European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

So we set up another temporary post,

and all of a sudden from behind the trees the Germans started to come out,

with their hands up. It was close to the school, i remember well.

There was a German behind every tree.

They were probably hiding there since the evening before,

when all of the others had escaped.

Behind every tree was a German.

So we gathered them, hands up and put them into the schools.

"Falco" told me there was an order to go to Parma

but I and others told him: "I'm not going to Parma,

I'm going to defend Reggio Emilia, not Parma!"

I hated the partisans of Parma

because they had shot at us when we crossed the river on October 6th,

we have never been brothers with the partisans of Parma.

But there was nothing to do, we had to go to Parma: self-discipline.

The order was to be respected.

We left Quattro Castella passed Monticelli and arrived finally at Parma.

We walked in line, slowly, looking at the beautiful landscape.

We didn't fire one single shot.

Everything was clean, clean, clean, there was neither a fascist nor a German, nothing.