European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

There was only a small opening in the door, and a tiny window for some fresh air,

so you never heard or saw anyone aside from the guard who came by to check on us every now and then.

I spent more or less twenty days in Castelfranco.

The old antifascists in Reggio

There weren’t any real dangers, since they rather controlled those who were older than me.

Even inside the Reggiane plant I was always an antifascist,

just like many others who were less fortunate than I was.

At Reggiane we used to manufacture airplanes.

Colleagues like Ganassi, Bagnacani or Catellani were all sent to jail after being caught putting sand in the engine cylinders.

But they were all thirty or so, were already married and often had children,

and that’s the kind of people they hit harder on.

They didn’t really insist with us, we were left somehow ignored.

My boss always used to say that

when the soldiers would come back, they would have to become members of the Party if they wanted to work in the factory”.

They were my teachers, they taught me how to take care of things.

At the time we were collecting money for the so-called Red Relief,

and I was the one in charge for Rivalta: we collected money and gave it to the Party.

Those who were facing the worst situation were indeed those who had been combatants in Spain,

but some of our comrades from Rivalta, like Fontanesi, had also been imprisoned,

so the Party tried to help their families as much as possible.