“Friends, remember that”: Anita Galliussi recounted the episode at the conference “Processo al processo Silone” held at the Castello Cinquecentesco in L’Aquila on July 1, 1998; quoted in Gurgo and de Core, Silone, p. 288.
223
“the only compassionate”: Henry Kissinger to Ignazio Silone, April 30, 1953. A copy of the letter is at the Silone Archive in Pescina.
224
“What do you want”: Herling recounts the scene in his interview with Bruno Falcetto in ISRS, vol. 1, pp. xxv–xxvi; see also Gurgo and de Core, Silone, p. 303, where Herling tells how Silone approached him soon after to say, with a mischievous grin, that he had unwittingly returned to being a Communist. Herling was stupefied and asked how. Silone replied that Pajetta had “reclaimed” him in the press conference.
225
His most pointed question: Coleman, Liberal Conspiracy, p. 130. The stenographic record of the meetings was published in French in Comprendre, the journal of the Société Européenne de Culture, in September 1956.
225
exchange with Ivan Anissimov: The epistolary exchange is collected in Silone and Anissimov, Un dialogo difficile. Sono liberi gli scrittori russi? A wry editorial note facing the title page states that Anissimov was, at one time, a fanatical Stalinist (uno sfegatato stalinista) and that the exchange of letters had not been published in Russia.
227
“the writer belongs”: “Lo scrittore contro lo Stato,” quoted in Gurgo and de Core, Silone, p. 305.
227
“Just as no well-raised child”: Quoted ibid., pp. 310–11.
227
But neither the condemnation: Silone in Nuovi Argomenti, May–June 1956.
228
Sartre was emblematic: “The Lesson of Budapest,” pp. 131, 136–38.
229
“The Russians we have”: Ibid., pp. 141–42.
230
even his publisher: See Mondadori’s letters to Silone in Alberto Mondadori, Lettere di una vita: 1922–1975 (Milan: Mondadori, 1996).
231
“when I look at a fascist”: Encounter, March 1962. Irving Kristol, along with Stephen Spender, was a founding editor in 1953.
231
nicknamed “Agnus Dei”: See Silone’s interview with Grazia Coco in 1969, Archivio Silone, Florence, busta 10, fascicolo 1.
231
Silone could not remain silent: “Agenda,” Tempo Presente, September–October 1963.
232
“unjustified illusions”: “Illusioni ingiustificate,” Tempo Presente, December 1965.
232
“degrading the toga”: Anonymous, “È cominciato al Viareggio il valzer degli scandali,” La Fiera Letteraria, July 11, 1965. For a discussion of the scandal of the Premio Viareggio, see Gurgo and de Core, Silone, pp. 362–72, and d’Eramo, L’opera di Ignazio Silone, pp. 378–81.
232
The regret of many Italian: From the unsigned introduction “Siloniani in ritardo,” in d’Eramo, Ignazio Silone, p. 7.
232
Carlo Bo attempted: Bo, “C’è qualche eccezione alla triste regole delle riviste.”
233
“A Dominican [severe] with himself”: Indro Montanelli, “Ignazio Silone,” Corriere della Sera, June 5, 1965.
233
Giancarlo Vigorelli wrote: Giancarlo Vigorelli, “Il libro del giorno: Uscita di sicurezza,” Il Tempo, June 30, 1965.
233
penned a mea culpa: Bo, “C’è qualche eccezione.”
233
In a bitter essay: Carlo Bo, “Hanno avuto paura,” L’Europeo, August 1, 1965.
234
In his acceptance speech: The speech of September 11, 1965, was reprinted in La Fiera Letteraria, September 19, 1965.
234
“Among living writers”: Quoted in Gurgo and de Core, Silone, p. 372.
234
“His every word”: Irving Howe’s review of Emergency Exit, New York Times Book Review, December 29, 1968, p. BR5.
235
three broad periods of Silonian criticism: d’Eramo, Ignazio Silone, pp. 80–83.
235
“it is almost impossible”: Kazin, The Inmost Leaf, pp. 176–79.
