A Child Al Confino: The True Story of a Jewish Boy and His Mother in Mussolini's Italy by Eric Lamet Read Free Book Online Page B

and I hope and pray that you will behave,” said Papa as he placed his arms around me, lifted me off the floor, and covered my face with kisses. My father had kissed me many times before but never so many times. He stepped off just as the conductor whistled and the doors slammed shut. At the window I waved a final goodbye and, exhausted, fell into my seat.
    The metal wheels squeaked. The excitement and anticipation that had caused me to pester my mother endlessly, turned into panic. I was alone in that large compartment built for eight, on a train going to an unknown city in some foreign country. I hated that stupid piece of cardboard hanging from my neck holding the documents. No one else ever wore anything like it. Maybe it was best nobody was in the cabin to see it. But thanks to the “necklace,” I received extra attention from the Swiss border guards who had boarded the train and I didn't have to show my passport with that ugly photo.
    “I will help you when we arrive,” the conductor said. Good to his word, on arrival he guided me to an awaiting counselor.
    The two months I spent in the Swiss chalet, nestled in a dense forest, surrounded by flowers and a variety of wild animals, was a delightful period. I enjoyed long walks through the woods, learned handicrafts, and made many new friends. Most of the children were from Austria and Germany, so language did not present a problem. The food was plentiful and delicious, and I was introduced to a variety of new dishes, such as venison and hare, which were served at least once a week and became my favorites.
    We learned to make papier-mâché puppets, to milk goats, and to feed the farm animals living on the property.
    My stay in this idyllic spot almost ended before its time when a counselor wrote to my parents asking them to take me back so the other children could enjoy the remainder of their summer. All because I poured cold water on the boy sleeping in the bed next to mine? It was only for fun. Protected by some unknown source, I was allowed to stay for the duration.
    At the end of the season, I returned to Milan wearing the full regalia of an American Indian, complete with a spear and feathers, the costume I had created in a handicraft class.

    Artwork by Eric sent to his parents in Milan from camp in Switzerland in the summer of 1938.
     

Settling Down
     
    I learned much of what was happening from the conversations between my parents and their visiting friends. Italy had kept its borders open to many displaced Jews from Austria and countries of Eastern Europe, but by 1938 Mussolini was cultivating his alliance with Adolf Hitler. To appease his new ally, he promulgated a milder version of the German racial laws. Among other things, they barred Jewish children from attending public schools and Jewish men from serving in the military. And while the latter did not concern me at all, I was delighted about the former. But I was only eight and did not grasp the meaning of “racial laws.”
    So, that fall, my parents did not enroll me in school, leaving me to cultivate my friendship with the cabinetmaker and the young women at Upim. Now I could build and tinker and not have to worry about homework.
    My father began working soon after we arrived from Vienna. He would buy silk stockings from a factory, then went house-to-house to sell them to other immigrants. I don't know how well he made out financially, but my mother had plenty of silk stockings and many of the premiums Papa used to give his customers.
    Hardly a day went by that one or two salesmen did not come to our door peddling bolts of fabric, stockings, pens, or useless little gadgets.
    “Why are so many people coming to the apartment door?” I asked.
    “Hasele ! The police will not give immigrants a work permit. This is their only way to earn some money,” Mutti explained. “Not even Papa can get a permit.”
    By sleeping in the same room with my parents, I had become privy to many of their concerns and