The Interpreter’s Burden

The Collini Case

An unwilling interpreter witnesses the reprisal execution, preserves its record, and carries the names that make Collini’s later complaint possible.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Life in Hiding A Life in Hiding from "The Collini Case". A Life in Hiding Forced into service The interpreter is detained while trading on the black market and made to work for the German authorities because he…

A Life in Hiding from "The Collini Case". A Life in Hiding Forced into service The interpreter is detained while trading on the black market and made to work for the German authorities because he…

A Life in Hiding Forced into service The interpreter is detained while trading on the black market and made to work for the German authorities because he speaks a useful dialect. His family life is already under pressure from war. Complicity without choice He is not a partisan, yet his work places him beside the machinery of occupation. His position gives him access to events he cannot control and cannot forget.

The Transfer Order The Transfer Order from "The Collini Case". The Transfer Order A known euphemism The interpreter is told to report to Marassi Prison before dawn.

The Transfer Order from "The Collini Case". The Transfer Order A known euphemism The interpreter is told to report to Marassi Prison before dawn.

The Transfer Order A known euphemism The interpreter is told to report to Marassi Prison before dawn. He guesses that prisoners will be killed in retaliation for the bombing. Fear before action The order’s language conceals what is about to happen, but the interpreter recognizes its meaning. He must take part by translating instructions to the condemned men.

Witness to the Ravine Witness to the Ravine from "The Collini Case". Witness to the Ravine Translating the orders The interpreter accompanies the prisoners and communicates the Germans’ commands.

Witness to the Ravine from "The Collini Case". Witness to the Ravine Translating the orders The interpreter accompanies the prisoners and communicates the Germans’ commands.

Witness to the Ravine Translating the orders The interpreter accompanies the prisoners and communicates the Germans’ commands. He watches the men stand at the pit and die in groups. A truth without remedy He sees a young soldier fire too early and understands that this is not combat but people killing people. The recognition stays with him even as the official account denies its significance.

The Stolen List The Stolen List from "The Collini Case". The Stolen List Names preserved The interpreter takes the execution list home and tells his wife what happened.

The Stolen List from "The Collini Case". The Stolen List Names preserved The interpreter takes the execution list home and tells his wife what happened.

The Stolen List Names preserved The interpreter takes the execution list home and tells his wife what happened. She strikes him, then reads the names and recognizes what the list means. A record against erasure The first name is Nicola Collini. By preserving the document, the interpreter creates a trace that can outlast the official claim that nothing noteworthy occurred.

A Verdict in Genoa A Verdict in Genoa from "The Collini Case". A Verdict in Genoa Postwar punishment The interpreter is sentenced to death by an extraordinary court.

A Verdict in Genoa from "The Collini Case". A Verdict in Genoa Postwar punishment The interpreter is sentenced to death by an extraordinary court.

A Verdict in Genoa Postwar punishment The interpreter is sentenced to death by an extraordinary court. His witness account and the list survive beyond his own fate. History reaches another generation The document helps establish what happened to Nicola and who commanded the execution. Its survival connects the wartime crime to Collini’s later pursuit of an answer.

Before the Café Trento bombing

The night after the Café Trento bombing

The morning of the executions

The evening after the executions

1945