"Braccati". My new POWs-related book

Discussion in 'Prisoners of War' started by Varasc, Dec 20, 2013.

  1. Varasc

    Varasc Senior Member

    Good morning,

    I am pleased to announce here in ww2talk.com, the forum I have been visiting so many times in the last years, my new publications related to Allied and Commonwealth prisoners of war in Northern Italy.
    Its Italian title is "Braccati. Prigionieri di guerra alleati in Piemonte e Valle d'Aosta", and could be translated in English as "Hunted. Allied Prisoners of War in Piedmont and Aosta Valley". Published yesterday evening by Aviani & Aviani Editori in Udine, this book is composed by 450 pages and 16 chapters, with colors and b/w images, bibliography and names index, etc.

    As you may remember, the idea for this search started in 2009. I was trying to identify the wreckage of an unknown bomber (British LN466 Mark X Vickers Wellington, crashed on the Western Alps on November the 24th, 1943) and was therefore looking for info - books, news, degree theses, whatever. Never found a word, but I discovered a fascinating source for a possibly new work: a forgotten pamphlet, written in 1945 and in French by a local Priest, Joseph Bréan. He was talking of his partisan experience, basically voted to the rescue and protection of escaped POWs. His words were... Incredibly touching from a human point of view, and historically fascinating.
    I grew up in the Ayas Valley (Aosta Valley) and never imagined that such beautiful villages and alpine places could have seen the horrors of a global war - nor that its inhabitants bravely harboured and assisted so many young escapers, in spite of the terrible retaliations by the RSI militia and Nazi troops.

    This search took about three years. I discovered other sources and found many families of the former POWs in the UK and Australia, New Zealand. They all escaped on the Western Alps, with different fates, and tried to reach the neutral Switzerland (Zermatt, or Saas Fee) through the 4000 meters and even higher passes of the Italian-Swiss border. Being an alpinist, I can imagine what they afforded up on these glaciers; but they had no modern equipment or training, no glasses or boots, no crampons or ice axes, nothing. It's unbelievable to reach such places for not-trained people, even today; crevasses and avalanches, thin air and various dangers would kill them in many different ways.

    The most part of their stories have never been told, or at least have never been published. I am afraid that this book is only in Italian, and of course I would be more than pleased to propose my editor an English translation - but I have no contacts with foreign publishing houses. It would be surely more interesting abroad than in Italy.

    I remain at your disposal for whatever further info or request; here the direct link to my website related page, and to the editor's one:

    http://www.varasc.it/marco_soggettoBRACCATI.htm

    http://www.avianieditori.com/braccati/

    I am in debt with various users of this forum, and I hope that the knowledge I proposed and shared in this book will help future researchers on this difficult, fascinating and often forgotten topic.
    To provide help to possible family members or researchers, I attach here the names index.

    Very kind regards,


    Marco

    View attachment Names index.pdf


    cover.jpg
     
    belasar, bamboo43 and Owen like this.
  2. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Good luck with the book Marco.
    Sadly my grasp of Italian isn't up to reading it.
     
  3. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Congratulations Marco, I know how hard you have worked in researching this book.
     
  4. Varasc

    Varasc Senior Member

    Thank you indeed Owen, Bamboo43, very appreciated. I am sorry for the language of this book - it should really be published in English, too.
     
  5. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Marco

    Ben fatto !

    Ron
     
  6. Varasc

    Varasc Senior Member

    Grazie Ron, gentilissimo!

    Dear Bamboo43, I forgot to mention that your excellent Chindit Chasing website has been duly cited in my work.
     
  7. belasar

    belasar Junior Member

    Excellent news! good fortune on your project.
     
  8. Varasc

    Varasc Senior Member

    Thank you indeed Belasar. I'll try to find a good idea for an English version, because as I said before I think it would be surely more appreciated abroad.
     
  9. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Fama, finalmente! :)
     
  10. zahonado

    zahonado Well-Known Member

    Congratulations. Hope you had a fascinating time working on it!
     
  11. Varasc

    Varasc Senior Member

    Thank you Zahonado. These untold stories represent great efforts and acts of mercy, friendship and bravery, by both the former POWs and the Italian villagers. In spite of the fact that, of course, they should have been enemies. And it is fascinating to see that, even in the worst moments of such a cruel global war, humanity and kindness remained in so many persons.
     
  12. Congratulations Marco
    I realise now the amount of research that goes into such a project as I am in mountain terms just in the foothills of my research starting in the Val Camonica and I to have found so far in my two visits to the valley and its neighbours the humanity that was shown by the Italian people who gave food, clothes and shelter to these escapers without the thought of the danger they were putting themselves into and some paid the ultimate cost with their lives.

    This help can be found in every Escape and Evasion report I have obtained so far on the camp of Plemo PG62/51 and I have some forty more to find.

    This sacrifice was explained to me by the Italian film director Mauro Quatrinna when I met up with him in Market Raisen where he gave a joint lecture with the families based upon the single relationship of the Bonato and Rhoades families who were present.
    Mauro stated there are many thousands of such stories throughout Italy.

    He is endeavouring to get these generations memories onto film before it is lost into the fullness of time.

    Trevor
     
  13. Varasc

    Varasc Senior Member

    Dear Trevor,

    This is the first opportunity to share a little part of the knowledge gathered during the long draft of this book. I am not an expert of the war in the beautiful Val Camonica (in Italy, it's famous for its pre-historic stone inscriptions and environment) but as you may imagine, I read many reports, essays, memories etc. concerning Allied POWs on Italian mountains. And, of course, related to the dynamics occurred between these former prisoners and the mountain inhabitants - plowmen and Alpine Guides, priests and so on.
    Months ago the kind Brian Sims provided me a very interesting document, Final Report of the Activity of the Committee of National Liberation of Northern Italy CLNAI, on behalf of Allied Prisoners of War. File WO208/3479. It has been duly cited in my book. For instance, it describes the escape routes concerning Lombardy, towards Switzerland: Val d'Ossola, Varesotto, Lago Maggiore, Lago di Como, Valtellina. The Piedmontese POW helpers pointed their fellows towards the mountain passes over Luino and of the Ossola Valley, while the partisan helpers from Lombardy used the Varese's passes and the guides from Emilia Romagna passed through the lower hills of Como. The helpers from Veneto used the upper Como passes, and Valtellina. I don't know if this could be of some help. Moreover, I don't know if you understand the Italian language, but if you need assistance, don't hesitate to ask.

    Kind regards,

    Marco
     

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