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Marco Ciocchini 1925 - 1945 Edit

Born 11.3.1925 in Talamona
Died 30.3.1945 in Gusen

Biography

Marco, son of Giovanni and Ernesta Spini, was born in Talamona (SO), Northern Italy, on 11 March 1925. He grows up in a happy farming family with many brothers and sisters.

In the 1940s families in Valtellina lead a very simple but respectable life. After primary school Marco starts helping his family and working as a woodcutter, as noted in his registration file.

On 16 March 1943 Marco goes to Sondrio for his military medical examination where he is declared fit for the military service. He is described as “an healthy young man, with a pink complexion, healthy teeth, with reading and writing abilities“.

After 8 September 1943 in Valtellina the first partisan groups are created: many young men desert and find refuge on the Alps, since they refuse to join the Italian Social Republic and want to fight in order to free Italy from Fascism. Starting from 15 July 1944 Marco becomes a member of these partisan groups: according to his registration file, he was an active member of the so-called Seconda Brigata Valtellina, a group which fought for Italian freedom.

On 1 December 1944 he is captured by the German Army in Valmasino (a valley in the Alps, near Sondrio). He is taken to jail in Sondrio for a short period of time. Later on he is sent to San Vittore jail in Milan, where he is left waiting to be taken to Germany, the so-called “Working Front”.

Before reaching the concentration camp of Mauthausen, Marco is taken to what used to be defined as a “transit camp” in Bolzano. On 1 February 1945 Marco leaves for Mauthausen where his name is registered on 4 February 1945. He is the prisoner number 126129.

He is already seriously ill and worn out. He is then transferred to the Gusen concentration camp where he officially dies of pneumonia. This was the way prisoner’s death was usually registered on the camps archives.

Paola Passerini

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