Eyewitness Testimony Luigi Canavese

Mr. Luigi Canavese, born on 06.12.07 in Garessio, residing there at Via Vittorio Emanuele, reports the following: As soon as we arrived in Kahla, we were divided into groups and housed in houses in the countryside. There I stayed with another 160 fellow sufferers. We had to work in the tunnels of the REIMAHG. Gradually, we advanced further and further with the excavations; we had to transport the material out. Cement blocks were made from this material. Among the old civilians who supervised us was a German. He had been a prisoner of war in Genoa during the war from 1915 to 1918. He was very kind to me. Apart from the camp leader and the "escort dogs," who beat us without reason and without mercy, the others were quite good to us. In the last period, we only received some coffee and flour soup around 5:00 p.m., but we tried to help ourselves by searching for some potatoes and fruits in the countryside. At first, after shift changes, we were allowed to go into the village to buy some beer. We earned 6 to 7 RM per day, but a single cigarette already cost 30 RM. I often went to a tailor who lived only a few hundred meters from our Rosengarten camp. He had two married sons who were also at war. This tailor made me a pair of trousers and often showed me his sympathy and solidarity. These were small things, but so unspeakably important in the life of a prisoner. I was also in the infirmary for eight days. There we received no food. However, we could buy something, and those who had no means were supported by the other prisoners through collections. In my camp, I saw many die. Among them was also my compatriot Cristoforetti. I went with others to the street to bury the bodies of Ingaria and a Milanese, who died on the street returning from work. This took place in a small forest near the tunnel. The many who died in the camp were loaded onto trucks and, I do not know where, transported away. One day I witnessed five or six Russians being shot from a plane with machine gun fire; they were at the entrance of the tunnel. I spent the last months in the camp as a shoemaker. During this time, my situation improved somewhat. On April 16, 1945, the Americans liberated us. We stayed a few more days. During these days, we only ate clover and turnips. Later, we were able to return home, and I finally reached Garessio on July 16, 1945.