European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

I was with my brother in the Stalin unit.

I wasn't called Bonifacio VIII in memory of Matile of Canossa,

but i called myself Horace.

In those days I only had Horatii and Curiatii on my mind.

And in fact in my mortal fight with the Germans (being mortal for them, not for me),

i called myself “Horace” because the Germans,

these gasoline-coloured men,

they had eyes of that colour

they seemed to be big warriors.

Introduction and family

My name is Ulisse Gilioli, I was born on May 26th, 1921

a in Montecavolo near Quattro Castella (in the province of Reggio Emilia).

My family had been a miller family

for over 400 years.

In 1929 there was a terrible crisis and my father lost a great deal of money,

mostly because he was a great friend of the parson.

He had 12 or 14 sharecroppers working for him, so he was really rich,

and they could not pay him any longer

with the stuff they used to bring to the mill.

“Keep calm, you'll see that one day god will ...”