235
“Robert Frost of the Abruzzi”: Michael Harrington, “The Political Novel Today,” Commonweal, October 28, 1955.
236
“Sulla dignitá dell’intelligenza”: in ISRS, vol. 2, pp. 1117–25.
236
“All those who contribute”: L’Express, January 23, 1961.
236
a modern Don Quixote: See Gurgo and de Core, Silone, p. 352.
237
Fifty-two anti-Communist: The Fraschette d’Alatri concentration camp housed many refugees from the war: “There were some 50 nationalities imprisoned in this walled, machine-gun guarded camp. Some 200 Germans (mostly ex-SS), about one hundred American, British and French army deserters, hundreds of Yugoslavs and about twenty Czechs. There was a lonely refugee from Tibet who preferred to sleep on top of the soccer goal.” Frantisek Bejcek (Frank Baychek) and Eric Ronge, “European Odyssey of Two Refugees,” users.bigpond.net.au/magnetic-island/European_Odyssey.htm.
237
Silone recognized: d’Eramo, Ignazio Silone, p. 95.
239
“In every spiritual vocation”: January 8, 1958, Archivio Silone, Florence, busta 3, fascicolo 20.
239
“To describe our method”: Silone to Chiaromonte, October 11, 1955, Archivio Silone, Florence, busta 3, fascicolo 17.
239
vastly different personalities: On their sometimes acerbic relationship, see the letters archived in Nicola Chiaromonte Papers. I am indebted to Diane Ducharme of the Beinecke Library for access to the letters.
239
“They were different”: Gustaw Herling, “L’importanza di una rivista,” in Fofi et al., Nicola Chiaromonte, Ignazio Silone, p. 14.
240
a 1932 Chiaromonte essay: “Lettera di un giovane dall’Italia,” Quaderni di Giustizia e Libertà, December 1932. Chiaromonte had written to Silone in 1935, asking the Abruzzesi writer to read the essay; Chairomonte to Silone, October 20, 1935, Chiaromonte Papers, box 4, folder 131.
240
Russian-born Andrea Caffi: In December 1942, when Caffi was fighting the Nazis in France, Chiaromonte sent a telegram to Silone: “Please send some money to Andrea Caffi.” Chiaromonte Papers, box 4, folder 132.
240
Writing as “Sincero”: “La morte si chiama fascismo,” Quaderni di Giustizia e Libertà, January 1935, pp. 20–60.
241
a 1929 memorandum: Reproduced in Gasbarrini and Gentile, Ignazio Silone. Comunista, p. 124.
241
“for us Italians”: Chiaromonte to Silone, October 27, 1935, Chiaromonte Papers, Gen. Mss. 113, box 4, folder 131.
241
“the antiquated flying coffins”: Quoted in Coleman, Liberal Conspiracy, p. 89.
241
In his essays: Chiaromonte, The Paradox of History.
242
Malraux, in his role: The episode is recounted by Herling in “L’importanza di una rivista,” p. 15. The book was eventually published as Stalin: Aperçu historique du bolchévisme by Plon in Paris in 1935. An excerpt from the foreword demonstrates why Silone found the work so congenial. There are echoes of Souvarine in Silone’s own works, such as The School for Dictators.
But this is nothing compared with the remarkable demonstration of December 21, 1929, Stalin’s fiftieth birthday. The whole Soviet press displayed vast headlines, large portraits, and articles of enormous length. The eulogies of the Dictator were not less portentous. According to the incense-burners of his entourage, all human and some superhuman virtues were incarnate in Stalin.
His modesty, courage and devotion were paralleled by his knowledge and wisdom. He was the organiser of the Bolshevik Party, the leader of the October Revolution, the head of the Red Army, and victor in
the Civil War as well as in foreign war. He was, moreover, the leader of the world proletariat. The man of action proved himself as great as the theorist, and both are infallible; there is no instance of a mistake made by Stalin. One leitmotiv recurs constantly in the dithyrambs: man of iron, steeled soldier, allusions to the name he had adopted, with variations on the invariable theme of steel and iron: “iron Leninist,” “granite Bolshevik.” The same formula, the same exaggeration, the same extravagant expressions of admiration and submissiveness, in strict conformity with models sent down from Moscow, recur in thousands of addresses, messages and telegrams from all parts of Russia, which fill whole pages of the newspapers, and then several columns daily for weeks. The State publishing-houses issued thousands of copies of collections of these tributes in which panegyrics filled over 250 pages, in addition to innumerable messages simply indicated by the names of the senders. An official portrait bust was manufactured by mass production and distributed officially. The name of Stalin, already given to several towns, was again given to factories, electricity stations, rural undertakings, barracks and schools.
