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People from Here
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Welcome back to People from Here.
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What we want to tell you today
is the story of two young people,
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of two young people with high hopes.
On the one hand, there is Adelina,
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a brilliant lawyer who works
at a prestigious legal firm in Milan.
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Then there is Hector,
an industrial chemist.
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The future can only smile
at Adelina and Hector.
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Actually,
their future will be more turbulent
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than they could have ever imagined.
The fact is,
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in 1938 Hector and Adelina are Jewish.
On September 18th,
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from the balcony of Trieste's city hall,
Benito Mussolini announced Racial Laws
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for the first time
for the defense of the race.
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The world of those two young people
suddenly collapses under their feet.
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We will tell this story
of Hector and Adelina
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and about the eve of the day.
We will tell it with the son
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of Hector and Adelina,
Daniele Finzi, who in 2011,
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decided to donate his parents letters
and documents
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to The Archives of Pieve Santo Stefano.
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Shortly we will also discuss why
this choice was made.
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I would like to start precisely
with September 1938,
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with Mussolini's announcement
of the laws for the defense of the race.
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Hector and Adelina immediately started
to understand that there was no future
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for them in that country.
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To leave their country was
a difficult decision,
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but one that will save their lives.
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Yes, my father Hector Finzi had
very deep historical knowledge.
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Also because he knew German very well.
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He had two aunts, aunt Genie
and aunt Lazagudita Gentiluomo,
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who both lived in Vienna.
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He had followed all
the Nazi antisemitism up to March 1938.
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So when the race manifesto was published
in July 1938, he didn't expect it.
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He knew what our limits were
and he also hoped
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that Italy was perhaps
a little different from Germany.
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And my father, more than my mother,
made quick and immediate decisions.
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He was also very intuitive.
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He had known my mom only
a few month in 1938.
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It was love at first sight
and because of the race manifesto,
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the Racial Laws,
they decided to get married.
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They were married in Milan
on December 1, 1938.
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In 1938. We arrive in 1939.
- Yes.
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A manifest date for many.
- Yes.
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Very unjust, but there is a turning point.
- There is a turning point.
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Hector and Adelina decide to leave.
Or rather, how do they depart?
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Because, in a way,
they leave well informed.
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Yes and no.
The problem is immediate
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and that of money.
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Because the White Paper of the British,
a policy from maybe February
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or March of 1939,
allowed a total of 75,000 Jews
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to enter Palestine for five years.
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But to qualify,
every person needed to have 1,000 stars.
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Like we had said, they had chosen.
The goal was Palestine.
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The choice was not a coincidence,
because my father had also thought
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of Latin America.
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But the idea of going
to Palestine was because it was nearby.
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He also hoped his parents could join him.
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In any case,
the issue of money was really
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a huge problem
because they didn't have money.
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So, thanks to the lawyer Gianni Morandi,
who was the owner of the firm
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where my mom worked,
they went to Zurich for their honeymoon.
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Then they went to Lugano
to gather clients for the lawyer
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to put towards this large sum.
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I still remember two leather bags
with thousands of stars inside.
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They were gold stars.
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Okay, at this point, they reach Palestine.
The State of Israel still didn't exist.
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There wasn't any money to protect them.
Therefore, they had to start from scratch?
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Yes, and so, they started all over again
from January to April 1, 1939.
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They arrived in Jaffa on April 6, 1939.
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Yes, because by 1922
the British controlled Palestine.
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There were Palestinian Arabs.
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The Jewish Palestinians were organized
by the Yishuv, who were more concerned
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with the kibbutz and wanted
to dedicate themselves
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to agriculture, etc.
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But the harm, the political one,
was directed by the Arab agency.
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The Arab agency was, well,
I will give you an example.
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Those who arrived
in Tel Aviv on April 7th,
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were in school learning modern Hebrew
twenty days after arriving,
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because there were various Jews
in Tel Aviv from every part of Europe.
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And so, it was necessary
to learn this common language.
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Therefore, there was some organization,
but there were a lot of problems.
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In any case, where I mentally find...
- Ah, yes.
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...this small amount of protection.
However, they had to start...
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They had to restart.
- ...from scratch.
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On the other hand, however,
there were also a lot of comforts
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that were left behind by the fact
of having to abandon...
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- Yes.
...Italy.
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Having to leave Italy was strenuous.
- Yes.
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In regard to this,
I would also read an excerpt
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from the letters
that may have been donated to the archive,
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diaries in which Hector specifies
what he was feeling shortly after the time
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at which he abandoned Italy.
