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People from Here
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Welcome back to People from Here.[br]What we want to tell you today
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is the story of two young people,[br]of two young people with high hopes.
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There is Adelina,[br]a brilliant lawyer who works
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at a prestigious legal firm in Milan.[br]Then there is Ettore,
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an industrial chemist.[br]The future can only smile
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upon Adelina and Ettore.[br]Actually,
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their future will be more troubled
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than they could have ever imagined.
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In fact, [br]in 1938 Ettore
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and Adelina are Jewish.
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On September 18th,
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from the balcony[br]of Trieste's town hall,
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Benito Mussolini announced[br]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
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suddenly collapses under their feet.
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We will tell this story[br]about Ettore and Adelina
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on the eve of the day.[br]We will tell it with the son
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of Ettore and Adelina,[br]Daniele Finzi, who in 2011,
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decided to donate[br]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[br]this choice was made.
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Now I would like to start[br]with September 1938.
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with Mussolini's announcement
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of the laws for the defense of the race.
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Ettore and Adelina immediately started[br]to understand that there wasn't
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a future for them in that country.
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Deciding to leave was[br]was a difficult decision to make.
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It was a difficult decision,[br]but one that will save their lives.
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Yes, Ettore Finzi, my father,
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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[br]and aunt Lazigudita Gentiluomo,
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who both lived in Vienna.
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He had followed[br]all the Nazi antisemitism
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up to March 1938.
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So, in July 1938,
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when the Race Manifesto was published,
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he didn't expect it.
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He knew what it was about,[br]although he hoped
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that Italy would be[br]a little different than Germany.
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And my father, more than my mother,
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made quick and immediate decisions.
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He was also very intuitive.[br]He had known my mom only a few months,
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and he returns[br]to these months in April 1938.
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It was love at first sight,
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and because of the Race Manifesto[br]and the Racial Laws,
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they decided to get married.
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They were married in Milan[br]on December 1, 1938.
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In 1938. We arrive in 1939.[br]- Yes.
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An ominous date for many.[br]- Yes.
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Very unjust, but there is a turning point.[br]- There is a...
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Ettore and Adelina decide to leave.
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Or rather, how do they depart?[br]Because, in a way,
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they leave informed.
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Yes and no.[br]The problem is immediate
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and that of money.
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Because the White Paper of the British,
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from perhaps February[br]or March of 1939,
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had mandated[br]a total of 75,000 Jews
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that could enter Palestine for five years.
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However, to qualify to enter,[br]every person needed to have 1,000 stars.
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Because, like we said, they had chosen.[br]- To go to...
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The goal was Palestine.[br]- Yes.
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The choice was not a coincidence,[br]because my father had also thought
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about Latin America.
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But the idea of going [br]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, [br]the issue of money was really
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a huge problem[br]because they didn't have any.
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So, thanks to the lawyer Gianni Morandi,[br]who was the owner of the firm
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where my mom worked,
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they went to Zurich for their honeymoon.
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Then they went to Lugano[br]to gather a large sum
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of money from the lawyer's clients.
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And I still remember two leather bags
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with thousands of stars inside.[br]They were gold little stars.
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At this point, they reach Palestine.[br]A tangent 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.[br]Therefore, they had to start from scratch.
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Yes, and so, they started all over again[br]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,
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the British controlled Palestine.
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There were Palestinian Arabs.
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The Jewish Palestinians were organized
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by the Yishuv,[br]who were more concerned
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with the kibbutz,[br]and wanted to dedicate themselves
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to agriculture, etc.
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But the foundation,[br]the political one,
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was led by the Jewish agency.
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The Jewish agency was, well,[br]I'll give you an example.
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Okay, [br]so they arrived in Tel Aviv
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on April 7th.
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Twenty days later they were[br]in school learning modern Hebrew,
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because there were various Jews[br]in Tel Aviv
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from every part of Europe.
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So it was necessary[br]to learn this common language.
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There was some organization,[br]but there were a lot of problems.
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In any case, where I mentally find...[br]- Ah yes.
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this small amount of protection.[br]However, they had to start...
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Yes, they had to restart.[br]- from scratch.
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On the other hand, however,[br]there was a lot of bitterness
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that was left behind by the fact[br]of having to abandon...
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Yes.[br]- Italy.
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Having to leave Italy was stressful.[br]- Yes.
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In regard to this,[br]I will also read an excerpt
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from the letters[br]that have been donated to the archive.
