I31 The Jewish friend

Narrator: Reporter: Sara Cremasco

My grandfather Valerio Trevellin was sent to Russia in 1941. There he met a Jew and within a short time they became friends. They made a deal: Valerio gave him his engagement ring and the Jew gave him food. After two years Valerio came back to Italy and they never met again.

My mother told me that her grandfather Ruggero, when he was 18, was sent to Monte Grappa on the front line against Austria, in 1918. Life in the ditch was very hard. There was an awful smell of the dead soldiers. Soldiers used to get drunk trying not to think about the dreadful conditions. They ate potato peelings and also rubbish but it was not enough to give them the required strength. In 1962 he was appointed “Cavaliere di Vittorio Veneto” (= a military decoration).