European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

so I said "Let's do the guard tonight". I was leading a big group,

more than 50 partisans and he had a little team.

So I said: "Shall we do the guard team with one of your men and one of mine?"

and he replied: "No, we will do the surveillance tonight,

you already crossed the river, you're tired and wet".

But at night you could hear them dancing and playing,

there were about ten partisans, i go in and ask:

"How many partisans are you here?" "It's twelve of us".

"But how many are you here?" "No, we're not doing surveillance at night".

So I let them stop playing and called the team leader and told him:

"Now you'll deal with me" and let him do the guard shift and in the morning I left

with the Russians that were there.

We went uphill, high up, and after a while the Germans came and took them.

They killed one, one from Reggio,

whose name was given to the street that leads to the cemetery of Reggio Emilia.

They found him in bed, sleeping because no-one was doing surveillance, for God's sake!

When I led my battalion it was eight to ten of us

and everyone had to do surveillance, in groups of two. I did my shift alone,

three hours there in a hiding place, in the shadows, with eyes wide open.

If you don't keep your eyes open during the surveillance shift you're in big trouble.