Paolo Stefanoni 

My name is Paolo Stefanoni. I was born in April 1923 in Domodossola and I was an important figure in the Italian partisan resistance during World War II.

I was an alpine soldier in Aosta on the day of the armistice and was captured by the Germans, but I escaped deportation to Germany by jumping off the train near the Brenner Pass.

You can imagine the fear I felt doing that, but it saved me from almost certain death, knowing today the fate of thousands of civilian, military, and political prisoners held in Nazi-fascist concentration camps!

I became a partisan in the "Valtoce" Division. I played a crucial role during the fight against fascism and the Nazi occupation. My brigade operated mainly in the lower Ossola area. Like other partisans, I was driven by ideals of freedom.

I lost my life at the Candoglia station, near Mergozzo, in a gunfight with a fascist militia who were escorting a train with Czechoslovak soldiers, incorporated into the German army, that our partisans were helping to desert.

After the war, many other partisans and I were recognized by the Italian State for our actions!

In my memory, the 6th Partisan Brigade of the Valtoce Division was named after me.