European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)
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I could not stand ending up like that anymore.
I could not stand ending up like that anymore.
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I ate just as bad as the others,
I ate just as bad as the others,
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although my doctor tells me today that those two years in Germany
although my doctor tells me today that those two years in Germany
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were good for my health and helped me to stay alive.
were good for my health and helped me to stay alive.
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I didn’t do much, but I was never scared of not being able to make it home one day.
I didn’t do much, but I was never scared of not being able to make it home one day.
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Only during the last three months did I let go:
Only during the last three months did I let go:
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I could not remember my family anymore,
I could not remember my family anymore,
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it was as if that notion had vanished,
it was as if that notion had vanished,
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and it’s something I could not understand back then.
and it’s something I could not understand back then.
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I was exhausted,
I was exhausted,
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the food was terrible for all of us, but I did my best to survive even in those conditions.
the food was terrible for all of us, but I did my best to survive even in those conditions.
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Regarding my weight, you hear people say they were thirty-eight or forty kilos, but I never did weigh myself.
Regarding my weight, you hear people say they were thirty-eight or forty kilos, but I never did weigh myself.
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I might have weighed around fifty or fifty-five.
I might have weighed around fifty or fifty-five.
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I know I was skinny, but I just had to live with that.
I know I was skinny, but I just had to live with that.
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I saw some die in anguish, crying:
I saw some die in anguish, crying:
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many had a wife and kids, and those were different kinds of problems.
many had a wife and kids, and those were different kinds of problems.
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Then the Americans arrived at my camp.
Then the Americans arrived at my camp.
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They left some guards, but we were free to go wherever we wanted.
They left some guards, but we were free to go wherever we wanted.
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Two of us were butchers – one of them was from Ravenna, his name was Belloni.
Two of us were butchers – one of them was from Ravenna, his name was Belloni.
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They began to find calves - I’m not joking! - then slaughtered them
They began to find calves - I’m not joking! - then slaughtered them