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People from Here
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Welcome back to People from Here.
What we want to tell you today
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is the story of two young people,
of two young people with high hopes.
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There is Adelina,
a brilliant lawyer who works
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at a prestigious legal firm in Milan.
Then there is Ettore,
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an industrial chemist.
The future can only smile
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upon Adelina and Ettore.
Actually,
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their future will be more turbulent
thank they could have ever imagined.
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In fact,
in 1938 Ettore and Adelina are Jewish.
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On September 18th,
from the balcony of Trieste's town hall,
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Benito Mussolini announced
for the first time the Racial Laws
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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
about Ettore and Adelina
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on the eve of the day.
We will tell it with the son
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of Ettore 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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Now I would like to start
with September 1938.
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with Mussolini's announcement
of the laws for the defense of the race.
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Ettore and Adelina immediately started
to understand that there wasn't
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a future for them in that country.
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Deciding to leave their country was
a difficult decision,
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a difficult decision,
but one that will save their lives.
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Yes, my father Ettore Finzi was
very knowledgable about history.
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Also because he knew German very well.
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He had two aunts, aunt Genie
and aunt Lazigudita 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 the contents were about
and he also hoped that Italy would be
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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.
He had known my mom only a few months,
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and he returns
to these months in April 1938.
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It was love at first sight
and because of the Race Manifesto
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and 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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An ominous date for many.
- Yes.
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Very unjust, but there is a turning point.
- There is a...
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Ettore and Adelina decide to leave.
Or rather, how do they depart?
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Because, in a sense,
they leave 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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However, to qualify to enter,
every person needed to have 1,000 stars.
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Because, like we said, they had chosen.
- To go to...
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The goal was Palestine.
- Yes.
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The choice was not a coincidence,
because my father had also thought
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about Latin America.
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But the idea of going
to Palestine was because it was nearby.
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He was from Trieste so it was close.
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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 any.
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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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It was to put towards this large sum.
And I still remember two leather bags
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with thousands of little stars inside.
They were gold little stars.
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At this point, they reach Palestine.
A tangent here about Palestine.
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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 Haifa on April 6th.
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Yes, because as of 1922,
the British controlled Palestine.
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There were Palestinian Arabs.
The Jewish Palestinians were organized
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by the Yishuv, who were more concerned
with the kibbutz and wanted
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to dedicate themselves
to agriculture, etc.
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But the foundation, the political one,
was led by the Arab agency.
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The Arab agency was, well,
I'll give you an example.
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They arrived in Tel Aviv on April 7th
and twenty days after,
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they were in school learning modern Hebrew
because there were various Jews
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in Tel Aviv from every part of Europe.
It was necessary
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to learn this common language.
So, there was some organization,
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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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Yes, they had to restart.
- from scratch.
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On the other hand, however,
there was a lot of bitterness
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that was left behind by the fact
of having to abandon...
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Yes.
- Italy.
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Having to leave Italy was stressful.
- Yes.
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In regard to this,
I will also read an excerpt
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from the letters
that have been donated to the archive,
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diaries in which Ettore specifically tells
about what he was feeling shortly after
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the time in which he abandoned Italy.
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We will read 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.
Through their conversations,
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"I felt they knew what sympathy meant,
and they only ended up making me withdraw.
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"They were whispered conversations solely
because they knew me
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"and thought highly of me.
For many, being an example against
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"the persecution of Jews not being born
in Italy, could also be considered fair,
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"because it is understood that they came
to the country to make a fortune
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"by going behind other's backs.
They had some expert 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 Ettore felt betrayed by Italy?
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Without a doubt.
As I was saying prior,
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also because my father was from Trieste.
From his father, my grandfather,
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he had also received an irredentist
and nationalist upbringing.
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Trieste has always been divided
between people from Trieste
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and 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 upbringing,
and so he was an irredentist nationalist.
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Additionally, he was a genius official,
and 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 Ettore's letters,
in this text, it also highlights
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a responsibility
by the Italian people themselves
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for what was 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 Italian people's problem...
(Laughter)
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is like saying living today like yesterday.
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In other words,
the lack of personal responsibility
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and accepting anything,
like a leader or a guide,
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that which has
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.
But at that very moment
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in which Mussolini showed his cruelty
towards Jews, who, I repeat,
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were real 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 Fascist rule.
