February 25, 1944

Today I went to the Fascist Headquarters as Mrs. Porri suggested. It’s so cold my bones feel frozen, it’s been snowing continuously for about 20 days. At the Fascist Headquarters, they give me a voucher for a coat, shirt, and underwear, but as they were about to hand over the garments, Mr. Damato, head of the Fascist Headquarters says, “Are you a registered Party member?” Naturally, I tell him I am not. “Well, why don’t you register?” he says. I tell him it’s no time to be worrying about Fascism, it’s the last of my concerns! I tell him it’s been five months since I’ve heard news about my wife, kids, sisters, brothers, and parents. I want nothing to do with the Fascists. Upon saying this, they refuse to give me anything so I leave. As I mentioned before, I left the hospital on the 18th so I went to sleep at the usual place, I have nowhere else to go. The Lager is horrible and so is the food and I don’t sleep well there. The other night I went to eat at a big hotel where I’ve gone for the past five days, the food is better in this hotel. I ask the waitress if there is a room free and she says yes, so that same night I stay at the hotel. While I’m in the lobby, a man comes in. His name is Paolo Schumann and he speaks to me in Italian. He is German but married to an Italian woman from Florence. There are forms to be filled out for the police, he does it for me. He says I can stay in this hotel so long as I can afford it. During this month of February, we’ve had to go to the bomb shelters often. Nearby there is a sturdy, reinforced-cement bomb shelter, every time the siren goes off I run there with Mr. Schumann.