Between Two Enemies

Beatrice’s Memoir

By Rosanne Gulisano

I blog about snippets and snapshots of the memoirs and life stories of everyday folks attending my Lifestories workshops. I have changed the names, but the stories are the real thing, from the plain and simple to the sinister and dangerous. Enjoy!

Between Two Enemies

While we hear a lot about the wartime atrocities in Europe and a fair amount about those that took place in Asia, we seldom hear of the tribulations suffered in the country of Greece. Beatrice’s most horrific life memories occurred while she was a girl of 20, living in her home country of Greece at the foot of Mt. Olympus. A law school student, she was the oldest of four daughters. Her family suffered the invasion and occupation of the Italian army, one of the Axis powers, and then occupation by the German army. Occupiers in these circumstances are not kind or benevolent, but often cruel and violent, lording it over their captive populations.

Beatrice’s father was a lawyer in their community and did all he could behind the scenes to thwart the invaders and make life more difficult for them. One day he left the family home on horseback to go to work at his law office. He was captured by the Nazis and jailed.

His wife and daughters were frantic when they found out he was being held in a dark, damp cell, being interrogated by the Nazi captors and had to sleep on the cold cement floor. He was held for several days and then released, but he was broken in body and spirit. Shortly thereafter he contracted pneumonia and passed away within a few weeks of being released. His wife wore black the rest of her life.

After the war, Beatrice, her mother and sisters left the war-ravaged country of Greece for the United States where she finished her law degree and was a champion for justice her entire career.

She still gets choked up over this bit of life memory and expresses heartfelt gratitude for the privilege of living in America and raising her own family here.