adnan+and+damon

Biography:(Adnan) Arrigo was a fifteen-year-old boy who lived in Italy and liked to play soccer. He was a member of Mussolini’s “Sons of the Wolf.” He was a curious and smart boy who liked to learn and research. Arrigo was in grade 9 of high school. Italy was going through the tough times because of fascism. It was tough for Arrigo because boys were expected to grow into fierce soldiers. They had to fight for glory of Italy. Arrigo was taught that Mussolini was the only man who could lead Italy back to greatness. There were secret police that was lead by Arturo Bocchini. The adults were getting arrested for challenging the authority of the state. The children were taught to obey the people in charge. Mussolini once said, “I am preparing the young to a fight for life, but also for the nation.” Hitler was taking ideas from Mussolini. For an example, Hitler took a good interest in the youth’s organization and the education system and used it for Germany. By the way, Mussolini took an intense interest of those structures and used it for Italy before Hitler used those methods. Arrigo and Walter met while Arrigo was on vacation in Germany before World War I. They became friends while they played a few games together. They started to write to each other because they wanted to get back in touch and had news to share that would shock both of them. Arrigo and Walter had a good conversation the last time they saw each other and didn’t get another chance to chat. Arrigo wanted to know what was happening in Germany and Walter wanted to know what was happening in Italy. They wanted to find out what people who live in Germany and Italy think about the events around them. They thought that the newspapers didn’t show the right picture about the situation in these countries. This way they didn’t have to put up with lies that their neighbors and friends were telling them and the journalists write. Arrigo went on the “march on Rome” to demand that the government make changes. Adnan’s Letter #1 December 19, 1920 Dear Walter, How have you been? How is your family? My family is doing well. I haven’t heard from you for a long time. Do you know how long it has been since we have last met? What have you been doing in Germany? I am doing great here in Italy. I remembered all of the times we used to hang out together. We had so much fun. Even though I am doing ok right now, I still miss hanging out with you. How are you in school? I am doing well in school. I am getting straight A’s and playing soccer for my high school team. The position I play is a center midfielder. I have two goals already in 4 games. Who is your leader in Germany right now? Our leader in Italy is Mussolini. He is a great leader. Although he is a great leader, the people (he chose to be in charge of us) make us do work that is really not reasonable for us to do. For example, yesterday, one of the people in charge made me do 100 push-ups for no reason. Are you in any youth groups right now? I am in a group right now. It is called the “Sons of the Wolf. ” I don’t really like to be taught fighting. I find fighting only useful if someone attacks me and I have to defend myself. These people here have been trying to teach us a different kind of fighting, not just self-defense. Remember, when we first met I was very weak. Well, now I am a lot stronger because of the training we have to do. However, I get tired a lot because there is a non-stop work we have to do. Mussolini said in his speech that he is very interested in the state’s education system. I hope this is true and I will become well educated one day with help from our leader. From, Arrigo

Damon’s letter #1 January 23, 1922 Dear Arrigo, My family and I have been doing fairly well considering that my Dad is part of the Nazi group. He takes care of my mother and I; in fact it has been a long time since we have seen each other we should try to change that. Nothing in my life has changed much…I am still in training for the Hitler youth and I someday will join the Nazi party. School has been going great besides the fact that everyone is constantly tired from everyday training. I hope to make it on our baseball team. Our leader in Germany right now is Adolf Hitler. He has absolute power and is extremely racist toward the Jewish, as well as anyone different than Germans. He has established concentration camps around our country where they are exterminated. From, Walter Adnan’s letter #2 December 19,1924 Dear Walter, Thank you for replying to my letter. I hate that the letters take a long time to travel. It has been 7 years since World War I ended. I would like to see Germany again so I could see what is going on there with my own eyes. In 1922, the Sons of the Wolf and I marched through Rome demanding that the government make changes. It was called the march on Rome. It was great. King Victor Emmanuel III after that asked Mussolini to form a government. Mussolini became a prime minister and he took the name Il Duce. Il Duce means “The Leader.” Mussolini brought the economy under the state control. However, we are still having problems in Italy. There are still war veterans who are facing unemployment, and taxes are still high. I am scared of the secret police. Critics of Mussolini and his government are thrown into prisons, forced into exile, or murdered. Please try to write back as soon as you can. From, Arrigo