From an online version of Stalin: A Critical Survey of the Russian Revolution, trans. C.L.R. James (New York: Longman, 1939), www.marxists.org/history/etol/writers/souvar/works/stalin/.
242
a moving tribute: Nicola Chiaromonte, “Albert Camus: In Memoriam,” in Camus: A Collection of Critical Essays, ed. Germaine Brée (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1962), pp. 11–15.
243
Chiaromonte questioned the title: Chiaromonte to Silone, March 9, 1952, Chiaromonte Papers, box 4, folder 132. Elinor Lipper, Eleven Years in Soviet Prison Camps, trans. Richard and Clara Winston (Chicago: Regnery, 1951).
243
“He looked at me”: Herling and Falcetto, in ISRS, vol. 1, p. xxiii.
243
“He was truly”: Interview with Bruno Falcetto, in ISRS, vol. 1, p. xi.
244
“the man always remained”; “Intervista a Sergio Quinzio,” pp. 160–63.
245
“But back then”: Herling, Volcano and Miracle, p. 70.
245
“I was just an eccentric”: Herling, “L’importanza di una rivista,” p. 13.
245
“It is, unfortunately, difficult”: Silone to Chiaromonte, August 16, 1956, Chiaromonte Papers, box 3, folder 77.
245
It was common: Herling, “L’importanza di una rivista,” p. 16.
246
“It was,” Herling reported: Titti Marrone, “Il mondo a parte degli spiriti liberi,” Il Mondo, November 28, 1996.
246
“In the past”: Pieracci Harwell, Un cristiano senza chiesa, p. 43.
247
So rooted was this fear: “Reagan, agente dell’FBI, spiava Ignazio Silone,” Il Giornale, March 31, 1992.
247
in 1959 she was pressured: Both Flamini and Leggeri were interviewed by Goffredo Fofi for Linea d’ombra, December 1991; I have taken their testimony from Giorgio Fabre’s article, “Mamma la CIA,” Panorama, December 8, 1991. See also Enzo Forcella, “Silone e la CIA? Non fatene un caso,” La Repubblica, December 5, 1991.
247
he was no spy: See the documents collected by Peter Kamber at www.peterkamber.ch/ignazio.html.
248
money coming in from the CCF: Peter Coleman has estimated that the Congress for Cultural Freedom gave $45,000 to Tempo Presente in 1966.
248
“Silone loved this journal”: Giovanni Spadolini, “Parliamo di me: Per un’autobiografia di Ignazio Silone,” Nuova Antologia, July–September 1978.
248
extraordinary galaxy of writers: Gurgo and de Core, Silone, pp. 342–43.
248
“incredulous despair”: Darina Silone, letter to Le Monde, May 28, 2000, p. 13.
248
“cannot be said to have had”: Darina Silone, correspondence with author, September 5, 2000.
249
Repeated requests: The CIA is required by law to give a reason for refusing to release documents. My request was denied pursuant to FOIA exemptions (b)(1): “material which is properly classified pursuant to an Executive order in the interest of national security or foreign policy”; and (b)(3): “information pertaining to the CIA Director’s statutory obligations to protect from disclosure intelligence sources and methods, as well as the organization, functions, names, official titles, salaries or numbers of personnel employed by the Agency, in accordance with the National Security Act of 1947 and/or the CIA Act of 1949.” Letter to the author from Scott Koch, Information and Privacy Coordinator, Central Intelligence Agency, January 26, 2006. The same day the biographical entry for Silone was cataloged (January 7, 1944), Emmy C. Rado, an OSS analyst and wife of the Hungarian psychiatrist Sandor Rado, sent a letter to Mario Einaudi in Chappaqua, New York, containing a list of Italians “of which I would like to have as much information as possible.” Rado had been, curiously enough, Wilhelm Reich’s dance partner in Vienna and was rumored to be having an affair with Allen Dulles, a notorious ladies’ man.