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We will read from this excerpt:
"When I left Italy four months ago,
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"feeling more disgusted by the burden
of having to leave the country
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"than for the imminent danger,
many of my colleagues
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"and friends were quick
to express to me their discontent
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"about what was happening.
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"Through their conversations,
I felt they knew what sympathy meant
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"and they only ended up withdrawing me.
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"They were whispered in room conversations
solely because they knew me
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"and thought highly of me.
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"For many, being an example against
the persecution of Jews not being born
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"in Italy, could also be considered fair
because it is understood that they came
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"to the country to make a fortune
by going behind other's backs.
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"They had some skilled political views.
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"The fascist government's right
to persecute people that it had let into
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"the country was generally recognized."
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Okay, so Hector felt betrayed by Italy?
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Without a doubt.
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As I was saying prior,
also because my father was from Trieste.
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From his father, my grandfather,
he had also received an irredentist
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and nationalist education.
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Trieste...
- Of course.
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...had always been divided
between people from Trieste
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instead of irredentists,
those who love Italy, Italian culture,
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Italian language,
like my grandfather and the Slovenians.
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He had received this education,
and so he was an irredentist nationalist.
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Additionally, he was a genius official,
and so he felt like an Italian.
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He loved Italy
and he felt betrayed by this terrible law.
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In addition, in Hector's letters,
in this text, it also highlights
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a responsibility
by the Italian people themselves
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for that which is happening.
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He writes:
"The political maturity
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"of the Italian people
is apparently that of government rule
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"that it has and that it deserves."
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There is a precise responsibility
by the people.
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Well, the problem of the Italian people...
(Laughter)
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is living, yes, it's like saying...
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living today like yesterday.
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In other words,
the lack of personal responsibility
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and...not this...
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in this way...y..., accepting anything,
a leader or a guide,
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that which has
an...an...uglier appearance, if you will.
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And that...Trieste,
not coincidentally Mussolini
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and September 18, 1938,
where they were
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at the Unity of Italy Square
to present the Racial Laws
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not only because of
the nationalism that was there,
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but because Trieste was
a very multiethnic, multicultural city.
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There were more than two centuries
in which ethnic groups were diverse.
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They coexisted.
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But at the very moment
in which Mussolini was harsh towards Jews,
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who, I repeat, were profound Italians
and felt as such, and had also fought
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for Italy during the First World War,
at the point, everyone was inclined
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to accept the rule of fascism.
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We return to Hector and Adelina,
who, because of their decisions,
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leave the Second World War behind,
in which the persecution of Jews
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and the holocaust is about to start.
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They leave behind the errors of war,
however, like I said, they face a life
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that is not easy.
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Like we said,
Adelina was a lawyer with a great career.
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She finds herself having
to start her work up again.
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Yes, because the main difficulty was
a work shortage.
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There was an excess of workers
(Laughter)
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from Tel Aviv.
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And then, there were few jobs
or they were completely insecure.
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Another big problem was
a housing shortage.
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So much so that my parents were forced
to live with a family in an apartment,
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with a kind of Polish family.
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And so the difficulty was, above all,
the work shortage.
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Also because the two small bags
of two thousand stars were not
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to be touched at all.
My father was not flexible.
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And so then my mom, in other words,
my mom, as long as my father remained
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in Tel Aviv until August 23, 1944,
when he then went to work
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at the British oil refinery... yes...
No, he also had my mom
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because then he had had my sister first
and then I was born in 1942.
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So then when my father left,
he felt the obligation to work
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to support the family
also because he liked the idea
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of having money...
(Laughter)
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to freely spend.
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As mentioned, your mother was free...
- Yes, free.
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in Palestine.
- Yes.
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Your father, on the other hand,
had to move abroad to Persia
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because meanwhile he found work
with an oil company.
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So two lovers who find themselves
far apart in a foreign land,
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and the only point of contact
between these two people becomes
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the writing, the letters
that will then become so important
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for documentation, for their memories.
- Yes.
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In fact, if my father accepts
this two year contract
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with this Iranian company,
from Abadan and in Persia,
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he would do his work
as an industrial chemist
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in this precise military zone.
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He certainly separated from,
he left his wife, his children,
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in Tel Aviv.
Then, although very tired,
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every evening my mom wrote
and reported what had happened
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during her workday,
because she had found work
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with a company that was part
of the Tel Aviv pharmaceutical industry.