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Diaries in which Ettore specifically tells
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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:[br]"When I left Italy four months ago,
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"feeling more disgusted by the burden[br]of having to leave the country
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"than for the imminent danger,[br]many of my colleagues
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"and friends were quick[br]to express to me their discontent
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"about what was happening.
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"Through their conversations,[br]I felt they knew about condolences
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"and they ended up[br]only making me withdraw.
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"They were whispered conversations,
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"only because they knew me[br]and they valued me.
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"For many, being an example against[br]the persecution of Jews not being born
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"in Italy, could also be considered fair,[br]because it is understood that they came
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"to the country to make a fortune[br]by going behind other's backs.
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"They had some expert political views.
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"The Fascist government's right[br]to persecute people that it had let into
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"the country was generally recognized."
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So Ettore felt betrayed by Italy?
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Without a doubt.[br]Also because, as I was saying prior,
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my father was from Trieste.
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From his father, my grandfather,
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he also received an irredentist[br]and nationalist upbringing.
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Trieste had always been divided
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between people from Trieste, Austria...
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Let's say Austriacanti.
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Rather than irredentists,[br]who loved Italy, the Italian culture,
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the Italian language,[br]like my grandfather and the Slovenians.
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He had received this upbringing,
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and so he was an irredentist nationalist.
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Additionally, he was a genius official,[br]and he felt like an Italian.
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He loved Italy[br]and he felt betrayed by this terrible law.
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In addition, in Ettore's letters,
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in this text, it also highlights
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a responsibility[br]by the Italian people themselves
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for what was happening.
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He writes:[br]"The political maturity
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"of the Italian people[br]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[br]by the people.
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Well, the Italian people's problem...[br](Laughter)
0:10:04.913,0:10:09.871
Living yes...[br]like saying living today like yesterday.
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In other words,[br]the lack of personal responsibility
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and this...[br]Well yes, accepting anything,
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like a leader or a guide,[br]that which is of
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an uglier appearance, if you will.
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And that Trieste...[br]Not coincidentally Mussolini
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and September 18, 1938,[br]where they were
0:10:38.622,0:10:42.658
at the Unity of Italy Square[br]to present the Racial Laws.
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Not only because of[br]the nationalism that was there,
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but because Trieste was[br]a very multiethnic, multicultural city.
0:10:52.977,0:10:55.599
There were more than two centuries
0:10:55.679,0:10:59.819
in which ethnic groups were diverse.
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They coexisted.
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But at the very moment[br]in which Mussolini showed his cruelty
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towards Jews, who were Italian,[br]and felt as such,
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and had also fought[br]for Italy during the First World War...
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At the point,[br]everyone was inclined
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to accept Fascist rule.
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We return to Ettore and Adelina,
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who, because of their decisions,
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leave the Second World War behind,
0:11:34.088,0:11:37.891
in which the persecution of Jews
0:11:38.231,0:11:40.946
and the holocaust are about to start.
0:11:41.676,0:11:44.906
They leave behind the errors of the war,
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however, like you said,[br]they face a life
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that is not easy.
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Like we said,[br]Adelina was a lawyer with a great career.
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She finds herself having[br]to start her work up again.
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Yes, because the main difficulty was[br]a work shortage.
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There was an excess of workers[br](Laughter)
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from Tel Aviv.[br]And then, there were few jobs
0:12:14.739,0:12:16.870
or they were completely insecure.
0:12:17.360,0:12:20.650
Another big problem was[br]a housing shortage.
0:12:21.509,0:12:27.411
So much so that my parents were forced[br]to live with a family,
0:12:27.411,0:12:30.780
with a Polish family in an apartment.
0:12:31.410,0:12:35.070
Above all,[br]the main difficulty was the work shortage.
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Also because the two bags[br]of the two thousand stars were not
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to be touched at all.[br]My father was not flexible.
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Then my mom,[br]as long as my father remained in Tel Aviv
0:12:51.208,0:12:53.988
until August 23, 1944,
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when he went to work[br]at the British oil refinery...
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(Interviewer Talking)
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No, he was also with my mom[br]because they then had my sister first,
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and then I was born in 1942.
0:13:07.826,0:13:13.296
So when my father left,[br]he felt the need
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to work to support the family.
0:13:18.046,0:13:20.731
He also liked the idea
0:13:20.731,0:13:25.130
of having money to freely spend.
0:13:25.480,0:13:30.457
As mentioned, your mother was free...[br]- Yes, free.
0:13:30.457,0:13:31.946
in Palestine.[br]- Yes.
