Giovanni Spilzi

Vicenza, 1915-Ohrdruf, 1945

The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)

In 1936 he enlists in the Air Force and, after receiving his military pilot’s licence, he fights in the Spanish war with the rank of sergeant (14 April-July 1938). Disturbed by the bombings that hit the civilian population, he deserts during the battle of the Ebro and lands his Fiat CR.32 in Valencia, crossing over to the republican side. In February 1939 he takes shelter in France where he is held prisoner in the camps of Argelers and Gurs. In July 1940, the Germans hand him over to the Italian authorities. Charged with desertion and treason, he is condemned to ten years in prison to be served in Gaeta. In September 1943, he is taken by the Germans and deported to Buchenwald. He dies in Ohrdruf on 21 January 1945.