Palmira Giuliacci

It was the family friend Pier Vittori—wanted by the German SS for hiding British soldiers in his home—who reached out to Palmina and Rosa for help: «He came to our house bringing two English prisoners with him: John and Michael. We all stayed together for five or six days, but afterwards we found a safer place for Mr. Vittori and John.

Michael, on the other hand, stayed at Palmira’s house in Rome. She described the hospitality she offered in the following terms.

We did everything we could to ensure him a dignified existence, but food was our greatest concern. We had to rely on the black market for essentials like flour, eggs — Michael’s favorite — veal, which was the only meat he would eat, and a litre of wine each day. Altogether, we ended up spending over 150 lire daily. We gladly accepted every sacrifice and every risk because, by hiding Michael, we were fulfilling our duty as true Italian patriots; we saw in this young Allied soldier a symbol of freedom, and his kindness as promise of a better future — and if we could have done more for him, we would have gladly done so. Four months went by like this — four long months filled with anxiety and fear, since also the men in our family were part of the resistance. But those difficult days are now behind us, liberation has come, and with freedom, the beginning of a new life. Michael, after reporting to the Command, returned to our home and can testify to everything we have said.

Palmira asked the Allied Commission to help her son Martino, twenty-one years old, unemployed and active in the fight against the Nazi-Fascists, to find a job.