0:13:31.946,0:13:36.364
Your father Ettore, on the other hand,[br]had to move abroad to Persia
0:13:36.364,0:13:41.679
because, meanwhile, he found work[br]with an oil company.
0:13:41.916,0:13:46.391
So two lovers[br]who find themselves far apart
0:13:46.391,0:13:50.032
in foreign lands,[br]and the only point of contact
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between these two people becomes[br]the writing,
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the letters[br]that will then become so important
0:13:56.655,0:14:00.166
for documentation, for their memories.[br]- Yes.
0:14:00.166,0:14:05.812
In fact, my father accepted[br]this two year contract
0:14:05.832,0:14:08.214
with the Iranian company.
0:14:08.634,0:14:13.294
He was in Abadan in Persia.
0:14:13.294,0:14:17.070
And indeed it was a military zone.
0:14:17.690,0:14:21.607
He did his work there[br]as an industrial chemist.
0:14:21.909,0:14:26.797
Of course, he had to detach[br]and leave his wife,
0:14:26.797,0:14:28.607
his children in Tel Aviv.
0:14:28.877,0:14:31.222
Then, although very tired,
0:14:31.712,0:14:36.111
every evening my mom wrote
0:14:36.191,0:14:40.849
and reported what had happened[br]during her workday,
0:14:41.349,0:14:45.539
because she had found work[br]with a company that was part
0:14:45.689,0:14:48.852
of the Tel Aviv pharmaceutical industry.
0:14:48.982,0:14:50.946
After then being fired,
0:14:51.336,0:14:55.416
she went to work at a house to iron.
0:14:55.443,0:14:59.096
So, she could do any job.
0:14:59.106,0:15:04.458
She reported with great ability,
0:15:04.698,0:15:07.968
descriptive, careful about everything
0:15:07.968,0:15:13.072
that went on during the day.[br]Rather, my father sometimes wrote letters
0:15:13.072,0:15:17.600
with extensive description.[br]He explained to her a bit about his duty,
0:15:17.600,0:15:22.722
weather problems because it was very hot,[br]relationships with the British
0:15:22.765,0:15:28.004
and with the local population[br]that was in truly devastating conditions.
0:15:28.035,0:15:31.806
They were letters that,[br]among other things...
0:15:31.816,0:15:34.907
If you permit me a tangent.[br]- Of course.
0:15:35.327,0:15:39.247
They were things one absolutely knew[br]but I didn't know
0:15:39.297,0:15:41.343
the letters even existed.
0:15:41.696,0:15:46.456
Then perhaps we can also elaborate[br]on how they were found.
0:15:46.506,0:15:50.714
Then also about how the decision[br]to publish them came about.
0:15:50.980,0:15:54.618
Let's go back.[br]We had said that while Ettore
0:15:54.618,0:15:58.273
and Adelina were in Palestine,[br]their children were born.
0:15:58.273,0:15:59.983
Yes, my sister...[br]- You were born
0:15:59.983,0:16:01.530
and your sister Ana was born.
0:16:01.866,0:16:06.705
It is fitting that the future[br]of these two children was often focused on
0:16:06.705,0:16:10.667
in these letters that Ettore[br]and Adelina exchange.
0:16:10.916,0:16:15.703
I would like to read another[br]particularly significant passage
0:16:15.722,0:16:18.131
that is again written by Ettore
0:16:18.381,0:16:22.701
from Abadan in February 23, 1945:
0:16:23.151,0:16:26.775
"If on one hand, the war tends[br]to be nearing its end, on the other,
0:16:26.775,0:16:30.075
"the situation in Palestine[br]is taking a favorable turn for us.
0:16:30.301,0:16:34.102
"These days, I am overthinking[br]and continuously thinking
0:16:34.102,0:16:38.384
"about the problem and worried,[br]not so much about our personal future,
0:16:38.544,0:16:42.247
"but the future of our children.[br]I feel irresistibly taken towards
0:16:42.247,0:16:45.734
"a solution that,[br]although never once explored,
0:16:45.734,0:16:47.487
"today seems inevitable to me.
0:16:47.723,0:16:50.068
"Perhaps in a year's time,
0:16:50.408,0:16:54.008
"we will find the need[br]to return to Italy."
0:16:54.008,0:16:57.616
"Then they will become[br]one hundred percent Italians."
0:16:58.070,0:17:01.410
Probably if your father could have chosen,
0:17:01.453,0:17:05.403
he would have never wanted[br]to return to Italy.