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We return to Ettore 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.
They leave behind the errors of the war,
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however, like I said, they face a life
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.
And then, there were few jobs
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or they were completely insecure.
Another big problem was
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a housing shortage.
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So much so that my parents were forced
to live with a Polish family
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in an apartment.
Above all,
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the main difficulty was the work shortage.
Also because the two bags
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of the two thousand stars were not
to be touched at all.
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My father was not flexible.
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My mom then, as long as my father remained
in Tel Aviv until August 23, 1944,
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when he went to work
at the British oil refinery...
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(Interviewer Talking)
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No, he was also with my mom
because they then had my sister first,
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and then I was born in 1942.
So when my father left,
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he felt the obligation to work
to support the family.
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He also liked the idea
of having money 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 in Persia,
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he would do his work
as an industrial chemist
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in this precise military zone.
Of course, he had to detach,
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he had to leave his wife,
his children in Tel Aviv.
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Then, although very tired,
every evening my mom wrote
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and reported what had happened
during her workday,
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because she had found work
with a company that was part
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of the Tel Aviv pharmaceutical industry.
After then being fired,
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she went to work at a house to iron.
So, she could do anything.
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She reported with great ability,
descriptive, careful about everything
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that went on during the day.
Rather, my father sometimes wrote letters
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with extensive description.
He explained to her a bit about his duty,
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weather problems because it was very hot,
relationships with the British,
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and with the local population
that was in truly devastating conditions.
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They were letters that,
among other things...
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If you permit me a tangent.
They were things one absolutely knew
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but I didn't even know 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 Ettore
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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 was often focused
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on in these letters that Ettore
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 Ettore
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 taken 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 become
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"one hundred percent Italians."
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Probably if your father could have chosen,
he would have never wanted
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to return to Italy.
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Yes, I would not have wanted to also.
Quite the opposite,
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because of having been betrayed by Italy,
my father deeply desired to return to Italy.
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Apart from the experience in Abadan,
also because life
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in Palestine was truly very hard,
very difficult because of the work problem,
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and the problem of the lack of apartments.
However, we can't forget
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that the attention
from the Palestinian Arabs
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and the British made life 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, right?
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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.
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I mean,
one of the big problems was also food.
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For example, my 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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On the other hand,
while facing this situation,
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the hope of returning
to Italy continuously remained.
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And how did Adelina live
with the hope of returning?
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00:18:49,948 --> 00:18:55,348
I will read another significant passage:
"I will never ask those taking that step.
227
00:18:55,550 --> 00:18:59,731
"Here I feel undoubtedly hesitant
by instinct and by force of tradition.
228
00:18:59,882 --> 00:19:03,971
"And I won't ever ask myself,
not only out of obedience,
229
00:19:04,123 --> 00:19:06,591
"but because more than anything else,
I am concerned
230
00:19:06,833 --> 00:19:10,667
"about doing everything possible
for the future of our children."
231
00:19:10,867 --> 00:19:14,634
It's like saying,
she was also willing to do her part.
232
00:19:14,891 --> 00:19:18,484
There was a sense of pride
to return to Italy,
233
00:19:18,798 --> 00:19:22,226
that country that had dismissed them,
in order to guarantee
234
00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:24,210
a future for you children.
235
00:19:24,375 --> 00:19:28,434
Then here there is a...
(Laughter)
236
00:19:28,583 --> 00:19:31,676
There are many letters.
In any case, when my father says
237
00:19:31,843 --> 00:19:34,135
that they will become
one hundred percent Italians,
238
00:19:34,639 --> 00:19:43,868
he also proposes to my mom
the idea of converting to Catholicism,
239
00:19:44,084 --> 00:19:46,477
because we were Jews.
- (Interviewer) Of course.
240
00:19:46,627 --> 00:19:55,228
Meanwhile, the Finzi from Trieste were
almost completely assimilated.
241
00:19:55,477 --> 00:19:58,485
That is to say,
they went to the temple twice a year.
242
00:19:59,018 --> 00:20:04,180
Instead, my mom was
from a much more orthodox family,
243
00:20:04,394 --> 00:20:10,462
They came from the Parrdo,
a very important Iberian family.
244
00:20:10,823 --> 00:20:18,914
Parrdo which used to be Prado.
