European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

When we finally reached Milan

we were told that the line headed to Emilia Romagna had left already.

They were using old trucks, whatever was left,

because the railroad bridge in Piacenza had been bombed.

We stayed there two days, before someone suggested we should get on a train to Padova and then to Ponte Lagoscuro,

since trains were able to pass the Po river there.

That’s what we did: we went to Padova, then to Ferrara, and finally made it to Bologna.

In Bologna we were supposed to stay in a barrack for two days,

but I went out with two or three comrades and we managed to find a SARSA bus.

We asked the driver if he was heading towards Reggio and if we could hop up, and he happily consented.

In Castelfranco, however, the ticket inspector kindly told us that we would have had to pay the ticket fare.

We replied that we had no money at all,

so he agreed not to make us get off, but once in Reggio

we would have had to go to the SARSA offices together.

When we got in he said:

“Boss, these men haven’t paid the bus fare because they claim they’re coming from Germany”.

The reply was: “You really are a moron, I told you they have every right to go back to their homes!”.

He really got scolded.

At that point we started walking with two others from Correggio.

We knew nothing at all, I had no news of my family, so we inquired with the director of SARSA.