0:17:05.659,0:17:08.307
Yes, I would not have wanted to also.[br]Quite the opposite
0:17:08.307,0:17:13.035
because my father,[br]due to having been betrayed by Italy,
0:17:13.710,0:17:17.520
deeply desired to return to Italy.
0:17:17.720,0:17:20.930
Apart from the experience in Abadan,
0:17:21.620,0:17:26.700
also because life[br]in Palestine was truly very hard,
0:17:26.700,0:17:30.238
very difficult because[br]of the work problem,
0:17:30.628,0:17:35.718
and the problem of the lack of apartments.
0:17:35.718,0:17:40.475
However, we can't forget[br]that the attention
0:17:40.495,0:17:42.837
from the Palestinian Arabs
0:17:43.177,0:17:47.317
and the British made life difficult.
0:17:47.977,0:17:53.307
If we could return back in time.[br]- Yes.
0:17:53.910,0:17:57.441
In September 1940,
0:17:58.003,0:18:02.343
Tel Aviv was bombed[br]by Italian planes, right.
0:18:02.443,0:18:07.620
Yes.[br]- They bombed Tel Aviv
0:18:07.620,0:18:10.527
and it seems like there were one hundred[br]and fifty two deaths.
0:18:10.527,0:18:13.320
So life was very hard.
0:18:13.580,0:18:16.170
Another tangent.[br]In other words,
0:18:17.090,0:18:21.772
one of the big problems was also food.
0:18:22.253,0:18:24.753
For example,[br]my sister and I went to the gan,
0:18:24.773,0:18:28.713
which was like kindergarten.
0:18:29.083,0:18:33.101
To help you understand, at lunch they used[br]to give us half an egg to eat.
0:18:34.471,0:18:36.759
On the other hand,
0:18:36.829,0:18:41.856
while facing this situation,[br]there continuously remained
0:18:41.856,0:18:45.676
the hope of returning to Italy.
0:18:45.866,0:18:49.513
And how did Adelina live[br]with the hope of returning?
0:18:49.513,0:18:52.120
I will read another significant passage:
0:18:52.610,0:18:57.410
"I will never ask who is taking that step.[br]Here I undoubtedly feel hesitant
0:18:57.410,0:19:00.902
"by instinct and by force of tradition.[br]And I won't ever ask myself,
0:19:00.902,0:19:04.421
"not only out of obedience,[br]but because, more than anything else,
0:19:04.421,0:19:07.803
"I am concerned[br]about doing everything possible
0:19:07.803,0:19:10.587
"for the future of our children."
0:19:10.947,0:19:14.784
It's like saying,[br]she was also willing to do her part.
0:19:14.784,0:19:18.704
There was a sense of pride[br]of returning to Italy,
0:19:18.718,0:19:22.306
that country that had dismissed them,[br]in order to guarantee
0:19:22.306,0:19:24.000
a future for you children.
0:19:24.000,0:19:27.914
Here there is a...[br](Laughter)
0:19:27.914,0:19:31.716
There are many letters.[br]In any case, when my father says
0:19:31.716,0:19:34.439
that they will become[br]one hundred percent Italians,
0:19:34.839,0:19:40.377
he also suggested[br]to my mom the idea
0:19:40.984,0:19:43.684
of converting us to Catholicism,
0:19:43.991,0:19:46.284
because we were Jews.[br]- (Interviewer) Of course.
0:19:46.807,0:19:51.027
Then, meanwhile,[br]the Finzi
0:19:51.027,0:19:55.217
of Trieste were[br]almost completely assimilated.
0:19:55.457,0:19:58.485
That is to say,[br]they went to the temple twice a year.
0:19:59.128,0:20:03.990
Instead, my mom was[br]from a much more orthodox family,
0:20:04.444,0:20:08.483
They came from the Parrdo lineage,
0:20:08.483,0:20:12.153
which was a very important Iberian family.
0:20:12.203,0:20:14.324
Parrdo which used to be Prado.
0:20:14.404,0:20:18.744
They came from Spain after the expulsion.
0:20:18.744,0:20:21.659
So my father proposes this idea
0:20:21.949,0:20:25.349
of converting to Catholicism.
0:20:25.619,0:20:30.762
in order for his children...[br]- (Interviewer) To become...
0:20:30.825,0:20:34.506
Yes, to become entirely Italian,[br]even as a religion.
0:20:34.556,0:20:39.192
However my mom...[br]Here it says that she was reluctant.
