I'm wondering if you all have questions for a relic who loves talking about old times. He's fully cognizant and likes writing letters but I don't know history well enough ask informed questions.
He was an Italian soldier fighting the allies as a paratrooper, captured by the British in North Arica during the battle of El Alamein, escaped the prison camp loosing a friend in the escape, then snuck across North Africa and Europe back Italy. He spent the night between the legs of the Sphinx one of his first nights after his escape! He then moved to Argentina after the war where I hear a lot of former Axis supporters went. He says he didn't know what atrocities the Germans doing during the war and that he doesn't agree with their ideals but he's pretty racist and thinks...differently about people than I'm used too.
He comes from a different time and perspective and we have a great opportunity to learn about the past. It would also keep him engaged. Can anyone think of questions for him or things you'd like to know more about considering his experiences?
Please do not forget to ask him of other things in his life than the war.
My grandfather always talked about the war when he was talking about the past; it's understandable, it was the most exciting and most important thing which happend to him, history-wise. But I now regret that I didn't asked him about his childhood and time before the war. I know nearly nothing about that, while I can tell you where he was in WWII.
ciao! Italian here, my grandfather was captured in north africa but was sent to a prison camp in the himalayas, would love to ask a few questions since my grandfather died when i was little!
-was he part of the Folgore?
-What kind of equipment did he have? (weapons, gear, uniforms and so on)
-where was he trained and what did the training consist in?
-where was his prison camp, i gather somewhere in egypt, was this the final destination or some intermediate stage? what kind of security was there?
-how were prisoners treated? (for example my grandfather in india suffered greatly because of the cold and hunger)
-How did he escape? was he helped by the locals (either in egypt or the rest of north africa)?
-did many prisoners try to escape? how many made it?
-did he join the italian army/RSI after getting back to italy, joined the partisans or just stayed out of the war?
-what is his opinion on the fascist government? (both back then and now)
Sorry for all the questions, please do let us know what his answers!
If you are American, the Library of Congress has a Veterans History Project for just this sort of thing, with guidelines and suggestions, and then you can send the recording in to become part of the oral history. Even if you're not American, the guidelines should help you conduct the interview.
How did the Italians train their paratroopers? Did he think his training was superior then regular army training?
Did he feel at the time he was on the right side of the war?
How did Fascism look like back then when it looked like one of the valid choices and not yet seen as the embodiment of evil? I mean, Mussolini used to be a socialist. Then he came up with something new. It still had socialistic elements, promising all kinds of improvements for working people. I suppose the new thing was nationalism? Was it mostly that? Working class nationalism? Or how did it look like that time?
Now this is a damn good thread, great post OP!
Please come back and tell us what he said if you can share any of it!
just let him talk about what he wants, instead of directing the conversation.
Ask him about the rest of his life. I wish I had asked mine more about his work for the weather service erecting towers around the world. Also his travels I'm general and outlook on life.
Record him talking about his past the events that he witnessed i did the same for my Grandfather who fought in the Korean War
Great stuff here. Thanks for all the feedback. Glad I posted this! I'll be writing him a letter this weekend with many of these questions so it'll be some time before I can post his responses.