Italy pays tribute to the Brazilian "liberators"

Fighters of the Brazilian Expedition Force are considered heroes in some Italian cities where they are celebrated each year during Liberation Day (25th April).

Names such as Montese, Camaiore and Massarosa are unknown to many Brazilians. However, for a part of the Italians living in these locations, Brazil has a special meaning. This time, it's not about tourism, samba or football, but of an important part of the history of that region. Seventy years ago, during the Second World War, the Brazilian Expeditionary Force liberated the population of these cities from the Nazi-Fascists. The episode is still remembered today in the talks among the inhabitants and during the annual celebrations.

The landing of Brazilian troops on Italian soil took place on June 2, 1944. The first battle took place in September in the Valley of Serchio, Tuscany. From that moment on, he began an offensive that led to the conquest of various cities in the region until he reached the most critical moment in Monte Castello, with a battle lasting almost three months. The conquest of the city was crucial for the Allies to defeat the Axis forces in Italy.

However, none of the men of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB) ever felt really warm in the mountains due to light uniforms. When the Force was first assembled it was believed that the FEB would be fighting in North Africa… not in the Apennine mountains of Italy… in winter! Most Americans and Brazilians know absolutely nothing about the more than 25,000 men of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force that fought in Italy in 1944-45

Celebrations

Mario Pereira was born in Italy but is a son of Brazilians. More specifically, subordinate Miguel Pereira, a member of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, who decided to settle in the region after the war. Until his death, in 2003, he was the former fighter to take care of the Pistoia Votive Monument, erected in the place where until the 1960s was the cemetery where the dead Brazilians were buried in battle (afterwards the remains were Transferred to Brazil). "Every November 2 takes place a solemn ceremony to remind Brazilian soldiers killed in Italian soil," says Mario, who took his father's place in the maintenance of the monument.

According to his tale, such celebrations are made in many municipalities in the area, where monuments were also erected to remind Brazilian action. "The Italian community sees the Brazilians as true liberators. Many have witnessed these facts, and tell the new generations those moments of suffering and the great help they have received, "explains Mario, who pointed out that there are no such monuments dedicated to other allied countries.

The generosity of the military is remembered in the liberated cities.

Solidarity. This is the word that Sirio Sebastião Frölich, a military and military researcher, has more than listened to by the Italians when referring to the Brazilian action during the Second World War. In Italy, Sirio has resumed the journey of much of the mission accomplished by the Brazilian Expedition during the conflict. "Without exception, the Italians who lived with the military confirmed that they were generous" he reveals.

Sirio is the author of the book "Longa Jornada - Com to FEB na Itália" ("The Long Journey - Brazilian Expedition in Italy"), describing the journey and the daily lives of some soldiers originally departing from the Rio Grande do Sul to fight in Italian soil. According to him, gratitude to the military is bigger outside Brazil than in the country. "This is mainly due to the knowledge of the conduct of soldiers in combat and coexistence with the Italian population" he says.

This sentiment is shared by lawyer Zafer Pires Ferreira Filho, whose father fought in the Shipment. In 2012 with his family he visited some cities liberated by Brazilian troops. "It was exciting but sad at the same time, because we remembered the opposite feeling felt by the Brazilians in general and the authorities, with little knowledge and indifference to such an important period in Brazil's history" he complains.

The story

The recognition by the Italians contrasts with oblivion in Brazil. Zafer Pires Ferreira Filho (son of a fighter in the Brazilian Expeditionary Force) tells a story: my family and I made a trip to the Apennines where we stayed for 12 days in September 2012. The journey was organized according to a circuit drawn up in Brazil and that took the military campaign of the Brazilian Transport Force into the area as a reference 1944 and 1945, during the Second World War. The goal was to visit the places where our soldiers fought, looking for testimonies of their presence. The design of this tour, caressed for so many years, has been a happy union between the present and the past, symbolized by the awakening of memories and sleep memories, but do not forget that when, still a child and pre-teenager, I listened to my father, about the story of the Regiment Sampaio. He continues: what really motivated me to write these lines was the strong impression that he had experienced of this trip; from our arrival to Montese, until the last day in Fornovo di Taro, I was impressed with memory, memory still extremely alive and the feeling of gratitude present in the inhabitants of the area. They attribute Liberation from Nazi-fascism to the passage of soldiers during the war. The oblivion in which our soldiers were relegated to Brazil is surprising. The contrast is deep. The good memories of the local people were reflected in reverence and gratitude for the Brazilians, expressed with the affection and the attention they devoted us. It was a mixture of joy and sadness. Joy for the gratitude of a people, and sadness for forgetting one of the pages of our history.