Bernardino Pelliccione

Bernardino began helping Allied prisoners immediately after the Armistice, offering food and clothing to escapees. When, a few days later, on September 14, the town of Aquila and PG 102 — located there — were occupied by the Germans, he was sent by the company he worked for to carry out maintenance work at the camp. There, he found some of the prisoners he had previously helped, now recaptured. He continued, in secret, to bring them food and other supplies.

After ten days, I was sentenced to death by the special military tribunal, but after many efforts and defence speeches, my sentence was commuted to forced labour, and I was deported to Germany. After my deportation, the same fate befell my wife, who was imprisoned along with our two small children. They had to endure such hardship for twenty days. They were eventually released after many sacrifices and costly efforts. During this time, the Germans and other criminals looted everything I had in the house.

Bernardino returned home after spending eighteen months in a concentration camp in Germany, finding his family in precarious economic conditions.

On coming back from Germany where I lived in the worst human conditions, I have found my wife and my children in very bad condition, and short of clothes. During my absence they were helped by nobody. please i beg you to enable me to work. I am young and could do any sort of job.