They came from Spain after the expulsion.
245
00:20:19,052 --> 00:20:25,372
So my father proposes this idea
of converting to Catholicism
246
00:20:25,539 --> 00:20:30,822
in order for his children...
- To become...
247
00:20:31,205 --> 00:20:34,826
Yes, to become entirely Italian,
even as a religion.
248
00:20:34,994 --> 00:20:39,432
However my mom... Here it says
that she was reluctant.
249
00:20:39,566 --> 00:20:46,739
Not because she was personally orthodox,
but because, in that moment when
250
00:20:46,955 --> 00:20:51,549
it was known what was happening
in Europe, the extermination camps
251
00:20:51,683 --> 00:20:55,957
or another difficult situation,
they absolutely didn't know
252
00:20:56,124 --> 00:21:00,757
where my paternal
and maternal grandparents were.
253
00:21:00,906 --> 00:21:08,867
Then, however, the news arrived
even betraying the origin and...
254
00:21:09,001 --> 00:21:12,440
It was quite heavy.
- Yes, very heavy.
255
00:21:12,846 --> 00:21:17,107
By the way, how did the news
about the war arrive meanwhile
256
00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:22,298
it continued in Europe?
Was there just an awareness
257
00:21:22,601 --> 00:21:25,558
of what was happening?
Was there an awareness
258
00:21:25,742 --> 00:21:29,993
of the existence
of the extermination camps?
259
00:21:30,126 --> 00:21:32,265
Yes.
- Above all, how did they live
260
00:21:32,432 --> 00:21:33,910
with these dual feelings?
Because, on the one hand,
261
00:21:34,126 --> 00:21:37,359
there was this hope
of being able to return one day
262
00:21:37,509 --> 00:21:40,210
to a normal life in Italy.
On the other hand, however,
263
00:21:40,393 --> 00:21:44,018
there was a lot of fear
also for the fate of loved ones.
264
00:21:44,364 --> 00:21:46,517
They knew everything.
265
00:21:47,017 --> 00:21:52,128
Both about the Jewish agency
and the British.
266
00:21:52,461 --> 00:22:02,960
The news arrived quite detailed.
I don't want to forget a noteworthy group
267
00:22:03,093 --> 00:22:09,149
of young Jews that were part
of the Jewish brigade.
268
00:22:09,777 --> 00:22:15,330
They fought alongside the British
and they also fought in Italy,
269
00:22:15,722 --> 00:22:22,200
then in all of Europe.
They were the ones who said
270
00:22:22,351 --> 00:22:27,914
that they gave very detailed news
of what was happening.
271
00:22:28,047 --> 00:22:34,055
So, they knew about everything
that was coming to Italy and Europe.
272
00:22:34,373 --> 00:22:43,872
The concerns were
about my paternal grandparents,
273
00:22:44,020 --> 00:22:48,014
those who later died in Auschwitz,
that they didn't...
274
00:22:48,181 --> 00:22:55,615
The last official news was transmitted
by a type of telegram of the Red Cross
275
00:22:55,939 --> 00:23:01,873
in July of 1943.
My father knew absolutely nothing.
276
00:23:02,141 --> 00:23:09,132
My mom didn't know.
She knew that her parents were hidden.
277
00:23:09,272 --> 00:23:14,434
Her brother was in Switzerland.
But they had absolutely no news.
278
00:23:14,617 --> 00:23:21,984
They couldn't say or write anything
because the mail was altered.
279
00:23:22,605 --> 00:23:30,955
Outgoing and incoming mail was altered.
I found that at least some details
280
00:23:31,134 --> 00:23:37,204
in the letters had been deleted precisely
by the person that did the alterations.
281
00:23:37,367 --> 00:23:40,973
So, my father needed to be careful
because they were altered by the British.
282
00:23:41,194 --> 00:23:45,502
They were altered by the Persians.
Then they were altered on arrival
283
00:23:45,719 --> 00:23:47,244
in Palestine.
So, they were...
284
00:23:47,469 --> 00:23:50,585
In this situation,
they also found themselves in a state
285
00:23:50,953 --> 00:23:56,175
of uncertainty being far from Europe,
far from what was happening in Europe,
286
00:23:56,316 --> 00:23:58,752
far from the war.
