his role as a young resistance helper smuggling food rationing…
Interview with Ettore Raffin
Ettore Raffin describes his early life in wartime Cordenons, his father being in America and his brother at Friedrichshafen. He remembers watching masses of aircraft heading north enroute to targets in Germany, maintaining that bombers took off from…
Interview with Guido Di Blas and Ilario Bolletti
Guido Di Blas (pictured on the left) and Ilario Bolletti (pictured on the right) recount wartime memories associated with the town of Monfalcone and the surrounding area. They describe a severe night of bombing, recalling the ominous sight of target…
Interview with Gabriella Bisio and Teresa Mascherpa
Gabriella Bisio and Teresa Mascherpa recollect the bombing of Pavia and give a vivid description of its immediate aftermath. They describe food shortages, resorting to eating potatoes with milk and queuing up for a portion of salt. Gabriella tells…
Interview with Stefania Vischi
Stefania Vischi recalls her wartime life in the Monfalcone area and recalls how she spent long hours alone inside a shelter, frightened by explosions and tremors. She contrasts the horror of being at the receiving end of the bombing war and the…
Interview with Delia Del Corto
Delia del Corto (b. 1932) remembers daily life in wartime Tuscany, living in a family of ten. She provides details on rural life, especially home bread making, and stresses the difficult co-existence with feared German troops. She tells many…
Interview with Marisa Bianchi
Marisa Bianchi remembers her wartime years at Sesso, a rural hamlet in the Reggio Emilia province. She talks about the abundance of locally farmed food and emphasises how billeted German troops were friendly and supportive, even if she and her family…
Personnel in front of Lancaster
A group of 27 people in front of a Lancaster. Captioned 'Aircrew, ground crew on opposite page'. Photograph shows 26 air force personnel in two rows. The back row standing all have aircrew brevet. 12 are wearing side caps and one an officer's peaked…
Totaler Krieg
Propaganda booklet about total war containing photographs quotes and text about bombing.
Interview with Andreino Pagano
Andreino Pagano (b. 1934) remembers his wartime experiences in the Pavia province. He explains how a parish church provided a good shelter owing to its thick walls. He recalls various stories: resorting to the black market; the bombing of the Voghera…
Interview with Gino Muratori
Gino Muratori (b. 1929) recollects three Rimini bombings that occurred in November 1944, one of which was aimed at the Ausa river bridge. He mentions his grandmother losing two relatives when their boarding house was destroyed, and recalls how, on 26…
Interview with Giovanni Delfino
Giovanni Delfino was first evacuated to the Cremona area, where he could see the glow of the distant bombings. He then came back to Milan, only to witness a bomb nearly missing his house and killing factory workers. He describes the gruesome sight of…
Interview with Giuliana Birelli
Giuliana Birelli remembers growing up in a family of farmers in Tuscany, at a time when German soldiers raided houses searching for food and harassing women. She tells of various episodes: partisans’ actions; time spent in a makeshift shelter her…