Damon’s letter # 2 January 3, 1925 Dear Arrigo, I was a member of the Hitler Youth since age ten; we are forced to go through extremely difficult training to prepare us for the military. Some of the tasks that we have to perform everyday include marching, bayonet drill, grenade throwing, trench digging, map reading, gas defense, use of dugouts, how to get under barbed wire and pistol shooting. This training wore all of us out we can barely stay awake during the following days at school. Once our training is done for the month, we start to perform actual military duties. Digging tank traps, patrolling and investigating the streets, and fighting fires will soon be part of our daily routine. As the war comes into full effect, our roles as the Hitler Youth greaten. Sincerely, Walter Adnan’s letter #3 December 20,1931 Dear Walter, It has been 13 years after World War 1 ended. I am 26 years old. It is sad but true. I am still single because I can hardly support myself. I don’t have a steady job. I get hired for a couple of days or weeks but mostly I am hungry and exhausted. Many countries in Europe are having tough times because of the Great Depression. Do you think there will be another world war? It looks to me there will be another world war. I came to that conclusion because there have been a lot of events that would lead to another world war. People are not happy because they don’t have enough money to buy food and put it on their tables. A lot of people are unemployed and I can’t see the end to this world crisis. The Great Depression had impacted people really hard. My mom stopped working because Mussolini wanted women to take care of their children. Mussolini wanted the girls to know that giving birth is natural. He also promised that women who have more than 14 children would get a medal by Il Duce himself. My father doesn’t make enough money to support my younger brothers and sisters. I wish I could help them but my hands are tied. We can just hope for better future. From, Arrigo Damon’s letter #3 December 3, 1932 Dear Arrigo, Like I said in my previous letters, Hitler is our leader as of right now. I thought I’d describe to you in depth what his ideas are and what he plans on doing in his campaign. He wrote a book called Mein Kampf ; it described in detail his views on the future of the German people. He said that Jews were the German nation's true enemy. Once released from prison, Hitler decided to seize power constitutionally. As he rose to power, the Nazi party captured 18% of the popular vote in the 1930 elections. Later on, he won 30% of the vote and swiped away his competitor Paul von Hindenburg. As the economy started to make an incline, Hitler claimed himself dictator of Germany. From, Walter

Adnan’s letter #4 September 15,1936 Dear Walter, It has been 18 years after WWI ended and the Central Powers lost to the Allies. We have been frustrated that we didn’t get the land that the Allies promised us if we helped them. This is one of the reasons why most of the young Italian soldiers stand ready to back Il Duce’s drive to expand Italian power. I can’t believe that Adolf Hitler has similar ideas Mussolini has in Italy. Is it true that Hitler is rearming Germany? I can see Europe going into the war again. The patriotic feelings and national unity are very strong in Italy. Il Duce promises a strong, stable government. He revived national pride among most ordinary Italians. He projected for my countryman a sense of power and confidence at the time of disorder and despair. We need this so we can believe in our better future.

From, Arrigo Damon’s letter #4   December 18, 1919 Dear Arrigo, Hitler’s hatred for Jews is incredibly strong. The Nuremberg Race Laws of 1935 deprived German Jews  of their rights of citizenship. The laws also made it forbidden for Jews to marry or even have any type of relations with a German Born. The first two laws of the Nuremberg  Race is "The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor" and "The Reich Citizenship Law". We Germans strictly follow these guidelines. The Jews have been stripped of every single right. Our Nazi party has even set a goal to someday extinguish every single one of them off the earth. I hope that our way of government does not discourage you. (After all, it is a tad bit harsh) I look forward to seeing you soon. From, Walter