Institutions responsible for the formation of new generations, and among them, of course, universities, public organizations, associations should always develop an individual and collective memory of the tragic facts of human history. The “duty of memory” is not a formal act, but a forma mentis, which should influence the consciousness of society at every opportunity.
The debt of remembrance was inspired by the association “Humanity inside the War” (Italy) through the autobiographical novel “What an Amazing Guy” (the fate of an Italian soldier during World War II).
On November 11, 2024, a mass was held in Carniacco (Italy) “From the memory of those who fell in two World wars, to the warning of future generations”, which cements the spiritual twinning of Redipuglia and Carniacco.
During the mass, sacred icons were exhibited: Saints Cyril, Methodius and St. Benedict of Norcia, stored in the Redipulli.
Among the organizers of the initiative of the spiritual union was a member of the organizing committee, Professor Paolo Pascolo. The memoirs of his father (autobiographical novel “What an amazing Guy”), a direct witness at the front, were translated into Russian and distributed in schools.
On September 10, 2019, at 10.00 in the capital of Russia in Moscow, in the Central House of Journalists (Nikitsky Blvd., 8A), a press conference was held, within the framework of which the official Presentation of the Russian-language edition of the historical novel “What an amazing Guy” by the Italian anti–fascist Ferdinand Pascolo – pseudonym “Silla”, organized by the Zur Art Foundation, took place, with the support of the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce, the Union of Journalists of Russia, with the participation of the Italian Embassy, Public figures of the Russian Federation and journalists.
The connection that returned to Redipulia materialized in the icon, which arrived in Italy through the Italian Embassy in Moscow. We hope to welcome Russian craftsmen to Italy, who created it as a sign of fraternity between peoples. In February 2021, Italian Ambassador to Moscow Pasquale Terraciano and Military attache General Roberto Vannacci accepted a gift from Alfia Amirova, President of the International Women’s Union, and Marat Shakirzyanov, Director General of the Zur Art Foundation, an icon of Saints Cyril and Methodius, which repeats the icon in the chapel at the Redipulia War Memorial.
The Humanity Inside War Association has identified a number of initiatives it conducts around the world in order to preserve the memory of tragic events and prevent their recurrence.
The son of the author of the book “What an amazing guy”, the President of the association “Humanity inside the War” – Paulo Pascolo noted that his father, despite the fact that he fought against Russia, never killed anyone and the reason for this was the case when a Russian woman saved him and provided him with overnight accommodation in her house. After this fateful meeting, Ferdinando Pascolo decided for himself that he did not want and could not fight against Russia and the Russian people were not the enemy at all, because this struggle was not invented by ordinary people, but by the authorities and the regime.
It is worth noting that the book “What an amazing Guy” describes a particularly dramatic moment in the author’s life, when one of the dark nights he turned to the sky with a question: “God, what am I looking for here? This is not my land, not my sky… why did we come here, what are we looking for here?”
Russian Russian woman who saved the main character, according to the author of the book, a sculpture of the Holy Virgin Mary was created, an image that was created entirely from the description of that Russian woman. The sculpture is located in the church “Queen of Peace” in the city of Redipulia and represents a symbol of all mothers who lost their sons in the war. Under the statue, on the pedestal, the words from the Book are engraved: “Enough weapons. Enough wars. Enough torture. Frostbite. Hanged. Death. Family. Work. That’s it.”.
Also, a quote from the book became the theme of one of the annual UNESCO Global Ethics Day youth congresses, and to this day this phrase is the motto of ethics and morality all over the world.
Paolo Pascale conducts extensive international activities dedicated to the preservation of historical memory, conducts socially significant programs aimed at educating the younger generation. One of these projects was The International Children’s Drawing Contest “Humanity inside the War”, which is attended by children and youth from 19 countries, including Russia. The girth of the competition is 340,000,000 people.
The Association “Humanity inside the War” (Italy, Udine) has erected a monument to the dead journalists in hot spots since 1992 all over the world in Gorizia, Italy.
May 3, 2018 The grand opening of the monument took place. The opening was attended by the Italian authorities, the clergy, the Italian journalistic community, representatives of the military departments and other public figures.
A golden book of memory has been created at the monument, where the names of the dead journalists are inscribed and which is being updated by all journalistic organizations in the world. The book is kept in the church “Queen of Peace” (in memory of all mothers who lost their sons in the war) in Radipuli.
The Association “Humanity inside the War” together with the Zur Art Foundation (Russia) held an international photo exhibition “Russian Garibaldians in the Italian Resistance” in 5 Italian cities.
The international photo exhibition “Russian Garibaldians in the Italian Resistance” is dedicated to the anti-fascist movement in Italy during the Second World War. The Italian Resistance was one of the most powerful in Europe. Escaped prisoners of war from the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition also fought in its ranks. In some areas of Italy, partisan detachments and underground groups played a huge role, in which Soviet prisoners of war actively participated. There were about five thousand of them, of which one in ten died.
In Italy, in Verona, within the framework of the International photo exhibition “Russian Garibaldians in the Italian Resistance”, an agreement was signed between Italy and Russia, between the All-Russian movement “Immortal Regiment of Russia” and the Association “Humanity inside the War”.
The Association “Humanity inside the War” has set itself the task of conveying to the Italian and European audience the historical truth about the events of the Second World War, acting on the basis of UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/69/160 on combating the glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to the escalation of contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
