European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

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.

On Sundays we used to set up stalls in the square to sell things, or we organized lotteries:

on one occasion, the first prize was a hen that a farmer had given to us

to collect some of the money that was needed.