On Wednesday 9 September (5.00 pm) at the Ridotto of the Teatro del Popolo, the official ceremony will take place, featuring speeches by the Polish Ambassador, Riszard Schpnef, and the Polish Minister, Lech Parell.
He had been conscripted into the Wehrmacht, but was of Polish origin: Wiktor Szoltysek, who in June 1944 – following the annihilation of his division at Cisterna by the Anglo-American forces – decided to desert. He made his way up through central Italy using whatever transport he could find, took off his German uniform and ended his ‘escape’ on the outskirts of Castelfiorentino. There he met ‘three young men’ who took him to several families who hid him for a month, imposing strict silence on everyone. Wiktor remained there until the end of August, before resuming his ‘war’ – this time against the Germans – in the ‘3rd Carpathian Rifle Division’ until the Liberation of Bologna (April ’45).
An extraordinary experience, recounted in a diary published posthumously by his sons Jan and Henryk (‘On both sides of the front. Journal of a Silesian Soldier 1943–1947”) and for which the Polish Government has decided to award the ‘Pro Bono Poloniae’ honour to the residents of Oliveto who, at enormous risk (including to their own families), decided at that moment to do the right thing by hiding him in the loft of a mill near Oliveto Castle.
The official ceremony, open to all members of the public, will take place on Wednesday 9 September (5.00 pm) at the Ridotto of the Teatro del Popolo. Speakers will include the Mayor of Castelfiorentino, Francesca Giannì, the Polish Ambassador, Riszard Schpnef, and the Polish Minister, Lech Parell, as well as Wiktor’s children and the descendants of those who, at that dramatic moment, did not hesitate to hide their father.
This is not the first time that Jan and Henryk have visited Castelfiorentino, as the story was brought to light three years ago. The Castelfiorentino Town Council has worked tirelessly to trace the children and grandchildren of those who went missing, who during this time have also collaborated on the production of a documentary film about Wiktor’s story (the trailer will be screened on Wednesday).
The names of the three young men who accompanied Wiktor to the farmhouse near Oliveto Castle are Alighiero Casamonti, Luciano Martini and Sergio Giorli; they were in their early twenties. They were welcomed and supported by the families, foremost among them Adelindo and Sestilio Giorli and Pietro Bartalucci.
Wiktor Szoltysek died in 1971 at the age of 46 (he was born in 1925). An entire chapter of Wiktor’s book is devoted to his time in Castelfiorentino
“Wiktor’s story,” remarked the Mayor, Francesca Giannì, and the Councillor responsible for Remembrance, Marta Longaresi, “has only recently come to light because the very families who had hidden him had by then become accustomed to the ‘secret’ imposed at the time to protect their own safety. When we learnt from his children that a diary contained the names of the deserving residents of Castelfiorentino – who, sadly, are no longer with us – we did everything we could to trace their descendants. We are therefore delighted and proud of this honour,
and we feel particularly honoured to welcome Ambassador Riszard Schpnef and Minister Lech Parell to Wednesday’s ceremony – an evening dedicated to the values of ‘remembrance and peace’, during which we will renew a symbolic yet heartfelt embrace from the entire community of Castelfiorentino to Wiktor’s children.”