0:20:39.192,0:20:43.165
Not because she was personally orthodox,
0:20:43.325,0:20:48.765
but because,[br]when it was known what was happening
0:20:49.105,0:20:54.693
in Europe with the extermination camps[br]or some other difficult situation,
0:20:54.703,0:20:57.741
they absolutely didn't know[br]where my paternal
0:20:58.211,0:21:00.877
and maternal grandparents were.
0:21:00.936,0:21:03.537
However, the news arrived,
0:21:03.747,0:21:08.617
even betraying the origin and...
0:21:08.617,0:21:12.320
(Interviewer) It was quite heavy.[br]- Yes, very heavy.
0:21:12.716,0:21:18.527
Speaking of, how did the news[br]about the war arrive meanwhile
0:21:18.527,0:21:22.558
it continued in Europe?[br]Was there just an awareness
0:21:22.558,0:21:25.522
of what was happening?[br]Was there an awareness
0:21:25.522,0:21:29.823
of the existence[br]of the extermination camps?
0:21:29.823,0:21:32.752
Above all, how did they also live[br]with these dual feelings?
0:21:32.752,0:21:34.860
Because, on the one hand,[br]there was this hope
0:21:34.860,0:21:38.927
of being able to return one day[br]to a normal life in Italy.
0:21:39.219,0:21:42.063
On the other hand, however,[br]there was a lot of fear
0:21:42.063,0:21:43.598
also for the fate of loved ones.
0:21:45.064,0:21:46.317
They knew everything.
0:21:47.137,0:21:52.008
Both about the Jewish agency[br]and about the British.
0:21:52.691,0:21:56.707
The news arrived quite detailed.
0:21:57.527,0:21:58.903
I don't want to forget
0:21:58.903,0:22:02.743
that there was a noteworthy group
0:22:02.763,0:22:05.437
of young Jews
0:22:05.837,0:22:08.997
that were part of the Jewish brigade.
0:22:09.707,0:22:13.530
They fought alongside the British
0:22:13.530,0:22:16.170
and they also fought in Italy.
0:22:16.170,0:22:17.811
Then in all of Europe.
0:22:18.291,0:22:22.071
They were the ones who said
0:22:22.101,0:22:27.564
that they offered very detailed news[br]of what was happening.
0:22:27.587,0:22:31.253
So, they knew about everything[br]that was coming
0:22:31.273,0:22:33.853
to Italy and Europe.
0:22:34.403,0:22:39.442
The concerns were precisely
0:22:39.502,0:22:43.692
that my paternal grandparents,
0:22:43.692,0:22:48.285
who later died in Auschwitz,[br]didn't...
0:22:48.285,0:22:53.875
The last official news was transmitted[br]by a type of telegram
0:22:54.265,0:22:58.625
of the Red Cross[br]in July of 1943.
0:22:58.985,0:23:01.733
My father knew absolutely nothing.
0:23:02.091,0:23:03.432
My mom didn't know either.
0:23:03.542,0:23:08.642
She knew that her parents were in hiding.
0:23:08.792,0:23:10.957
Her brother was in Switzerland.
0:23:11.467,0:23:14.317
But they had absolutely no news.
0:23:14.577,0:23:18.615
They couldn't say or write anything,
0:23:19.045,0:23:21.775
because the mail was altered.
0:23:22.625,0:23:26.074
Both the outgoing[br]and the incoming mail was altered.
0:23:26.634,0:23:29.048
I found that some of the letters...
0:23:29.048,0:23:30.968
(Interviewer talking)[br]- Yes, the details.
0:23:30.978,0:23:36.724
They were deleted[br]by the person that made the changes.
0:23:36.724,0:23:40.883
So, dad needed to be attentive,[br]because they were altered by the British.
0:23:41.214,0:23:43.769
They were altered by the Persians.[br](Laughter)
0:23:43.859,0:23:46.099
Then they were altered[br]on arrival in Palestine.
0:23:46.099,0:23:46.884
So, they were...
0:23:46.884,0:23:50.453
In this situation,[br]they also found themselves in a state
0:23:50.453,0:23:56.180
of uncertainty being far[br]from Europe.
0:23:56.370,0:23:59.809
Being far [br]from what was happening in Europe.
0:24:00.019,0:24:01.999
Far from the war.
0:24:03.059,0:24:08.363
For a moment, Adelina perhaps had hoped,[br]from what Ledi writes,
0:24:09.363,0:24:13.273
that her family would have an advantage
0:24:13.273,0:24:17.753
over the immense tragedy[br]that afflicted the Jews of Europe.
