Italy's Outstanding Courage: The Story of a Secret War
Dilip Sarkar reveals Italy’s unsung Resistance heroes who saved downed aircrew and fought alongside the Allies.
- Author
- Dilip Sarkar MBE
- Publisher
- Amberley Publishing
- Price
- £18.99
- ISBN
- 9781911255441
- Published
- 2018
Italy’s Outstanding Courage: The Story of a Secret War by Dilip Sarkar MBE
Dilip Sarkar honours the contadini and partisans who, after the armistice of September 1943, took in thousands of Allied escapers despite brutal reprisals. Families with barely enough food for themselves shared everything, hid strangers in barns and mountain caves, and guided them towards Allied lines.
The book recounts the posters warning of executions, farm burnings and deportations for those caught helping the enemy, yet the villagers persevered. Sarkar highlights testimonials submitted for honours, Winston Churchill’s praise, and the later decision to deny awards to Italian nationals—an injustice the author challenges.
This moving study restores recognition to the ordinary Italians whose courage saved countless lives.
Amberley Publishing. £18.99. ISBN 9781911255441.