Memories of the War during Mussolini's Regime

The contributor was four years old at the start of the war, in 1939. The contributor spoke of the Pian del Voglio, the plain of the Volgio River in Italy. The contributor also spoke of Boglona and stated this to be the place where the three armies met. He recalled that his father was a 'guardia' (guard) of the government, and that he held fascist leanings for a brief period of time. His father was a state employee during Mussolini's time and was in charge of protecting trees. His father was not involved in the army.

During the Second World War, the American and British armies came into his grandparents' kitchen to make tea. He found it remarkable to see soldiers do this and wondered how they drank something so ordinary. The contributor recalled that they played with little wooden soldiers together, and recounted that "these were real ones".

The contributor lived in a village of 800 people. He recalled that his father was expecting to be killed and that his grandfather's house in Pian del Voglio was used in a World War One documentary. The contributor went to school in Barberino. His mother was "just a housemaid" of the town hall mayor.