0:24:18.035,0:24:21.255
That they would all find themselves[br]reunited upon their return.
0:24:21.255,0:24:23.675
There was almost this illusion, this hope.
0:24:24.060,0:24:28.538
Having high hopes is often the last idea.[br]They did have hope.
0:24:28.985,0:24:33.907
They hadn't had detailed news,
0:24:34.421,0:24:39.071
even though then my dad's brother,[br]who was...
0:24:39.571,0:24:44.932
He was a doctor who lived in Bologna,
0:24:44.952,0:24:50.400
but in the mountain area[br]of Monghidoro and Loiano.
0:24:51.137,0:24:55.290
He knew[br]that his parents had been arrested,
0:24:55.293,0:24:56.843
that they had been deported.
0:24:57.233,0:25:02.515
However, he had not communicated anything.[br]Even though assuming,
0:25:02.905,0:25:06.711
that they went to Auschwitz,[br]there could have always been
0:25:07.121,0:25:10.681
the hope of their return[br]Therefore, they hoped.
0:25:11.311,0:25:14.575
Unfortunately, however,[br]the terrible news arrived.
0:25:14.575,0:25:19.609
They also arrived in Palestine while[br]the war by now...
0:25:19.609,0:25:22.092
It was over.[br]- By now it was over.
0:25:22.276,0:25:26.075
And like you said,[br]the terrible news arrived by mail.
0:25:26.405,0:25:31.742
News so terrible[br]that Adelina cannot even transcribe them
0:25:31.742,0:25:34.153
in a letter to Ettore.[br]She writes:
0:25:34.343,0:25:38.025
"My dear, unfortunately,[br]the dreary news has arrived.
0:25:38.275,0:25:41.129
"I am sending you the letter[br]because I don't have the courage
0:25:41.379,0:25:42.330
"to write about it."
0:25:42.330,0:25:47.086
It's terrible.[br]Unfortunately, they were effects
0:25:47.086,0:25:51.448
of what just happened[br]in the war in Europe.
0:25:52.466,0:25:55.684
In a communication letter separate[br]from the international cross.
0:25:55.747,0:25:59.213
Maybe in that exact moment Ettore[br]and Adelina understood
0:25:59.853,0:26:03.168
what they had escaped from?
0:26:03.712,0:26:08.954
Yes without a doubt.[br]I will also tell you
0:26:08.954,0:26:14.752
that when dad had[br]the great idea of going to Palestine,
0:26:14.845,0:26:19.890
everyone criticized him;[br]friends, parents, brothers, the sister,
0:26:19.946,0:26:25.663
because they said:[br]"You are always pessimistic".
0:26:26.395,0:26:31.497
He would rather have wanted them all[br]to also come with him.
0:26:32.038,0:26:36.209
However, we can say[br]that he expected it,
0:26:36.213,0:26:39.353
also because the war
0:26:39.873,0:26:43.773
in Europe ended on May 8, 1945.
0:26:44.103,0:26:46.587
The news gets to him in August.
0:26:47.357,0:26:53.147
Given that months go by[br]where he doesn't receive
0:26:53.147,0:26:57.124
positive news,[br]he feared for the lives of his parents.
0:26:57.744,0:27:00.066
Excuse me, if you allow me...[br](Interviewer) Sure.
0:27:00.066,0:27:04.320
But before the communication
0:27:04.480,0:27:07.560
about the deaths of his parents,
0:27:07.560,0:27:10.336
he received communication from Sweden
0:27:10.685,0:27:14.936
that said his sister was saved.
0:27:17.106,0:27:23.103
Then my aunt Yolanda Clara was part[br]of that group of prisoners
0:27:23.103,0:27:28.008
that were moved[br]from Auschwitz in December 1944.
0:27:28.008,0:27:32.150
They were moved west[br]because the Red Army was coming.
0:27:32.150,0:27:34.709
Since they didn't want them to see
0:27:34.709,0:27:39.989
a mass of prisoners in Auschwitz,[br]they were moved.
0:27:40.409,0:27:44.858
She was then liberated[br]in the north of Ravensbrück
0:27:46.288,0:27:49.088
in April 1945.
0:27:49.088,0:27:52.952
She was then transferred[br]to Sweden to recover.
0:27:53.535,0:27:59.169
We have said that at this point,[br]the war had ended and Ettore and Adelina
0:27:59.403,0:28:04.286
along with their children decide[br]to return to Italy.
