April 25

[Italian-wiseguy]

Today Italy celebrates every year the end of the war and the liberation from the Fascist regime;
I contribute by posting this partizan song
(one of the authors was the famous writer Italo Calvino): in the video, showing historical photographs of italian partizans, I think you could appreciate many pieces of Allies' uniforms, including the much sought sheepskin flight jackets

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJlAVidYtlM

ciao!

 

[Italian-wiseguy]

Lyrics translation:

O peach-cheeked girl
or dawn-cheeked girl
I hope I can be able to tell you about
my life at the age that you have now.
Curfew, the German troops
dominated the city, but we are ready:
Who does not want to bow his head
with us will take the road of the mountains.
We had twenty years and over the bridge
over the bridge which is in enemy hands
we saw the other side, life
all the good of the world beyond the bridge.
We were facing all that was evil
all that was good we had in our heart
at twenty life is over the bridge
over the fire love begins.
Silents on the pine needles
and on spieky chestnut burrs
a team in the dark morning
descended the dark mountain.
The hope was our companion
to conquer enemy strongholds in
to win the weapons in battle
barefeet and ragged, yet happy.
We had twenty years and over the bridge
over the bridge which is in enemy hands
we saw the other side, life
all the good of the world beyond the bridge.
We were facing all that was evil
all the good we had in the heart
at twenty life is over the bridge
over the fire love begins.
Its' not to be said that we should be holy
heroism is not a superhuman thing:
run, go down, run forward!
every step you take is not in vain.
We saw at hand
over the tree, over the cane thicket
the future of a more humane day
more just and more free and happy.
We had twenty years and over the bridge
over the bridge which is in enemy hands
wesaw the other side, life
all the good of the world beyond the bridge.
We were facing all that was evil
all the good we had in the heart
at twenty life is over the bridge
over the fire love begins.
By now all have families, have their children
who do not know the story of yesterday
I am alone and walking among the linden trees
with you baby who weren't there then.
And I wish that the thoughts we had then
and our hopes of then
will live again in what you hope
or dawn-colored girl.
We had twenty years and over the bridge
over the bridge which is in enemy hands
we saw the other side, life
all the good of the world beyond the bridge.
We faced all that was evil
all the good we had in the heart
at twenty life is over the bridge
over the fire love begins.

 

[Story]

That's pretty cool - didn't know there was such a high percentage of female partisans.

Here, have a CIA article on the OSS and the partisans
https://www.cia.gov/library/center-...cations/csi-studies/studies/spring98/OSS.html

 

[Italian-wiseguy]

Female partisans were quite numerous (don't have the numbers at hand now) and played a great part during the war; one of them, still alive, used to make a speech every year in my town, during the 25 Aprile (Festa della Liberazione) celebrations;

ironically, the italian army of the new democratic Italy didn't accept female soldiers till the '90s (but the female partisans received war pensions and all).

I have to say that almost all the movies I saw on the subject of italian partisans show them almost dressed in rags, while all the period photos (and all the written memories) show that they received a lot of materials, including uniforms, from the Allies... costume departments should have done a better work!

Oh, and thank you for the article!! Very appreciated!