Prisoner of War mail, by Ruggero Bacci, to Mrs. Minnie Bacci, August 9, 1941

This handwritten prisoner of war mail in Italian, was sent by Ruggero Bacci, and is addressed to his wife Minnie Bacci, on August 9, 1941.

Bacci writes that he is happy to have received several photographs of family and friends. He is sorry to hear about the ill health of Anselmo. He is happy however that his wife seems to have had a recent break -- respite for a week. Bacci tells her that he has learned from his son Aldo's letter that they have not received the information sought from the "signori"/"padroni". It's unclear which gentlemen this refers to -- those he worked with in the fascio/Casa d'Italia, or the authorities. Regardless, he tells his wife it would be better to send them to hell to make charcoal of them. He asks her to make the best of things, which he claims to do. It seems he has some others also working on his case.

Bacci was interned for almost three years. In his absence, his wife Erminia (Minnie) suffered a serious nervous breakdown and was hospitalized at length. Bacci's oldest son Aldo was forced to quit high school to help support the family. When his father was released and returned home, Aldo received notice that he was conscripted into the Canadian Army; however, he did not serve overseas.

This document forms part of a collection of documents and other materials on loan by the Bacci family.