What
would it feel like to have your country join in a war on the side of
one of the most evil dictators in modern history, and then have his
fanatic soldiers occupy your country, killing and starving your
family, friends and fellow citizens? This is a question answered by
author Diane Kinman in Franca’s Story, a true account of teenager Franca Mercati, who
lived in Italy during the years of World War II. The conflict
shatters Franca’s childhood and devastates her family, but she
finds the strength to overcome obstacles with courage and ingenuity.
Franca
and her
family flee their home in Florence to escape Allied bombs and settle
in their beach home at Viareggio. One brother is soon killed, and a
second is missing in action. She watches in
horror as her school friends die in a bombing at the Pisa train
station and narrowly escapes from a visit to her sister in Buggiano
with a deserting Nazi doctor. Shortly after this, she and her family
narrowly escape death when their home is destroyed in a bombing raid.
Franca and her friend must scavenge for food to feed their families
and many other people, since the occupying German army has less
interest in the business of two small girls than they would with
older members of the families.
The story is narrated in a matter-of-fact voice—without anger or bitterness—but with ample descriptions to bring the characters and drama to life. It is particular poignant to Italian-Americans, like me, who had relatives in the same region forced to live through this frightening and brutal time. I highly recommend it to anyone who want to understand Italian history and events of the last century which shaped today’s Italian people.
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Other blogs about Italy during World War II:
Mario Seghieri, World War 2, Montecarlo and the Gothic Line
Surviving Facism and the war, Gig di Meo thrives on geniality, good fortune
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