0:28:04.714,0:28:09.234
How difficult was it once again to start[br]from scratch because they actually had
0:28:09.234,0:28:10.284
to start from scratch.
0:28:10.290,0:28:12.409
Ah yes.[br]It was difficult.
0:28:12.619,0:28:17.951
My father's brother helped him obtain[br]a job at his work in Sansepolcro.
0:28:18.460,0:28:22.143
He spoke with Mr. Marco Vittoni,[br]who said:
0:28:22.143,0:28:26.364
"I am willing to hire your brother[br]because he is a chemist.
0:28:26.660,0:28:32.109
Also, I want a change[br]for the company, etc".
0:28:32.662,0:28:38.159
But when we arrived in Italy in May 1946,
0:28:38.400,0:28:40.680
with a short stop in Bologna[br]and then to Parma
0:28:40.680,0:28:42.571
with my maternal grandparents,
0:28:42.571,0:28:45.351
and then to Sansepolcro precisely
0:28:45.906,0:28:51.122
in November of 1946, [br]we had absolutely nothing.
0:28:51.898,0:28:54.212
And there was nothing...[br](Laughter)
0:28:54.212,0:28:56.832
(Interviewer) Without a doubt,[br]a country in devastation.
0:28:56.832,0:28:58.512
Yes, a country in devastation.
0:28:58.512,0:29:03.040
I remember the path with holes.[br]I remember the Tower of Berta Square
0:29:03.040,0:29:06.523
in a pile of ruins.[br]- The Tower of Berta Square was destroyed.
0:29:06.771,0:29:12.297
I repeat, it was also a problem to eat.
0:29:12.367,0:29:16.527
I remember my dad rented[br]a furnished apartment
0:29:16.527,0:29:21.762
in Saint Claire Square[br]in which the conditions were really...
0:29:21.911,0:29:24.129
Insecure.[br]- Very, very insecure.
0:29:24.129,0:29:28.309
However, they were young[br]and they wanted to start over.
0:29:28.707,0:29:31.269
There was my sister and myself.
0:29:31.272,0:29:36.776
So, they wanted to put a painful time
0:29:36.776,0:29:39.546
of their lives behind them and start over.
0:29:39.546,0:29:44.762
You have previously already answered[br]that there was resentment towards
0:29:44.762,0:29:49.694
that country that made them escape[br]and also towards those friends
0:29:49.701,0:29:52.467
that...[br]- No.
0:29:52.467,0:29:56.208
were against the idea[br]of the Racial Laws.
0:29:56.418,0:29:59.018
No, absolutely not.
0:29:59.018,0:30:02.690
Other than it being something[br]that is part of our DNA,
0:30:02.690,0:30:06.305
resentment is useless.
0:30:06.305,0:30:09.545
I was taught[br]that it's best to let things go,
0:30:10.815,0:30:12.192
move forward,
0:30:12.195,0:30:17.047
have the will to start again,[br]and to overcome difficulties.
0:30:17.047,0:30:17.825
Not resentment.
0:30:17.935,0:30:23.530
I never heard my father[br]nor my mother speak ill
0:30:23.530,0:30:25.002
of Italians.
0:30:25.332,0:30:28.911
Yes, it was upsetting to have lost.
0:30:29.411,0:30:30.701
(Interviewer talking)[br]- Yes.
0:30:30.701,0:30:36.332
To having lost parents.[br]To having lost years of work.
0:30:36.342,0:30:41.473
My mom could not return to work[br]in Milan because there was no way
0:30:41.773,0:30:42.766
to find a home.
0:30:44.518,0:30:47.365
In 2011,[br]the epistolary
0:30:47.375,0:30:52.925
of Ettore Finzi and Adelina was donated
0:30:52.925,0:30:57.000
to the Pieve diary archives.[br]It's awarded the Premio Pieve.
0:30:57.048,0:31:02.938
First and foremost, how were you able[br]to find these letters again,
0:31:02.938,0:31:06.199
because they were made public[br]by the decision of donating them.
0:31:07.327,0:31:11.486
My father died on June 18, 2002.
0:31:13.724,0:31:18.572
He lived in an apartment[br]in Parma and in August,
0:31:18.592,0:31:20.772
I was ready to let go[br]of the apartment.
0:31:21.612,0:31:27.001
By chance, I found a bag in his office,
0:31:27.451,0:31:31.411
a leather one with straps[br]that holds documents.
0:31:31.961,0:31:37.704
There were letters inside[br]this document holder.
