Stories from the Civil War

The period between the announcement of the Cassibile armistice (Sept. 8, 1943) and the surrender of Caserta (May 2, 1945) caused numerous problems, not only in the village, but also for Sandonatese people who were away on business or fighting on the various Axis fronts.

In the territory of the Italian Social Republic, collaborationists with the occupying troops of Nazi Germany and Italian partisans, supported by the Allies, gave rise to armed clashes, reprisals on civilians and repression.

During these months of civil war, several Sandonatese soldiers were captured by the Germans, ending up in Nazi concentration camps; many civilians and military personnel also participated in the liberation war by taking up arms against the Nazi occupiers; others fought in the ranks of the Italian Social Republic against the Allies. The dramatic stories of Donato Perrella, Francesco Piselli and Corrado Tocci exemplify the complexity of that historical period.

Donato Perrella (1909-1945)

Donato was born inside this building on November 16, 1909. In his early twenties he moved to Bologna, where he worked as a tailor. A convinced Communist, he was one of the printers of the clandestine Emilian edition of theUnit. With the battle name "Gilberto," he became active in the 1st "Busi" Battalion of the 1st "Irma Bandiera Garibaldi" Brigade as battalion political commissar.

He was arrested by the Black Brigade commanded by Colonel Serrantini. On December 14, 1944 he was detained in the barracks on Via Borgolocchi. On January 3, 1945 he was placed on bail pending trial. The fact that he was freed worried his comrades not a little. On January 13 he was invited by other partisans to the parts of Firenzuola (Fi) to cross the line.

He has since been listed as missing and, as his daughter Olga has explained several times, it is not known at whose hands he was killed. Acknowledged as a partisan from Dec. 1, 1943 to the Liberation, he is remembered in Bologna at the Piazza Nettuno memorial as "Perelli D."

Francis Piselli (1924-1944)

On May 10, 1924, Francesco Piselli was born in San Donato Val di Comino. He served in the 43rd Infantry Regiment. Captured in Alba (Piedmont) on September 10, 1943, he suffered internment in the Mantua concentration camp. On October 28 he was transferred to Germany, first to Stalag 3 C in Altdrewitz (Küstrin) and then to Stalag IX G (Bad Sulza).

Two days later he was moved to Buchenwald concentration camp, one of the most frightening places in Nazi Germany, remembered for the medical experiments on prisoners, the presence among the internees of the Italian princess Mafalda of Savoy, and for the events connected with Ilse Koch, the "witch of Buchenwald." Francis, prison number 0688, died at the age of nineteen on March 11, 1944.

Corrado Tocci (1920-1945)

On the opposing side fought 25-year-old Corrado Tocci, a lieutenant in the Republican National Guard. He left as a volunteer after September 8, 1943, and was transferred to Lombardy.

The young man was seriously wounded, in the province of Monza, during the days of the Liberation: on April 25, 1945, almost all the towns in Brianza were under the control of partisan formations; even on the day of the 26th there were clashes and fighting between partisans, German troops and republican forces.

The officer, shot under unclear circumstances, died in Meda (Mb) on April 28, 1945.