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| Italian women partisans on the Castelluccio front (1944) .Waiting to go on patrol with the US 5th Army. |
Late in the winter of 1943 ,three British SAS soldiers were dropped into (still) fascist occupied Italy.deep in a remote mountain region.
The 3 Brits were sheltered by villagers& partisans in the remote hamlet of Gessopalena
One local must have 'grassed' on them?
Anyway, they were soon arrested, taken away & tortured by the Germans.
Anyway, they were soon arrested, taken away & tortured by the Germans.
As punishment for trying to protect these English Squadies, on 21st January 1944 the Luftwaffe bombed Gessopalena and completely destroyed it.
Now ,perhaps different nations react differently to grief?
Now ,perhaps different nations react differently to grief?
The Poles In Warsaw, they rebuilt an identical copy of their city after WW2.
However ,Italians( seeming to love ruins.)... kept Gessopalena's damage complete & intact......
However ,Italians( seeming to love ruins.)... kept Gessopalena's damage complete & intact......
They did bury the bodies ,but otherwise did nothing.....other than to move the undamaged church bell .
To this day , nothing else has ever been moved!
Clothes, toys furniture ,books ,mirrors....etc.remain in exactly the same spot they were on the day the Luftwaffe called..
Somekind of permanent record of what " normality." might once have looked like for the victims.?
These days ,its rather weird when you hear that original church bell call the new villagers to Mass in the new church in "new" Gessopalena which was later built a 100 yards away...............
I scratched my head and tried to work out which was the "real"village and which was the "replica"......
To this day , nothing else has ever been moved!
Clothes, toys furniture ,books ,mirrors....etc.remain in exactly the same spot they were on the day the Luftwaffe called..
Somekind of permanent record of what " normality." might once have looked like for the victims.?
These days ,its rather weird when you hear that original church bell call the new villagers to Mass in the new church in "new" Gessopalena which was later built a 100 yards away...............
I scratched my head and tried to work out which was the "real"village and which was the "replica"......
My son Chris. Our friend Mick & myself in Italy in 2010
( i briefly owned a ruined cottage in the Abruzzo mountains at the time )
Damien Rice: Montreal 2017(famous blue raincoat):Jackson Browne: Osaka, Japan; October 23, 2017:(late for the sky)
This is a sepia saturday post.The themes this week are Dance : Performance : Costumes : Stage
https://theconversation.com/forgotten-resistance-the-italian-freedom-fighters-dropped-from-our-history-books-34891
This is a sepia saturday post.The themes this week are Dance : Performance : Costumes : Stage
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| i found this photo in 2009 in a junkshop in Lanciano.I was told these are firemen .....Ironically! looking like a bunch of girls........! |
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