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Interview with Irmgard Schulz
Irmgard Schulz (b. 1935) describes how the harbour of Hamburg was a recurring target during the war and mentions the use of target indicators and radar countermeasures. She explains how she was told not to pick up anything, for fear it could be…
Interview with Alessandro Novellini
Alessandro Novellini (b. 1932) remembers the bombings of Turin and mentions different shelters in the city: the one in the basement of his house and the much bigger one at Piazza Risorgimento, built in 1943 when the tide of war was turning in favour…
Interview with Renato Maldarelli
Renato Maldarelli (b. 1937) describes the 1943 bombing of Naples. He remembers being woken up by the alarm, his mother wrapping him in a blanket and going down to a cold shelter. He does not recall the fear of being buried alive under his collapsed…
Interview with Adriano Acquistucci
Adriano Acquistucci (b. 1927) remembers the bombing of the San Lorenzo neighbourhood in Rome. Upon the arrival of the Allies on 4 June 1944, he describes how some felt liberated and others occupied. He mentions one of his friends as having “a…
Interview with Gianfranco Maffucci
Gianfranco Maffucci (b. 1930) recalls episodes of everyday life in wartime: bartering for food; going into the shelter when the alarm sounded; men working in the factories while women went to market. He gives a detailed description of his…
Interview with Angelo Cassia
Angelo Cassia (b. 1926) gives an account of the bombing of Turin in the summer of 1943. He mentions the use of a shelter in the basement until it became clear that it would not withstand a blast wave and could trap the occupants inside. He recalls…
Interview with Mario Cocco
Mario Cocco (b. 1938) remembers the Tirso dam being torpedoed, emphasising its beauty and meaning as an engineering marvel. He describes how a torpedo net prevented three torpedoes from reaching their target. He gives a detailed account of the…
Interview with Anna Maria Sarno
Anna Maria Sarno (b. 1945) recalls wartime hardships in the surroundings of Avellino. She mentions how her family took shelter in a railway tunnel and describes disrupted transport.
Interview with a survivor of the Villanova Marchesana bombings
The interviewee recalls how he moved from Libya to Italy and lived for some years in various camps in Napoli, Marina di Massa, Trento, San Remo and Massa Lombarda. He describes a three-day bombing raid in Napoli where he managed to hide in a church…
Interview with Livio Ponte
Livio Ponte remembers his wartime life in Monfalcone. He describes the frightening moments when the alarm sounded, usually at night, and people rushed to the shelters for safety. He mentions different attitudes: his parents going to a shelter whereas…
Interview with Umberto Veroli
Umberto Veroli (b. 1933) recollects wartime memories, such as when his father was an electrical engineer: living close to power substations; a kitten killed by an electric arc; Germans forcing workers to remove transformers and smash meters. He…
Interview with Osvaldo Gramegna
Osvaldo Gramegna (b. 1937) remembers the bombings of Turin. He tells of civilians initially fleeing along the railway during alarms and explains how, in hindsight, it was foolish behaviour. He recalls his evacuee life at Casalgrasso: ineffective…
Interview with Efrem Colombi
Efrem Colombi recalls his care-free childhood, initially in the Bergamo countryside and then in Milan. He emphasises his life-long, radical, anti-Clericalism and recounts how he ran away several times from Catholic boarding schools due to his…
Interview with Vittorio Finauri
Vittorio Finauri (b. 1931) remembers the first bombing of Foligno on 22 November 1943, which was completely unexpected, and how people were caught unprepared, so, bombs aimed at nearby barracks, resulted in a heavy death toll. He describes how some…
Interview with Mario Commisso
Mario Commisso remembers his early years when he lived in the Codroipo area, close to the Rivolto air base. He recalls his brother being born on 28 February 1941, during a severe bombing raid during which the bombers were attacked by anti-aircraft…
Interview with Marina Zucco
Marina Zucco recalls wartime memories in Monfalcone: how her father rented a flat conveniently located above a shelter, in which they remained for hours eating food they had brought from home; the day the “all clear” sounded, immediately before a…
Interview with Angelo Bencina
Angelo Bencina recalls wartime memories in Monfalcone: a cave being modified as a shelter; the descent of bright red and white target indicators at night; a bomb which narrowly missed him but did not explode; Window radio countermeasures being…
Interview with Paolo Vivoda
Paolo Vivoda remembers a bombing attack which started moments before the stage show of magician Delfo, during which his mother barely made it to the shelter and was injured; others died. Paolo lost contact with his parents, but was reunited with them…
Interview with Santina Colombo
Santina Colombo describes her early life in a family of farmers and says that her father was a fervent socialist. She recalls the start of war being announced on the radio and gives a detailed account of civilian life in wartime Milan: scarce food;…
Interview with Antonio Bozzetti
Antonio Bozzetti (b. 1924) remembers his efforts to dodge fascist paramilitary service and tells how he avoided being enlisted because he had a reserved occupation in a factory, working for the Germans. He describes how he witnessed all Milan…
Interview with Tino Luparia
Tino Luparia (b. 1930) chronicles the first daylight bombing of Turin which was aimed at the SPA industries, which was then a defence contractor. He describes the effects of a massive, unexploded bomb which pierced all floors of a building and…
Interview with Pietro Cosma
Pietro Cosma (b. 1927) remembers the bombings of Milan and recollects two wartime incidents: the execution of a man in front of his home and Benito Mussolini’s corpse on public display in Piazzale Loreto. He describes wartime hardships: losses;…
Interview with Mario Miniussi
Mario Miniussi recalls Monfalcone night bombing on 18 March 1944. He was sleeping when the siren sounded and then saw the bombs falling on the shipyard, causing explosions and fires. He remembers how he was normally at school during alarms, so he and…
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…