Italy: Mussolini's last jailer dies at 101 | Fernando Tassini followed the dictator closely during his imprisonment in the Apennines

Italian Fernando TazziniKnown as Dictator Benito Mussolini's last jailer While imprisoned in the Apennines, He died at the age of 101 In the town of Citta de Castello. The young carabinieri, who was in charge of guarding the fascist leader when he was freed by German paratroopers on September 12, 1943, died last Friday, local media reported. Even 80 years after those events, he still remembers with incredible clarity that those days are nigh MussoliniWhom he defined A “depressed, dark-faced, restless, desolate man, spoke very little”.

The municipality of Città di Castello recalled Tassini's values ​​”to transmit to the younger generation”. “He was a symbol of our community. We want to remember him with the awareness to make his values ​​and ideals our own,” said Luca Secondi, mayor of Citta di Castello in central Italy. 1950s.

Secondi highlighted that Tassini “was a distinguished, educated and kind man, who built his life on work, family, mutual respect and a sense of belonging to the local community in which he always lived”. The ex-jailer's funeral took place at Zoccolanti Church at 3:30pm on Saturday and was attended by his extended family.

Secret mission

Tassini was born in Dodi on December 28, 1922 in a family of farmers. He is the third of five brothers. He joined the Ciufelli Agricultural Institute in Dodi, but He had to interrupt his studies when he was drafted into the army during World War II. Sent to Montenegro for about a year, he later joined the Carabinieri.

In 1943, he was sent to guard the Campo Imperatore Hotel, a mountain resort in Gran Sasso, where Mussolini was imprisoned after being arrested on the orders of King Victor Emmanuel II and relieved of all his duties by the Fascist Grand Council. Considering the dire consequences of war.

But Tassini arrived at Campo Imperatore without knowing what that special mission was. “We noticed that a dark car arrived during the day, from which Benito Mussolini and his companions got out, and then we understood what we had to do,” explained the ex-prisoner last year, in a newspaper interview. Republic.

“There was an officer pointing at my window.”

After German intelligence discovered Mussolini's location, Mussolini himself Adolf Hitler ordered his release and transfer to Germany.Through the so-called “Operation Oak” led by SS Captain Otto Skorzeny and General Karl Student. A group of paratroopers landed in the areaTaking the jailers by surprise, he took Mussolini with them. No need to fire a single shot.

“I remember those moments well, it was 2:30 in the afternoon and I was not at work. I was in my room and at some point I heard a noise that the Germans had arrived. I looked and saw a glider that had already landed. There was an officer pointed at my window with a heavy machine gun. At that time I stood still and waited for orders to take up arms. Then they asked us to disarm and surrender. I saw them all there,” he explained. Dasiniwho remembers Mussolini's approach in detail.

“The Germans had already surrounded the hotel, tightened the circle, and tried to disarm an officer, but were stopped by Lieutenant Faiola. Now our work was done, they behaved well with us. Then I remember something: when the gliders landed, Mussolini looked out but could not see who was there. He wanted to know who they were, Americans or Germans. There was a feeling that Mussolini would wait for the Americans rather than the Germans” observed the ex-jailer.

After the war ended, Tassini received a diploma as an agricultural specialist. In 1950 he moved with his wife Adiana to the Upper Tiber Valley, where he created an agricultural company specializing in tobacco cultivation in Citta de Castello. He was survived by a large family of four children, nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. After 70 years in 2019, Tassini returned to Campo Imperatore. “I immediately took the handkerchief, I wanted to cry, I was emotional, I didn't feel there, I didn't recognize anything, but it was still an extraordinary feeling,” he said.

On his 100th birthday on December 18, Mayor Luca Secondi presented him with a plaque and a copy of the constitution. In a heartfelt letter, he left a message for the youth: “After the sad moments of war, it has always been and always will be for me and my family, a compass of life that guides us and we can be proud of it. Always have the Constitution before your eyes, because everything is there“.