European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

They welcomed a lot of people, maybe too many. They also welcomed fleeing foreign soldiers they didn’t know.

Some of them might have been spies. So they went to the mountains for a while and then came back.

I guess they went on letting too many people in. We all know what happened afterwards.

GAP (Armed Partisan Groups)

GAPs were organized in groups of three.

This meant that each member knew only about two others and nothing else.

We all knew that those who were captured were being tortured in Villa Cucchi.

Just as they did with Paolo Davoli and Tina from Cavriago or Rosellina.

The GAP and Zanti, whose battle name was Maurizio, had decided to take this measure.

We initially had groups of three,

then with time more groups were forming and we met and carryied out joint actions.

GAPs weren't all the same.

They weren’t all communist.

My small group and I were.

Introduction and family; 8th September 1943; escape from captivity

My name is Pierino Beggi, battle name “Gigi”.

I was born in Reggio Emilia.

Until I was twenty years old, I lived where the Biasola Park is today.

My father was a farmer and worked on the farm that was once there.

We grew up working the land with him, until we were called into the army when we were around twenty.