מבוא

This book recounts the personal, social, and political journey of Nino Contini, an anti-fascist lawyer, Jew, and Zionist from Ferrara, during the years 1939-1944. After being interned by the Fascist regime, Contini was frequently relocated to various places, including Urbisaglia, the Tremiti Islands, Pizzoferrato, and Cantalupo in Molise. Despite the hardships, he chronicled his daily life, the challenges of raising a young family during wartime, and the traumatic impact of Fascist and Nazi persecution of Jews in Italy. The narrative culminates in newly-liberated Naples, where Contini, though in poor health from the illness that would soon claim his life, finally regained the freedom to express his political ideas, contributing to the formation of the Action Party, which sought to rebuild a partially liberated Italy. His diaries reflect both his personal struggles and the broader turmoil of World War II. Published posthumously by his children, these diaries provide a firsthand account of a Jewish Italian’s experience of persecution, resistance, and hope during one of history’s darkest periods.