Nerina Rakić

* 1928

  • „It was on January 3rd. We arrived in the morning. Alarm. Up there was no forrest, to go to Monte Ghiro, there was no forrest. There was a little forrest near the mill, little trees. I remember who it was organized, people who deat with it, who knew who we were. They had told us to arrive at ten o'clock, to be there, ten we will wait because cockroaches will come...cockroaches were fascist policemen, they wore black, truck will come to take mill's goods which was important for common people. Everyone was there, waiting for the moment. Whostarted it, to tell you the truth, we were walking up and down and everything was full. Suddenly someone said: „Chaaaarge!“ One was already dead. I saw it, my boyfriend was wounded there, in his leg, he was in a hospital, and two fingers, later when we married he could wear his wedding ring. You know what they had?They showed it to us, in case something happens, they had bottles filled with carburettor liquid?We had at home, we didn't have light, in Valdebek, powder would be put inside, and water like an aluminum bottle. We watched it. They were willing to throw it because they had no weapons. Three dead. I don't know how many wounded. One woman, who worked with me, was screaming something. I could see my boyfriend being carried to me. You could only see the dust. I ran downstairs to railway station. On stairs...I saw there on a pool table was Lussi. Dead, a tall man i was. My husband, my boyfriend took him in a hospital.“

  • „That was..yes, yes, how to say, it all came so sudden, we didn't notice a big difference, because here in Istria, in Valdebek we didn't have...one day a large group of Germans arrived, in Valdebek. Not alone, but with their bosses. Italians also arrived. Some Italians surrendered to avoid death. They went with Italians. They arrived there, in my yard, and some Italians, one of them heard my mom and me speaking Italian...that Italian arrived: „Listen I would like to ask you or your mom, your family...“If we could give him our adress so his mom could write to him. Germans will allow it...Mom said: „Yes, why not?“ So we gave it to him and then couple of times...He was from Trento. He received letters several times. He arrived to pick it up, her at us. Then he was transferred, away from Pula. They were here, where the playground is located. I called it, Mussolini was there. There in front was written a big letter „M“ (laughter) on a stone. Music and sports were in the back. There they were. There was the army. Then they arrived in Valdebek. Maybe they've heard something or came to controll the partisans. Our brother was ill, he couldn't go anywhere. Then the war had ended and I still had their adress and I wrote to them, to his mom, Ema was her name, Ema Pedrotti. I wrote a letter and received a response. Because he knew me, he knew my name. I thought that mom...I called to see if they have made it, if he is allright, if he arrived safely. He said yes, that only for a month he was with partisans, he was released and went to Germany.“

  • „Were there any contacts with the partisans.“ „Yes, I went to one lady to take the goods. At my aunt's mom, that famous one from Pula, that sell shirts and joined the partisans later. They sent me there, I was in Vintijan to take her goods and then returned to Valdebek to give....the older ones were dealing with the partisans.“ „You knew that you were going to take the goods for the partisans'“ „Yes, yes, yes.“ „Who sent you?“ „One of them, from the Committee.“ „There was a Commitee, could these people be recognized?“ „It could be seen who it was. Later when I was i charge for flags. Flags were in that house..there was mulberry, now that's the name of the street, because a mulberry used to be there. There on the attic was a room where sewing took place. We were sewing flags. They gave me the American flag, with all those stars to glue and sew. (laughing) We did it by using sewing machines. I was 16 years old, in 1944. There were several of us, we never went together but one by one. I came downstairs and saw three Germans. I was minding my own business they looked at me and nothing. Nevertheless they would come to check, as if they had heard something. They didn't know where what was. You were more afraid from the fascists because that was familiar to them. Fascists lived here, so they know. It went well, there were five, six of us.“

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    Pula, 08.02.2015

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    media recorded in project Testimonies of Istrian survivors
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Secretly sewing American flags

Nerina  Rakić
Nerina Rakić
photo: Pamět Národa - Archiv

Nerina Rakić was born on April 16th 1928 in Valdebek (Pula). She completed 5 classes in italian primary school and 3 classes in Scuola di avviamento professionale. Her father was employed as a sewer in the army while her mother was a houswife. During Italian and German administration she never witnessed any significant unpleasantness. She pointed out that a mail for an Italian soldier came several times at her house address and after the war she sent a letter back to see if he survived the war. When she was 16 years old she was given a task to sew American flags, a task of which was forbidden to talk. She also pointed out that her parents strongly supported antifascism and her father enjoyed reading on Italian much more than on Croatian language even in the latter days. During Allied bombing of Pula she was in bombshelter several times. She remebers that Pula was demolished especially at old bus station which are today Radić and Kandler street. She added that more bombs were dropped on military objects and shipyard. Valdebek didn’t witness any heavy bombardments, only a single grenade was dropped and caused a big hole in the ground. She saw the end of the war near Arena expecting arrival of Yugoslav partisans. But while partisans were entering the city, on May 5th 1945, detonations and gunfire could still be heard because armistice still hasn’t been signed. She doesn’t remember if someone called them to go and wait for partisans to arrive nor does she remeber when the Yugoslav partisans left and the Americans arrived. During Allied administration she was often involved in demonstrations. Usually at demonstrations there were two groups: Italian and others. She remembers that a woman (Maria Pasquinelli) came from Italy and killed a British officer.