"Ada Gobetti's Partisan Diary is both diary and memoir. From the German entry into Turin on 10 September 1943 to the liberation of the city on 28 April 1945, Gobetti recorded an almost daily account ...of events, sentiments, and personalities, in a cryptic English only she could understand. Italian senator and philosopher Benedetto Croce encouraged Ada to convert her notes into a book. Published by Giulio Einaudi editore in 1956, it won the Premio Prato, an annual prize for a work inspired by the Italian Resistance (Resistenza). From a political and military point of view, the Partisan Diary provides firsthand knowledge of how the partisans in Piedmont fought, what obstacles they encountered, and who joined the struggle against the Nazis and the Fascists. The mountainous terrain and long winters of the Alpine regions (the site of many of their battles) and the ever-present threat of reprisals by German occupiers and their fascist partners exacerbated problems of organization among the various partisan groups. So arduous was their fight, that key military events--Italy's declaration of war on Germany, the fall of Rome, and the Allied landings on D-Day--appear in the diary as remote and almost unrelated incidents. Ada Gobetti writes of the heartbreak of mothers who lost their sons or watched them leave on dangerous missions of sabotage, relating it to worries about her own son Paolo. She reflects on the relationship between anti-fascist thought of the 1920s, in particular the ideas of her husband, Piero Gobetti, and the Italian resistance movement (Resistenza) in which she and her son were participating. While the Resistenza represented a culmination of more than twenty years of anti-fascist activity for Ada, it also helped illuminate the exceptional talents, needs, and rights of Italian women, more than one hundred thousand of whom participated"--
This chapter presents Ada Gobetti's entries in her diary from 27 February–25 April 1945. She recounts events such as resuming her life in Turin; a meeting at the Garibaldi Monument of various people ...responsible for the work in the Susa Valley; and rehearsals for the insurrection.
Introduction Gobetti, Ada
Partisan Diary,
09/2014
Book Chapter
This introductory chapter presents a brief biographical sketch of Ada Gobetti and describes Diario partigiano, both a diary and memoir, where she recorded an almost daily account of events, ...reactions, sentiments, and personalities from the entry of the Germans into Turin on September 10, 1943, to the beginning of the insurrection of Turin on April 25, 1945. With the publication of the Diario partigiano, Ada Gobetti shared her own experiences in the Resistenza and in so doing also illuminated the actions of countless other participants.
This chapter presents Ada Gobetti's entries in her diary from 26 June–4 July 1944. Here she describes events such as going down to Susa where Germans were taking all the men between fifteen and sixty ...years of age; returning to Meana to announce the imminent arrival of the Germans; and her meeting with Lamberti on the way back to Turin.
This chapter presents Ada Gobetti's entries in her diary from 28 November–25 December 1944. Here she describes events such as the arrest of Valle and Duccio who were caught with damaging documents in ...their pockets. In addition to worrying about their personal position, she talks about how she cannot help but think of the disarray that their arrest will cause the entire organization.
This chapter presents Ada Gobetti's entries in her diary from 15–27 November 1944. Here she recalls worrying about Paolo and continuing to see people and doing other things. She continued to take ...part in the usual meetings, introduce people to each other, type, and jot down reports and circulars, but did so mechanically, as if her internal spring were broken.
This chapter presents Ada Gobetti's entries in her diary from 5 July–14 November 1944. She recounts in this section of the diary events such as running around bringing messages that had been ...entrusted to her in the Chisone Valley; meeting with with Giorgio, Bellone, Galimberti, and Valle; and the arrival of Germans in her home.
This chapter presents Ada Gobetti's entries in her diary from 13 September–16 November 1943. She describes events here such as the Germans' arrest of all men between the ages of eighteen and ...sixty-five in neighboring town of Chiomonte; going to the Sommeiller to give exams; Italy declaring war on Germany; and the arrival of Sergio Bellone.
This chapter presents Ada Gobetti's entries in her diary from 24 March–1 April 1944. In this part, she recounts events such as the Germans' attack of the Germanasca and Chisone Valleys; the German ...display of force in Perosa; her uncertainty over the fate of the partisans; and waiting for Paolo's return.
26–28 April 1945 Gobetti, Ada
Partisan Diary,
09/2014
Book Chapter
This chapter presents Ada Gobetti's entries in her diary from 26–28 April 1945. She describes events here such as German arrests; the recapture of the Municipio by the Fascists; and the aborted ...entrance of the partisans into the city.