287
00:23:58,919 --> 00:24:13,446
For a moment, Adelina perhaps had hoped
that her family would have an advantage
288
00:24:13,613 --> 00:24:17,880
over the immense tragedy
that afflicted the Jews of Europe,
289
00:24:18,035 --> 00:24:21,555
that they would all find themselves
reunited upon their return.
290
00:24:21,737 --> 00:24:23,905
There was almost this illusion, this hope.
291
00:24:24,070 --> 00:24:28,838
Hope is often the last idea.
There was hope.
292
00:24:29,005 --> 00:24:38,306
They didn't have detailed news.
My father's brother was a doctor
293
00:24:38,471 --> 00:24:48,990
who lived in Bologna
in the mountains of Monghidoro.
294
00:24:49,147 --> 00:24:55,290
He knew
that his parents had been arrested,
295
00:24:55,473 --> 00:24:59,223
that they had been deported.
However, he had not communicated anything.
296
00:24:59,390 --> 00:25:05,907
Even though, hypothetically they went
to Auschwitz, there could have always been
297
00:25:06,041 --> 00:25:11,741
the hope of returning.
Therefore, they hoped.
298
00:25:11,891 --> 00:25:15,775
Unfortunately, however,
the terrible news was that they arrived.
299
00:25:15,925 --> 00:25:19,859
They arrived in Palestine while
the war by now...
300
00:25:20,175 --> 00:25:22,092
It was over.
- By now it was over.
301
00:25:22,276 --> 00:25:26,075
And like you said,
the terrible news arrived by mail.
302
00:25:26,425 --> 00:25:31,160
News so terrible
that Adelina cannot even transcribe them
303
00:25:31,532 --> 00:25:34,243
in a letter to Ettore.
She writes:
304
00:25:34,443 --> 00:25:38,235
"My dear, unfortunately,
the dreary news has arrived.
305
00:25:38,408 --> 00:25:40,450
"I am sending you the letter
because I don't have the courage
306
00:25:40,711 --> 00:25:42,327
"to write to you
about it with my own pen."
307
00:25:42,659 --> 00:25:46,786
It's terrible.
Unfortunately, they were reactions
308
00:25:46,944 --> 00:25:51,568
to what had just happened
in the war in Europe.
309
00:25:51,726 --> 00:25:55,814
In a communication letter separate
from the international cross.
310
00:25:55,977 --> 00:25:59,343
Maybe in that exact moment Ettore
and Adelina understood
311
00:25:59,503 --> 00:26:03,378
what they had escaped from?
312
00:26:03,552 --> 00:26:08,954
Yes without a doubt.
I will also tell you
313
00:26:09,097 --> 00:26:14,162
that when my father had
the idea of going to Palestine,
314
00:26:14,365 --> 00:26:19,670
everyone criticized him;
friends, parents, brothers, the sister,
315
00:26:19,916 --> 00:26:24,963
because they said
that he was always pessimistic.
316
00:26:25,245 --> 00:26:31,417
He would rather have wanted them all
to also come with him.
317
00:26:31,578 --> 00:26:43,906
However, he expected it, also because
the war in Europe ended on May 8, 1945.
318
00:26:44,223 --> 00:26:50,847
The news gets to him in August.
Given that months go by
319
00:26:51,097 --> 00:26:57,364
where he doesn't receive positive news,
he feared for the lives of his parents.
320
00:26:57,674 --> 00:27:00,564
Excuse me but if you permit me.
- (Interviewer) Of course.
321
00:27:00,731 --> 00:27:07,650
But before the communication
about the deaths of his parents,
322
00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:15,083
he received communication from Sweden
that said his sister was saved.
323
00:27:15,416 --> 00:27:23,270
Then my aunt Yolanda Clara was part
of that group of prisoners
324
00:27:23,433 --> 00:27:28,159
that were moved
from Auschwitz in December 1944.
325
00:27:28,309 --> 00:27:32,160
They were moved west
so as not to leave a mass
326
00:27:32,325 --> 00:27:38,943
of prisoners in Auschwitz,
because the Red Army was coming.
327
00:27:39,094 --> 00:27:49,228
She was then liberated
in the north of Ravensbrück in April 1945.
328
00:27:49,401 --> 00:27:53,152
She was then transferred
to Sweden to recover.
