The Blogs: Fleeing the Terror: The Story of Ariella Pardo Segre

São Paulo – In 1943, as Nazi persecution intensified in Italy, the Pardo family risked everything to survive. Guided by a smuggler and sheer courage, they crossed the Alps on foot toward Switzerland. Among them was Ariella Pardo Segre, then only three years old, who would later recall:

I slept while walking.

The desperate escape

After Mussolini’s return to power and the Gestapo’s presence in Bologna, Ferrucio Pardo, a philosophy professor, became a direct target. Warned by their neighbor Alfredo Giommi, he, his wife Íris Volli, and their children Lucio and Ariella began a clandestine escape.

We fled with only the clothes on our backs and the money we had in our pockets, Ariella remembers.

First, they traveled in a livestock wagon to Milan, trying to evade the soldiers. From there, they continued along the frozen trails of the Alps.

The price of survival

A cigarette smuggler agreed to guide the group. To ensure he would carry Ariella in his arms during the crossing, Íris gave him her engagement ring as payment. Cold, fear, and exhaustion marked every step. Ariella, still a child, did not grasp the gravity of the situation, but she retained the memory of walking without strength, almost asleep.

The silence of the night

The path was narrow, and everyone walked in single file, in absolute silence. Suddenly, Ariella’s mother, Íris, slipped and disappeared into the darkness. Ariella screamed. Her sharp cry was quickly muffled by the hands of a stranger who covered her mouth.

The little girl lost consciousness and fainted. “They revived me, and when I opened my eyes, I saw a crowd around me. They told me:

Be quiet, your mother is dead; if you scream, we will all die.

Even so, the group decided to continue the journey.

Reunion and refuge

The crossing ended with the family reunited. Ariella’s mother was found alive and taken by another group of refugees to the Swiss border. In Switzerland, the Pardo family settled until the end of World War II.

Memory and resistance

Decades later, now elderly, Ariella acknowledges that the crossing saved her life and that of her family. Her story is a testimony to the struggle of thousands of Jews who sought refuge amid Nazi terror. More than a personal memory, it is a warning against denial and intolerance that still persist today.