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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 worked

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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 and now 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 <i>Yishuv</i>,[br]who were more concerned

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with the <i>kibbutz</i>,[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 <i>Austriacanti</i>.

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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)

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(Interview talking)[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

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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.

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There were more than two centuries

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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,

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in which the persecution of Jews

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and the holocaust are about to start.

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They leave behind the errors of the war,

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however, as it is 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

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or they were completely insecure.

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Another big problem was[br]a housing shortage.

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So much so that my parents were forced[br]to live with a family,

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with a Polish family in an apartment.

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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

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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.

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So when my father left,[br]he felt the need

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to work to support the family.

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He also liked the idea

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of having money to freely spend.

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As mentioned, your mother was free...[br]- Yes, free.

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in Palestine.[br]- Yes.

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Your father Ettore, on the other hand,[br]had to move abroad to Persia

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because, meanwhile, he found work[br]with an oil company.

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So two lovers[br]who find themselves far apart

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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

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for documenting, for their memories.[br]- Yes.

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In fact, my father accepted[br]this two year contract

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with the Iranian company.

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He was in Abadan in Persia.

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And indeed it was a military zone.

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He did his work there[br]as an industrial chemist.

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Naturally, he had to detach[br]and leave his wife

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and his children in Tel Aviv.

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Then, although very tired,

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every evening my mom wrote

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and reported what had happened[br]during her workday,

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because she had found work[br]with a company that was part

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of the Tel Aviv pharmaceutical industry.

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After then being fired,

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she went to work at a house to iron.

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So, she could do any job.

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She reported with great ability,

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descriptive, careful about everything

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that went on during the day.[br]Rather, my father sometimes wrote letters

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with extensive description.[br]He explained to her a bit about his duty,

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weather problems because it was very hot,[br]relationships with the British

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and with the local population[br]that was in truly devastating conditions.

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They were letters that,[br]among other things...

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If you permit me a tangent.[br]- (Interviewer) <i>Of course</i>.

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They were things one absolutely knew[br]but I didn't know

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the letters even existed.

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Then perhaps we can also elaborate[br]on how they were found.

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Then also about how the decision[br]to publish them came about.

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Let's go back.[br]We had said that while Ettore

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and Adelina were in Palestine,[br]their children were born.

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Yes, my sister...[br]- You were born

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and your sister Ana was born.

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It is fitting that the future[br]of these two children was often focused on

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in these letters that Ettore[br]and Adelina exchange.

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I would like to read another[br]particularly significant passage

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that is again written by Ettore

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from Abadan in February 23, 1945:

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"If on one hand, the war tends[br]to be nearing its end, on the other,

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"the situation in Palestine[br]is taking a favorable turn for us.

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"These days, I am overthinking[br]and continuously thinking

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"about the problem and worried,[br]not so much about our personal future,

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"but the future of our children.[br]I feel irresistibly taken towards

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"a solution that,[br]although never once explored,

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"today seems inevitable to me.

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"Perhaps in a year's time,

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"we will find the need[br]to return to Italy."

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"Then they will become[br]one hundred percent Italians."

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Probably if your father could have chosen,

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he would have never wanted[br]to return to Italy.

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Yes, I would not have wanted to also.[br]Quite the opposite

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because my father,[br]due to having been betrayed by Italy,

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deeply desired to return to Italy.

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Apart from the experience in Abadan,

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also because life[br]in Palestine was truly very hard,

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very difficult because[br]of the work problem,

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and the problem of the lack of apartments.

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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 <i>gan</i>,

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
(Interviewer) <i>It's like saying,[br]she was also willing to do her part.</i>

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) <i>Of course.</i>

0:19:46.987,0:19:52.987
Then, meanwhile,[br]the Finzi of Trieste were

0:19:53.287,0:19:55.217
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) <i>To become</i>...

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[br]to a normal life in Italy one day.

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.

0:22:18.321,0:22:22.071
They were the ones who said

0:22:22.101,0:22:27.570
that they offered very detailed news[br]of what was going to happen.

0:22:27.607,0:22:31.253
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

0:23:50.453,0:23:56.180
in a state 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

0:25:07.121,0:25:10.601
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
(Interviewer) <i>of what just happened[br]in the war in Europe.</i>

0:25:52.466,0:25:55.684
(Daniele) <i>In a letter separate[br]from the international cross.</i>

0:25:55.747,0:25:59.793
(Interviewer) <i>Maybe in that exact moment[br]is when Ettore and Adelina understood</i>

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) <i>Sure.</i>

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 of pace[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.

0:28:52.328,0:28:54.212
And there was nothing...[br](Laughter)

0:28:54.212,0:28:56.832
(Interviewer) <i>Without a doubt,[br]a country in devastation.</i>

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.

0:29:28.717,0:29:31.269
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.

0:29:52.467,0:29:56.248
were against the idea[br]of the Racial Laws.

0:29:56.398,0:29:59.018
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 <i>Premio Pieve</i>.

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.

0:31:47.327,0:31:51.653
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.

0:32:13.360,0:32:16.734
Then I gradually 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) <i>One will find</i>...

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) <i>No doubt handwritten.</i>

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...

0:33:17.345,0:33:22.759
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 topics of Rinisci, 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 <i>Transparenti</i>,[br]in which the documentation

0:34:19.611,0:34:23.531
is presented[br]and published by <i>Il Mulino</i>.

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.

0:34:36.905,0:34:39.858
Also similar to the province of Arezzo.

0:34:40.138,0:34:44.168
Perhaps there will be a way[br]to talk more about it in the future.

0:34:44.448,0:34:46.937
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.