329
00:27:53,435 --> 00:27:59,169
We have said that at this point,
the war had ended and Ettore and Adelina
330
00:27:59,403 --> 00:28:04,586
along with their children decide
to return to Italy.
331
00:28:04,874 --> 00:28:08,854
How difficult was it once again to start
from scratch because they actually had
332
00:28:09,187 --> 00:28:10,504
to start from scratch.
333
00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:12,419
Ah yes.
It was difficult.
334
00:28:12,579 --> 00:28:17,171
My father's brother,
who had worked in Sansepolcro,
335
00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:20,813
helped him get a job at his work.
He spoke with Mr. Marco Vittoni
336
00:28:21,104 --> 00:28:25,154
and he said he was quite willing
to hire his brother
337
00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:30,489
because he was a chemist.
Mr. Vittoni wanted a change of pace
338
00:28:30,622 --> 00:28:38,070
for his company.
But when we arrived in Italy in May 1946,
339
00:28:38,272 --> 00:28:41,614
with a short stop in Bologna
and then to Parma at the home
340
00:28:41,761 --> 00:28:45,331
of my maternal grandparents,
and then to Sansepolcro precisely
341
00:28:45,496 --> 00:28:51,122
in November of 1946,
we had absolutely nothing.
342
00:28:51,898 --> 00:28:54,472
And there was nothing...
(Laughter)
343
00:28:54,715 --> 00:28:58,672
Without a doubt, a country in devastation.
- Yes, a country in devastation.
344
00:28:58,806 --> 00:29:03,830
I remember the path with holes.
I remember the Tower of Berta Square
345
00:29:03,995 --> 00:29:06,683
in a pile of ruins.
- The Tower of Berta Square was destroyed.
346
00:29:06,871 --> 00:29:16,690
I repeat, it was also a problem to eat.
I remember my father rented
347
00:29:17,267 --> 00:29:19,492
a furnished apartment
in Saint Claire Square
348
00:29:19,801 --> 00:29:22,829
in which the conditions were...
- Insecure.
349
00:29:23,067 --> 00:29:26,059
Very, very insecure.
However, they were young
350
00:29:26,217 --> 00:29:31,342
and they wanted to start over.
There was my sister and myself.
351
00:29:31,492 --> 00:29:39,382
So, they wanted to put a painful time
of their lives behind them and start over.
352
00:29:39,646 --> 00:29:44,242
You have previously already answered
that there was resentment towards
353
00:29:44,409 --> 00:29:49,694
that country that made them escape
and also towards those friends
354
00:29:49,861 --> 00:29:52,450
that...
- No.
355
00:29:52,636 --> 00:29:58,228
had put down the idea of the...
- No, absolutely not.
356
00:29:58,566 --> 00:30:02,660
Other than it being something
that is part of our DNA,
357
00:30:02,947 --> 00:30:10,765
resentment is useless.
It's best to move forward,
358
00:30:10,949 --> 00:30:17,245
to have the will to start again
and to overcome difficulties.
359
00:30:17,420 --> 00:30:21,438
Not resentment.
I never heard my father
360
00:30:21,604 --> 00:30:29,395
nor my mother speak ill of Italians.
Yes, it was upsetting to have lost.
361
00:30:29,521 --> 00:30:36,502
To having lost parents.
To having lost years of work.
362
00:30:36,652 --> 00:30:40,513
My mom could not return to work
in Milan because there was no way
363
00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:42,906
to find a home.
364
00:30:43,208 --> 00:30:52,924
In 2011, Ettore Finzi's
and Adelina's epistolary was donated
365
00:30:53,135 --> 00:30:57,000
to the Pieve diary archives.
It's awarded the Premio Pieve.
366
00:30:57,148 --> 00:31:02,848
First and foremost, how were you able
to find these letters again,
367
00:31:03,048 --> 00:31:06,449
because they were made public
by the decision of donating them.
368
00:31:06,587 --> 00:31:11,526
My father died on June 18, 2002.
369
00:31:11,874 --> 00:31:20,992
He lived in an apartment in Parma.
In August I was ready to let go of it.
370
00:31:21,572 --> 00:31:31,633
By chance, I found a bag in his office,
a leather one that held documents.
371
00:31:32,101 --> 00:31:37,794
There were letters inside
this document holder.
