Licia Pardini, a survivor of the Nazi massacre of 12 August 1944 in Sant’Anna di Stazzema (Lucca), died today at the age of 90. At the time of the massacre in which 560 civilians were killed, Licia was 12 years old and suffered serious losses together with her family. The announcement of the disappearance, with a press release, was given by the mayor of Stazzema, Maurizio Verona, and by the National Park of Peace – Historical Museum of the Sant’Anna Resistance, underlining that “his history and that of his family members was continues to be a symbol of the violence and suffering that fell on the town of Sant’Anna that day in 1944”.
The funeral will be held on Monday 28 November at the Pieve di Valdicastello. Then the body will be taken for a blessing to the church of Sant’Anna di Stazzema, as per the will of the deceased.
Licia Pardini has been working in the fields since early morning on August 12 with her father Federico, who also brings with him his sons Vinicio, Siri and Vittorio. Mama Bruna stays at home with her other daughters Cesira, Maria, Lilia, Adele and Anna, the last born just 20 days old, named in honor of the town’s patroness. The arrival of the Nazi-fascists at the family home is brutal. The house is set on fire and the women are faced with a wall. The machine gun placed in front of them begins to fire. Bruna the mother is among the first victims, then all the others. Cesira, Lilia and Adele are wounded but manage to find refuge behind a door that opens behind them. It is Cesira (she died last April and who in 2012 had been awarded the gold medal for civil valor) who warned Licia and the other family members of what happened. (continued)
Licia Pardini has often recalled those tragic moments, those dramatic sequences in which she realizes that a part of her family has been swept away by a fury that she doesn’t understand, that she doesn’t know how to understand. She also often recalled this when speaking to school students, who remained speechless in front of the story of her and her surviving sisters.
In the following years of maturity Licia has always been committed to the country, managing a food shop for the miners when the mines were active, in the care of the church of the country, in commemorations and village festivals.
“Licia’s disappearance is a serious and irreparable loss, after those of her sister Cesira and Enrico Pieri within a few months – continues the note from the Municipality – And yet her story and her story will remain alive, as a source of knowledge and inspiration, from a strong woman, who was able to remember such tragic moments to be of teaching to others”.
The Mayor of Stazzema Maurizio Verona, the City Council, the Museum and the Peace Park of Sant’Anna, express their deepest condolences to the whole family, to the daughters Anna, Emilietta and Isabella, to the sisters Adele, Lilia and Siria, to the brothers Vittorio and Mario.