The Partisans: Sons and Daughters - Paperback

by Peter Drago (Author)

When Gina is ordered at knife-point to strip naked by the Nazi SS Captain, she knows what must come next. She will do anything to save the life of her husband, Michael, a "collaborator" who is in league with the Italian Partisans. As her predator draws so close she can smell his foul breath, Gina closes her eyes and prays that her two sons live to take revenge for this moment. The instant that Italy surrenders to the Allies in 1943, the country is thrown into chaos. Michael decides to reunite with his estranged cousin, Dominic, a Partisan leader, to protect ordinary citizens from both the anger of deposed Fascists and the wrath of the German occupiers who now consider all Italians to be traitors. With the help of Vincenzo, a former Fascist leader who has changed sides after the murder of his son, the two cousins thwart the plans of SS Major Botchner to hunt down Jews and execute Roman citizens at random in retaliation for Partisan activities. Michael's teenage son, Antonio, who helps hide the Jewish family of his heartthrob, Laura, in the secret escape tunnel of an abandoned Castle on the shore of Lake Bracciano, is horrified when the SS decides to use the Castle as its headquarters. Meanwhile, an American Ranger unit whose members include Frank, an Italian-American soldier and his Italian cousin Pietro, is deposited in Southeast Italy. Their goal is to gather intelligence as they make the trek northward to Rome and make contact with Dominic's Partisans. Along the way they become embroiled in the 'war within the war' as Partisans and Italian Fascists are in full battle for the future of Italy. They arrive outside of Rome just in time to save Dominic and Michael from a trap set by Botchner. With some outside help, the Rangers and Partisans hijack a prisoner train headed for the death camps in Germany and manage to escort the prisoners through the mountains and behind British lines, fighting off a Fascist force the entire way. Peter Drago is a retired college professor who has an avid interest in the history of World War II. Being a second generation Italian-American, he finds the story of the struggles of the Italian people to free themselves of the chains of both Fascism and the Nazi Occupation, while awaiting rescue by Allied forces, particularly fascinating.

Author Biography

Peter Drago is a second generation Italian-American whose father came to America from Sicily. He received his PhD in physics from Saint John's University and was a professor at the United States Merchant Marine Academy for 35 years. After retirement Peter took an avid interest in U.S. History, reading extensively about the people and circumstances that led to the miracle of the formation of this great country. Since he was born in 1942 and heard and read tales of heroism and tragedy in WW II as he grew up, he took a particular interest in this world-changing event. Being of Italian descent, he studied the role of Italy in the war and noticed the interesting events that took place in that country from the time of their surrender to the Allies in Sept. of 1943 to the end of the war in Europe in April 1945. Although there were two great Allied Armies trying to fight their way up the Italian boot, horrible fall weather and strong German resistance in the mountainous terrain of Southern Italy made progress painfully slow. With the Armies of Liberation kept at bay, many brave Italian men and woman took it upon themselves to take back their country from it former Fascist rulers. These resistance fighters became known as Partisans who waged a "war within a war", fighting both Germans and left over Italian Fascists. His first novel, The Partisans: Sons and Daughters tells the story of how ordinary men and woman can do extraordinary things in times of crisis.