249
“Your problem as a writer”: Chiaromonte to Silone, March 9, 1952, Chiaromonte Papers, box 4, folder 132.
249
a volume in honor of Silone: “Silone, scrittore veridico,” in Cristini, Dal villaggio all’Europa. The original typeset manuscript of Chiaromonte’s essay is in Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Gen. Mss. 113, box 5, folder 198, where the original title, “Silone, scrittore di verità” is crossed out. The difference might be translated as from “Silone, Writer of Truth” to “Silone, Truthful Writer.”
249
nineteenth-century Russian writers: For Chiaromonte’s idea that history could best be understood—perhaps only understood—through great narrative fiction, see his collection of essays, The Paradox of History. In “Silone, scrittore veridico,” Chiaromonte notes that Silone’s conception of simplicity mirrored that of Pasternak, who invoked the quality in one of his poems as the ideal for a modern writer.
251
“Colonialism,” he wrote: Silone to Humm, March 22, 1957; Diego Rivera to Silone, June 25, 1957; Archivio Silone, Florence, busta 3, fascicolo 19.
251
“We defend the right”: The handwritten speech is in the Archivio Silone, Pescina.
253
What most offended Silone: “Una protesta dell’Associazione: 50 anni di storia italiana secondo la RAI,” Bollettino per la libertà della cultura, January 15, 1959.
253
A society that forced: Bolletino per la libertà della cultura, August–September 1961.
253
“acquired her sense of irony”: “Emergency Exit,” p. 68.
254
One day they were walking together: Ibid., p. 70.
254
“The truth,” he claimed: “Le idee che sostengo,” p. 1391.
255
“One can be free”: Bread and Wine, p. 215.
255
“40 Questions for . . .”: “40 domande a Ignazio Silone,” La Fiera Letteraria, April 11, 1954; reprinted in ISRS, vol. 2, pp. 1211–13.
256
contacts with Italian anti-Fascists: Franzinelli, I tentacoli dell’OVRA, p. 81.
256
“without any evasiveness”: Camilleri to Silone, January 31, 1953, Archivio Silone, Florence, busta 12, fascicolo 15.
256
Silone responded with a stinging letter: Silone to Piccinini, Rome, January 14, 1965; reprinted in Quaderni Siloniani, January 1998, p. 5.
SEVEN THE PAINFUL RETURN
258
When the pasta is al dente: d’Eramo, “Il mio amico Silone,” in Ignazio Silone, p. 13.
258
“talks too much”: Silone to Mosbacher, September 9, 1936, Archivio Silone, Florence, busta 2, fascicolo 1, doc. 110.
258
“give up our quest”: “The Choice of Companion
s,” p. 119.
259
“Certainly not because”: “Restare se stessi,” p. 1262.
259
to both Weil and de Foucauld: Interview with Darina Silone, November 13, 2000, Rome.
259
Silone who deserved the award: Gurgo and de Core, Silone, p. 330.
259
“I move ahead”: Quoted in Rosselli, La famiglia Rosselli, p. 150.
260
Silone’s own peasants: Gurgo and de Core, Silone, p. 334. Silone’s eulogy was published in Corrispondenza socialista, November 1957; his thoughts on Salvemini and the crucifix are from “Crocifisso,” Tempo Presente, September–October 1957.
260
“they will be less political”: Pieracci Harwell, Un cristiano senza chiesa, p. 91.
260
Silone’s speech: “Apparati di partito e partitocrazia,” Silone’s speech at Rodi, was published in Tempo Presente, November 1958.
261
“The social conditions”: Interview with Ferdinando Virdia, quoted in Giancarlo Borri, “La perfezione del potere e il disordine dello spirito,” in d’Eramo, Ignazio Silone, pp. 26–27.
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