372
00:31:38,901 --> 00:31:43,298
And there were two notebooks,
black ones with a red border
373
00:31:43,298 --> 00:31:46,604
that were used in the past,
and inside were his diaries.
374
00:31:47,097 --> 00:31:52,133
I understood right away
because I have done historical research
375
00:31:52,550 --> 00:31:55,916
for many years, so I understood
it was something interesting.
376
00:31:56,322 --> 00:31:59,600
I found it strange
that my father never told me anything,
377
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:05,991
because he didn't say to me
that there were letters and diaries.
378
00:32:06,401 --> 00:32:10,001
And so I took them all to my house,
to my office and I left them there
379
00:32:10,959 --> 00:32:15,650
for a year, a year and a half.
Then I slowly began to read them
380
00:32:16,010 --> 00:32:17,134
with a bit of fear.
381
00:32:17,768 --> 00:32:22,178
Because with diaries and letters...
- One will find...
382
00:32:22,424 --> 00:32:25,719
always find something intimate.
Then I think in my family,
383
00:32:25,969 --> 00:32:31,644
nothing would ever be talked about.
No one had ever commented,
384
00:32:31,844 --> 00:32:37,909
or made references.
Then I gradually began
385
00:32:38,086 --> 00:32:42,287
to transcribe these letters.
I can't tell you how I did so,
386
00:32:42,574 --> 00:32:45,403
because they were truly written...
- Strictly handwritten.
387
00:32:45,603 --> 00:32:50,720
Yes, handwritten with a fountain pen,
on tissue paper, because back then
388
00:32:50,913 --> 00:32:56,686
it was airmail paper.
It was a type of job
389
00:32:56,837 --> 00:33:02,280
that strained the eyes.
In any case, I did this transcription job
390
00:33:02,959 --> 00:33:08,326
of the diary, of the letters, etc.
I had the idea of publishing it.
391
00:33:08,864 --> 00:33:16,182
The full version of this diary,
of these letters...
392
00:33:16,645 --> 00:33:24,709
I had already collaborated
with the diary archives
393
00:33:24,990 --> 00:33:35,338
for some time for my research.
In any case, just to be certain,
394
00:33:35,489 --> 00:33:39,808
I went to Pieve Santo Stefano
and I had this volume in hand.
395
00:33:39,990 --> 00:33:46,433
It was Cristina Cangi, who you will meet.
She asked me:
396
00:33:46,776 --> 00:33:49,391
"What is it professor?"
- "It's this work that I did."
397
00:33:49,574 --> 00:33:52,767
"Why don't you submit if for the award."
398
00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:57,367
I say I really had not thought
about wanting to publish it.
399
00:33:57,545 --> 00:34:05,186
I start reading some interesting things
and then I submit it.
400
00:34:05,545 --> 00:34:10,042
They asked me for the archive
and also for the letters,
401
00:34:10,226 --> 00:34:11,925
but I wasn't going to do that.
402
00:34:12,091 --> 00:34:17,047
I remember that it's possible
to read this publication
403
00:34:17,197 --> 00:34:21,411
that is titled "Transparent",
in which the documentation
404
00:34:21,551 --> 00:34:24,031
is presented
and published by Il Mulino.
405
00:34:24,226 --> 00:34:29,046
Our arrangement time has ended,
although we would like to talk for hours
406
00:34:29,186 --> 00:34:34,135
about this story that is a bit,
by certain passages and elements,
407
00:34:34,302 --> 00:34:36,610
similar to the story
of many other families,
408
00:34:36,845 --> 00:34:41,818
also of the province of Arezzo.
Perhaps there will be a way
409
00:34:41,954 --> 00:34:46,937
to talk more about it in the future.
Thank you Daniele Finzi.
410
00:34:47,111 --> 00:34:52,872
Thanks to all of you
who have followed our episode,
411
00:34:53,021 --> 00:34:55,396
a special episode
that has been made possible
412
00:34:55,562 --> 00:35:00,545
in collaboration
with The Archives of Pieve Santo Stefano.
413
00:35:00,730 --> 00:35:04,263
I naturally thank you as well.
In particular,
414
00:35:04,463 --> 00:35:09,735
the archives
for this episode were made available
415
00:35:09,885 --> 00:35:12,535
by Nadia Frulli.
Thank you to all of you
416
00:35:12,747 --> 00:35:15,413
for watching the program.