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After then being fired,
she went into a...into a house to iron...
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So, she could do anything.
And so she reported with great ability,
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descriptive, careful about everything
that went on during the day.
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Rather, my father sometimes wrote letters
with extensive description.
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He explained to her a bit about his duty,
weather problems because it was very hot,
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relationships with the British,
that local population that was
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in truly devastating conditions.
Okay so they were letters that,
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among other things... If you permit me...
- Sure.
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a tangent... Things one absolutely knew
but I didn't even know
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the letters existed.
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Then perhaps we can also elaborate
on how they were found.
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Then also about how the decision
to publish them came about.
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Let's go back.
We had said that while Hector
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and Adelina were in Palestine,
their children were born.
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Yes, my sister...
- You were born
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and your sister Ana was born.
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It is fitting that the future
of these two children is often focused
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on in these letters that Hector
and Adelina exchange.
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I would like to read another
particularly significant passage
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that is again written by Hector
in Abadan in February 23, 1945:
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"If on one hand, the war tends
to be nearing its end, on the other,
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"for us, the situation in Palestine
is taking a favorable turn.
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"These days, I am overthinking
and continuously thinking
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"about the problem and worried,
not so much about our personal future,
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"but the future of our children.
I feel irresistibly carried towards
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"a solution that,
although never once explored,
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"today seems inevitable to me.
Perhaps in a year's time we will find
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"the need to have to return to Italy.
Then they will return
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"to being one hundred percent Italians."
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Probably if your father could have chosen,
he would have never...ah...wanted
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to return to Italy.
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Yes, I would have wanted to also.
Rather no, because of having been betrayed
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by Italy, my father deeply desired
to return to Italy.
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Apart from the experience in Abadan,
also because life in Palestine was truly
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very hard, very difficult because of
the work problem, the problem
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of the...of the...the lack of apartments.
However, we can't forget
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that the attention, the attention
from the Palestinian Arabs and the British
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made life particularly difficult.
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If we could return back in time...
- Yes.
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In September 1940, Tel Aviv was bombed
by Italian planes, no?...
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Yes.
- They bombed Tel Aviv and it seems
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like there were one hundred
and fifty two deaths.
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So life was very hard.
Another tangent...uh... In other words,
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one of the big problems was also food.
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For example, myself sister and I went
to the gan, which was like kindergarten.
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To help you understand, at lunch they used
to give us half an egg to eat.
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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
On the other hand,
while you all faced this situation,
232
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the hope of returning
to Italy continuously remained.
233
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And how did Adelina live
with the hope of returning?
234
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I will read...
- Yes.
235
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
...another passage that is significant:
"I will never ask myself
236
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"to take that step.
Here I feel undoubtedly hesitant
237
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"by instinct and by force of tradition.
And I won't ever ask myself not only out
238
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"of obedience,
but because more than anything else,
239
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"I am concerned
about doing everything possible
240
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"for the future of our children."
241
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's like saying,
she was also willing to do her part.
242
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There was a sense of pride
to return to Italy, that country
243
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that had dismissed them
in order to then guarantee
244
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a future for you children.
245
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Then here there is a...
(Laughter)
246
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There are many letters.
In any case, when my father says
247
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that they will be
one hundred percent Italians,
248
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
he also proposes to my mom
the idea of converting to Catholicism,
249
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because we were Jews.
- Of course.
250
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Then, while the Finzis
of Trieste were assimilated
251
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
almost completely...
In other words,
252
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they went to the temple twice a year.
Instead, my mom was from
253
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a much more orthodox family.
They came from the Parrdo,
254
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a very important Iberian family.
255
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Parrdo which was Prado then.
They came from Spain after the expulsion.
256
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So my father proposes this idea
of converting to Catholicism
257
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in order for his children...
- To become...
258
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Yes, to become totally Italians
even as a religion.
259
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
However my mom... Here it says
that she was reluctant.
260
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Not because she was personally orthodox.
But because, in that moment when
261
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it was known what was happening
in Europe, the extermination camps
262
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
or also a difficult situation,
they absolutely didn't know
263
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
where my paternal
and maternal grandparents were.
264
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So, however, the news arrived
even betraying the origin... In short...
265
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It was quite heavy.
- Very heavy.
266
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
By the way, meanwhile how did the news
about the war circulate in Europe?
267
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Was there just an awareness
of what was happening?
268
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Was there an awareness
of the extermination camps?
269
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Yes.
