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On June 26, 1944, in Tuscany, a young man in a German uniform was walking along the road from Castelfiorentino. Six kilometers outside the town, near Oliveto Castle, he encountered three young Italians returning from work in the fields. He told them he wanted to desert the army and asked for help. The three Italians – Luciano Martini, Alighiero Casamonti, and Sergio Giorli – decided to help him. They took him to the caretakers of the Oliveto mill, where he was given civilian clothes and shelter. He remained in hiding there until the arrival of British and American troops two months later.
The young soldier was Wiktor Szołtysek, a Pole from Upper Silesia who had been conscripted into the German army. At the age of 17, he had been forced to fight in a German uniform. While in Italy, he deserted the Wehrmacht and subsequently joined the Polish Army under the command of General Władysław Anders. In 1945, he took part in the liberation of Bologna. Later, he traveled to England with other Polish soldiers. He returned to Poland in 1947. He had recorded his story in a diary.
Today, more than 80 years later, that diary allows us to revisit the events that unfolded in Tuscany during the summer of 1944. Yet, the story does not end with the diary. Wiktor’s sons located the descendants of the people who had saved their father; they found the Martini, Casamonti, Giorli, and Bartalucci families. They met with residents of Oliveto, Castelfiorentino, and Empoli, listened to their recollections, and recorded over a dozen interviews. After more than 80 years, Wiktor’s story ceased to be merely an account written in a family diary. It became a story shared by families – both Polish and Italian. A story of people brought together by the war.
On September 9, 2026, the Szołtysek brothers returned to Oliveto. They came to meet the people whose families had played a role in saving their father – and to witness the next chapter of this story. They attended a ceremony where medals were presented to the descendants of the families who had helped their father.
This is the subject of the documentary film On Both Sides of the Front. The film is currently about 50% complete. The initial phase of production was funded by Wiktor’s family and the director. Now, we want to finish telling this story.
Ahead of us lies further filming – in Matera, Bodney, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Helensburgh, and Shandon – followed by editing, processing archival materials, sound design, color grading, subtitling, and preparing the film for distribution.
We want to preserve more than just Wiktor’s story. We want to preserve the memory of the people who, during the war, chose to help a man they had never met before.
Help us finish the film.
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