0:31:38.691,0:31:42.948
And there were two notebooks,[br]black ones with a red border
0:31:42.948,0:31:46.444
that were used in the past,[br]and inside was his diary.
0:31:48.297,0:31:51.653
I understood right away[br]because I have done historical research
0:31:51.653,0:31:55.606
for many years, so I understood[br]it was something interesting.
0:31:56.022,0:31:59.670
I found it strange[br]that my father never told me anything,
0:31:59.670,0:32:02.141
because he didn't say to me:[br]"Listen,
0:32:02.791,0:32:06.071
"there are letters and diaries".
0:32:06.671,0:32:10.739
And so I took them all to my house,[br]to my office and I left them there
0:32:10.739,0:32:12.870
for a year, a year and a half.
0:32:13.340,0:32:16.734
Then I slowly began to read them[br]with a bit of fear.
0:32:17.538,0:32:21.698
Because with diaries and letters...[br]- (Interviewer) One will find...
0:32:21.698,0:32:26.119
always find something intimate.[br]Then I think in my family,
0:32:26.119,0:32:31.574
nothing would ever be talked about.[br]No one had ever commented,
0:32:31.574,0:32:35.307
or made any references.
0:32:35.899,0:32:40.136
Then I gradually began[br]to transcribe these letters.
0:32:40.136,0:32:43.837
I can't tell you how I did so,[br]because they were written...
0:32:43.897,0:32:45.573
(Interviewer) No doubt handwritten.
0:32:45.573,0:32:49.340
Yes, handwritten with a fountain pen,[br]on tissue paper,
0:32:49.339,0:32:51.827
because back then it was airmail paper.
0:32:52.217,0:32:56.357
In short, it was a type of job
0:32:56.357,0:32:58.977
that strained the eyes.
0:32:59.627,0:33:05.530
In any case, I did this transcription job[br]of the diary, of the letters, etc.
0:33:05.530,0:33:08.136
I had the idea of publishing
0:33:08.764,0:33:13.865
the copy or, in other words,[br]the full version
0:33:14.305,0:33:16.655
of this diary, of these letters...
0:33:18.925,0:33:22.759
Just to be certain...[br]I was already collaborating
0:33:22.759,0:33:26.979
with the diary archives[br]for some time for my own research
0:33:27.239,0:33:30.529
in the fields of Rinisce, Paganini, etc.
0:33:31.029,0:33:35.810
Just to be certain,[br]I went to Pieve Santo Stefano
0:33:36.760,0:33:39.550
and I had the volume in hand.
0:33:40.212,0:33:43.096
It was Cristina Cangi, who you will meet.
0:33:43.946,0:33:46.926
And she asked me:[br]"What is that professor"?
0:33:46.930,0:33:52.281
"It's work that I did".[br]- "Why don't you submit it for the award"?
0:33:52.930,0:33:57.227
I said I really had not thought[br]about wanting to publish it.
0:33:58.045,0:34:03.656
Then I start reading[br]some very interesting things,
0:34:03.676,0:34:04.965
and then I submit it.
0:34:04.965,0:34:09.972
They asked me for the archive[br]and also for the letters,
0:34:09.972,0:34:11.745
but I wasn't going to do that.
0:34:11.781,0:34:17.007
It's possible[br]to read this publication
0:34:17.007,0:34:19.611
that is titled Transparenti,[br]in which the documentation
0:34:19.611,0:34:23.531
is presented[br]and published by Il Mulino.
0:34:23.876,0:34:28.146
Our arrangement time has ended,[br]although we would like to talk for hours
0:34:28.146,0:34:34.142
about this story that is a bit similar,[br]by certain passages and elements,
0:34:34.142,0:34:36.660
to the story[br]of many other families.
0:34:36.915,0:34:41.568
Also of the province of Arezzo.[br]Perhaps there will be a way
0:34:41.568,0:34:46.937
to talk more about it in the future.[br]Thank you Daniele Finzi.
0:34:46.937,0:34:52.562
Thanks to all of you[br]who have followed our episode,
0:34:52.562,0:34:54.776
a special episode[br]that was made possible
0:34:54.776,0:35:00.425
in collaboration[br]with The Archives of Pieve Santo Stefano.
0:35:00.425,0:35:05.443
I naturally thank The Archives.[br]Specifically,
0:35:05.443,0:35:08.245
the archives[br]for this episode were made available
0:35:08.245,0:35:10.307
by Nadia Frulli.
0:35:10.630,0:35:15.017
Thank you to all of you[br]for watching the program.