- Most of all, also how did they live
270
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
with these duplicate feelings?
Because, on the one hand,
271
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
there was this hope
of being able to return one day
272
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to a normal life in Italy.
On the other hand, however,
273
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
there was a lot of love
also for the fate of loved ones.
274
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They knew everything.
275
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Both about the Jewish institution
and the British.
276
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The news arrived quite detailed.
I don't want to forget a noteworthy group
277
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of young Jews that were part
of the Jewish brigade.
278
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They fought alongside the British
and they also fought in Italy,
279
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in all of Europe.
It was them that said the news offered
280
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
details about what was taking place.
So they knew about everything
281
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
about what was coming
to Italy and Europe.
282
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The concerns were precisely
that my paternal grandparents,
283
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
those who then were moved from Auschwitz,
they did not...
284
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The last official news was transmitted
by a type of telegram by the Red Cross
285
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in July of 1943.
Then my father knew absolutely nothing.
286
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
My mom didn't know.
She knew that her parents were hidden.
287
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Her brother was in Switzerland.
But they had absolutely no news.
288
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They couldn't say or write anything
because the mail was altered.
289
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Outgoing and incoming mail was altered.
I found that at least some details
290
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in the letters had been deleted precisely
by the person that did the alterations.
291
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So my father needed to be careful
because they were altered by the British.
292
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They were altered by the Persians.
Then they were altered on arrival
293
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in Palestine.
So they were...
294
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In this situation,
they also found themselves in a state
295
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of uncertainty being far from Europe,
far from what was happening in Europe,
296
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
far from the war.
297
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
For the moment, Adelina perhaps had hoped
that her family would be privileged
298
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in the immense tragedy
that afflicted the Jews of Europe,
299
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that they would all find themselves
reunited upon their return.
300
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There was almost this illusion, this hope.
301
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Hope is often the last idea.
Hence, there was hope.
302
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They didn't have detailed news.
My father's brother was a doctor
303
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
who lived in Bologna
in the mountains of Monghidoro.
304
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
He knew
that his parents had been arrested,
305
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that they had been deported.
However, he had not communicated anything.
306
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Then, even though...
There could have always been
307
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the hope of return by being in Aushwitz.
308
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Therefore, they hoped, they hoped.
309
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Unfortunately, however,
the terrible news arrived.
310
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They also arrived in Palestine while
the war...
311
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It was over.
- It was already over.
312
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And like you said,
the terrible news arrived by mail.
313
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
News so terrible
that Adelina cannot even transcribe them
314
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in a letter to Hector.
She writes:
315
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"My dear, unfortunately,
the dreary news has arrived.
316
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"I am sending you the letter
because I don't have the courage
317
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"to write to you
about it with my own pen."
318
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's terrible.
Unfortunately, they were effects
319
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of what had just happened
in the war in Europe.
320
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In a communication letter separate
from the international cross.
321
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Maybe in that exact moment Hector
and Adelina understood
322
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
what they had escaped from?
323
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Yes without a doubt.
I will also tell you
324
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that when my father had
the idea of going to Palestine,
325
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
everyone criticized him;
friends, parents, brothers, the sister,
326
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because they said
he was always pessimistic.
327
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
He would rather have wanted them all
to also come with him.
328
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
However, he expected it, also because
the war in Europe ended on May 8, 1945.
329
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The news gets to him in August.
Given that months go by
330
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
where he doesn't receive positive news,
he feared for the lives of his parents.
331
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Excuse me but if you permit me.
- Of course.
332
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But before the communication
about the deaths of his parents,
333
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
he received communication from Sweden
that said his sister was saved.
334
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Then my aunt Yolanda Clara was part
of that group of prisoners
335
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that were moved
from Auschwitz in December 1944.
336
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They were moved west
so as not to leave a mass
337
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of prisoners in Auschwitz,
because the Red Army was coming.
338
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
She was then liberated
in the north of Ravensbrück in April 1945.
339
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
She was then transferred
to Sweden to recover.
340
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We have said that at this point,
the war ended and Hector and Adelina
341
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
along with their children decide
to return to Italy.
342
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
How difficult was it once again to start
from scratch because they actually had
343
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to start from scratch.
344
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Ah yes.
It was difficult.
345
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
My father's brother,
who had worked in Sansepolcro,
346
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
helped him get a job at his work.
He spoke with Mr. Marco Vittoni
347
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and he said he was quite willing
to hire his brother because he was
348
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a chemist.
