My father's story - part two It was his birthday, on november 19th when he decided to leave Venice. The German soldiers had occupated the North of Italy and it was very dangerous for young Jews like him to stay in town. He prepared his backpack, his documents and took some money for paying the smugglers. It was very difficult to across the bonderies between Italy and Switzerland; it was necessary to know somebody who could accompany him to the frontier and help to across it. It was night when he arrived at the frontier; he asked to pass but a Swiss soldier told him that the frontier was closed. “You must go back to Italy” he said. “It is impossible” he answered to the soldier. “ If I go back German soldiers can stop and send me to the Concentration Camps”. Rather than go back I prefer to die here. Give me your gun so I can shoot myself”. The soldier asked to his commander what he had to do and the commander answered: “Okay; he can pass”. My father spent one year and half in Switzerland. He was young and strong and he spent this period working in some labour camps. But his passion was the swimming and he decided to look for a swimming team where would possible to make his workouts. One day he went to Lugano where he had the fortune to meet the son of the President of a Swimming Club. So he began to teach swimming and make his work outs. He was living in the camp of Mezzovico, no far from Lugano, when happened an attempt to a German train. One day a train of German soldiers passed near the camp and some soldiers opened the windows and made the Nazi salute. The workers in the camp began to throw stones to the soldiers. This was a dangerous event for the neutrality of the Switzerland. For this fact he and other workers of the labour camp were sent to a punition camp.