Italy in the Thirties
Memoirs of Liz and Herb
by Liz Field and Herb Reagan
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When Mother, Barbara, Ben and I (Herb) arrived in Italy in February 1932, we had no concept of the difference in political systems between Italy and the States. Mussolini was firmly in power and Fascism was the System of the day. But to us, who had had no experience in the restrictions of a dictatorship, there was nothing to be concerned about. It wasn’t long before we began to feel the differences.
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About two months after we moved into an apartment I was in a local shop with Barbara and people were gathering along the street in front, obviously waiting to see a parade of some sort. We asked the man in the shop what was going on. He ignored us at first, and than, when the shop was empty, he whispered "Il Duce." Instead of saying proudly, "Mussolini is going by," like we would have in America, he was concerned about saying anything that someone might overhear and decide that he had said something bad about the Party. Fortunately we learned lesson one quickly. At once we watched what we said.
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About the same time I thought it would be nice to get the signatures of famous people which was getting to be a fad in the States. I thought it would be fun to send a note to Mussolini and ask him for his autograph. Of course I got no reply (and didn’t really expect to!), but I’ve often wondered whether that note had anything to do with what happened some time later.
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In October 1932 Mother married Mario Saint-Cyr, a French-Italian citizen who was a Professor of Music and History at the University of Rome. His main instrument was the cello and he was a member of a quartet that played at afternoon tea time in one of Rome’s finer hotels. We had the pleasure of hearing them often when they practiced in our living room. Mario wrote music and poetry and had a musical commentary column in the primary Rome newspaper. He also had some individual music students that he tutored.
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I found out many years later that Mario was already embroiled in the political system, but Ben and I weren’t told anything . He was urged to join the Party over and over again and each time he declined he would lose some of his income by being "dismissed" from one activity or another.
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At the same time Ben and I were being approached by Boy Scout "leaders" who were anxious to take us on outings. We were impressed and enjoyed the attention we were receiving, but occasionally we wondered where the "troop" was. We were always alone with the "Scoutmaster."
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Early in 1933 Liz lost her husband, John Silverthorne. They had only been married about five years, and Jaque, their daughter was only about one year old. Mother asked her to join us in Rome, until she could get her life sorted out. She was in her mid twenties and in time she was involved with a group of friends and acquaintances in the American Embassy and the American Academy, an advanced study facility associated with Yale University. This also brought her in touch with a number of Italian people from time to time.
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Mario soon told Liz of the climate around Rome and warned her very emphatically to watch very carefully what she said. There were people everywhere with alert ears who were told that they were staunch party faithfuls when they reported any- thing that might be derogatory to the Party. With such a wide open invitation the volume of accusations flowed steadily.
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In late Spring I came down with Polio and was in bed for about a month and then spent most of the Summer recovering . I managed to recover from the paralysis by Fall, except in my right shoulder. Mother then announced that Ben and I were going to school in Switzerland. I assumed that she felt I needed to be away on my own to avoid too much "coddling" by the family. Also we were learning absolutely nothing in the Italian school we were attending. It was many years later that I found out from Liz that we were sent to Switzerland to avoid the Fascist Youth Organization The Boy Scouts!!? And my note to Mussolini for his autograph!? Did that have anything to do with it?
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At that time we were living in a fairly large house. There were nine of us altogether. But after Ben and I left for Switzerland Barbara and Jaque (sister) went back to the States. That left Mother and Mario, Liz and daughter Jaque, and Angelina the maid. They moved into an apartment more suitable to their needs. I can’t remember getting letters from Mother very often during that time, But neither can I remember any particular concern about it.
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Il Duce and the Fascist Party was getting stronger all the time. Mussolini’s Headquarters and Office were in the handsome Palazzo Venezia at the Piazza Venezia in the heart of Rome. The small balcony overlooking the Square was Il Duce’s place for gathering crowds to hear his ranting speeches.
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Liz was involved in various affairs at the Embassy and the American Academy. Along the way she met an Italian man, Michael, on several occasions. At one dinner at the American Academy, she related a story she had heard from Mario about two friends of his who were due back from a train trip to Switzerland, but never showed up. The next morning Liz had a call from Michael urging her to come down to his office at once. Very important! She found him in a very large and deluxe office in the Palazzo Venezia. At this point he told her he was a lawyer on Mussolini’s Council.
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Michael said that that morning he had been at the Council Meeting, not paying much attention to what was going on, when he heard her name being discussed. Mussolini concluded the conversation by saying "Deport her." He asked to be heard and said he knew her and that she was totally non-political. Could he have a chance to talk to her and straighten out the problem. Fortunately, he was able to save the day, but from then on she was sure she was watched constantly and her mail was opened regularly. She was with Americans when she told the story, but she forgot about the waiters and other staff around the area. It wasn’t too long after that that she decided to return to America.
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The "lost" friends eventually were found in the worst prison in the city, but no one knew what ever became of them.
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Mussolini was a great admirer of Hitler and followed his conquests and plans carefully, though we never saw Hitler in Italy at that time. Actually King Victor Emanuelle was the "Titular" head of Italy, but Mussolini was the power. They made quite a pair together. They were both small in stature, somewhat bowlegged, and always outfitted in rather extravagant uniforms. Somewhat like "Babes in Toyland." Liz was at a local horse show event when they both showed up at the same time in separate limos, and than marched off to opposite sides of the arena to their own special box. It approached a comedy routine.
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At the end of that school year, we were somewhat surprised that Mario was going to meet us in Milan on the way back to Rome. We had gone up to school on our own without any problem. Why did we need an escort back? At that age you only wonder and then forget it.
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We were in the apartment for only a few days before we went to a small hill-top town about 35 miles north of Rome. The name was Soriano nel Chimino, and I finally found it on a very detailed road map many years later. It was a typical Mediaeval town with an old castle at the very top, surrounded by narrow cobbled stone streets and old old buildings -- mostly needing a lot of repair. Mother and Mario had rented a small two bedroom apartment for the summer. Although it had a bathroom with running water, that was about the extent of luxury. No stove. Cooking was over a grill in a fireplace. Angelina had a cot in the kitchen. I can’t imagine why she didn’t head back home other than her own home probably wasn’t any better.
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We were only back in Rome for a couple of days when Mother announced that Ben and I were booked on a tramp steamer to Havana where we would spend the school year in a school for the children of Americans who
were living there. Lester had just graduated from Yale and had taken a job teaching there and could be our watchdog.
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When Liz and I talked about that last year or so in Rome we realized that Mother and Mario were trying to keep a very low profile until they could get us all out of Italy without making too big a thing of it. The ultimate objective was to get Mario out of there without causing a problem for his two sisters.
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Liz knew nothing about our Summer in the country! It was never mentioned to her, obviously to avoid having them traced, we assume Mario came to Milan to make sure Ben and I weren’t waylaid by the Giovianezza - the Youth Corps. Hiding out in a small town is one way of being forgotten, at least temporarily. When Ben and I got back to Riverside the next Spring, Mother and Mario were there. We couldn’t recall how long they had been in America at that time, but we think it was for a number of months. In other words, it didn’t take them long to get out of Italy when they felt it was safe to do so.
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Until Liz and I started comparing notes we hadn’t given much thought to those events and their implications. We never really talked about those details with Mother in later years, and she never volunteered anything. I wonder if we read too much into our experiences? I doubt it. Those were scary times for anyone living in a dictatorship.
POSTSCRIPT: When we talked about our experiences with Jaque Reed, she said her memories as a small child in those days was that Mussolini was great. He had lots of good parades and flags and things like that. In later years when she lived there with her own children, she used to tell them to stay off the grass or Mussolini would get them!