Mr. Vittoni wanted a change of pace
349
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
for his company.
But when we arrived in Italy in May 1946,
350
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
with a short stop in Bologna
and then to Parma at the home
351
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of my maternal grandparents,
and then to Sansepolcro precisely
352
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in November of 1946,
we had absolutely nothing.
353
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And there was nothing...
(Laughter)
354
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Without a doubt, a country in devastation.
- Yes, a country in devastation.
355
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I remember the path with holes.
I remember the Tower of Berta Square
356
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in a pile of ruins.
- The Tower of Berta Square was destroyed.
357
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I repeat, it was also a problem to eat.
I remember my father rented
358
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a furnished apartment
in Saint Claire Square
359
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in which the conditions were...
- Insecure.
360
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Very, very insecure.
However, they were young
361
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and they wanted to start over.
There was my sister and myself.
362
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So, they desired to put a painful time
of their lives behind them and start over.
363
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You have previously already answered
that there was resentment towards
364
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that country that made them run away
and also towards those friends
365
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that...
- No.
366
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
had put down the idea of the legeri...
- No, absolutely not.
367
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Other than it being something
that is part of our DNA.
368
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Resentment is useless.
It's best to move forward,
369
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to have the will to start again
and to overcome difficulties.
370
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Not resentment.
I never heard my father
371
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
nor my mother speak ill of Italians.
Yes, it was upsetting to have lost.
372
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
To having lost parents.
To having lost years of work.
373
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
My mom could not return to work
in Milan because there was no way
374
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to find a home.
375
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In 2011, Hector Finzi's
and Adelina's epistolary was donated
376
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to the Pieve diary archives.
It's awarded the Premio Pieve.
377
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
First and foremost, how were you able
to find these letters again,
378
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because they were made public
by the decision of donating them.
379
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
My father dies on June 18, 2002.
380
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We had an apartment in Parma.
In August I was ready to let go of it.
381
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
By chance, I found a bag in his office,
a leather one that holds documents.
382
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There were letters inside
this document holder.
383
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And there were two notebooks,
black ones with a red border
384
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that were used in the past,
and they were diaries.
385
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I understood right away
because I have done historical research
386
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
for many years, so I understood
it was something interesting.
387
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I found it strange
that my father never told me anything,
388
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because he didn't say there are letters
and diaries.
389
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And so I took them all to my house,
to my office and I left them there
390
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
for a year, a year and a half.
Then I slowly began to read them
391
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
with a bit of fear.
392
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Because with letters and diaries...
- One will find...
393
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
always find something intimate.
Then I think in my family,
394
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
nothing would ever be talked about.
No one had ever commented,
395
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
made references.
Then gradually I began
396
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to transcribe these letters.
I can't tell you how I did so,
397
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because they were truly written...
- Strictly handwritten.
398
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Yes, handwritten with a fountain pen,
on tissue paper, because then
399
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it was airmail paper.
So it had... It was
400
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a remove your eyes type job.
In any case, I did this transcription job
401
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of the diary, of the letters, etc.
I had the idea of publishing it.
402
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The full version of this diary,
of these letters...
403
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Just to be certain, I collaborated
with the Diary Archives already
404
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
for some time for my research.
In any case, just to be certain,
405
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I went to Pieve Santo Stefano
and I had this volume on hand.
406
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It was Cristina Cangi, who you know.
She asked me:
407
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"What is it professor?"
- "It's this work that I did."
408
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"Why don't you submit for the award."
409
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I say I really had not thought
about wanting to publish it.
410
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I start reading some interesting things
and then I submit it.
411
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
...They asked me for the archive
and also for the letters,
412
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but I wasn't going to do that.
413
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I remember that it's naturally possible
to read this publication
414
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that is titled "Transparent",
in which the documentation
415
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is precisely presented.
Published by Il Mulino.
416
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Our arrangement time has ended,
although we would like to talk for hours
417
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
about this story that is a bit,
by certain passages and elements,
418
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
similar to the story
of many other families,
419
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
also of the province of Arezzo.
Perhaps there will be a a way
420
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to talk more about it in the future.
Thank you Daniel Finzi,
421
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
thanks to all of you
who have followed our event,
422
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a special event
that was made possible in collaboration
423
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
with The Archives of Pieve Santo Stefano.
I naturally thank you as well.
424
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In particular, the archives
for this episode were made available
425
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
by Nadia Frulli.
Thank you to all of you
426
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
for watching the program with...