You will have to be judged in some way.

“We were terrified of what awaited us, but hoping that if it had to happen... at least it would happen as soon as possible. And then we arrived at Auschwitz! The station, the screams, the blows, the mud... a sea of ​​mud that swallowed us all. I was no longer Cesare. Number 13419. Saretta died. I no longer laugh,” are words that inspire fear, shock and admonish. They were spoken by an Italian actor Gaspare del Vekio in the monodrama "13419: The Need for Return", playing the character of Cesare Terracina, a real person who went through the horrors of World War II without seeing its end.

On the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Embassy of Italy in Montenegro, in cooperation with the KIC "Budo Tomović", organized a screening of a monodrama by the famous Italian artist Roberta AtiasaIt premiered on Monday evening in the Dodesta Hall in Podgorica.

At the beginning, the Italian Ambassador to Montenegro addressed the audience, Andrea MarcelaShe pointed out that as an embassy, ​​they traditionally organize Remembrance Day every year, because, she says, it is an important topic for them.

"So far, we have organized films, and this year we decided to do something different - a play," said Ambassador Marcela.

Then, the Vice-President of the Italian Government and Minister of Foreign Affairs addressed the audience via video. Antonio TajaniHe spoke of the need to remember and that what happened needs to be stopped for all peoples "not just when it comes to Jews."

After that, Del Vecchio came on stage and began Cesare Terracina's monologue, his recollection... He used to be a smiley face. He laughed so much that his father would ask him "what's so funny to you now". Isn't it a tragedy to take away anyone's smile, let alone a child's? That happened, and it still happens in the world today...

It's hard to believe that something like that is possible. It was hard for Cesare, a Jew from Italy, too. He refused to believe that something terrible would happen to someone just because of their religion. He lived like anyone else, had his own Saretta, played football, went to school, worked. He tried to make his dreams come true. He also made the audience smile with his anecdotes.

But as fascism spread, it changed people's lives completely. Anti-Semitism grew stronger, as did the belief in the infallibility of the leaders of the time and the dehumanization of Jews.

Isn't it a tragedy to take away anyone's smile, let alone a child's? It has happened, and it still happens today in the world...

The famous Italian film "La vita è bella" directed by Roberta Benjinija. Like him, the monodrama “13419: The Need for Return” depicts life before and during the era of evil, with the same ending, because Cesare Terracina died in Auschwitz on January 27, 1945. Although, let's use the right words - he did not die, he was murdered. He was killed by fascism, he was killed by the Nazis, he was killed by those who blindly follow ideology, he was killed by those who do not question anything, and he was also killed by all those who did not care about others.

However, before that, he still resisted, together with Sareta. They joined the partisans. They lived somehow, managed and did everything they could. Terracina tried to convince more people to join them, but they mostly said to leave them alone, not to interfere, that he didn't need any of that. In the end, they were betrayed by Manfredi, the captain of the football team that Cesare played for. They were betrayed by someone they didn't expect to be able to do it. Then, darkness.

At the end of the monologue, it is revealed that Terracina was talking to him, Manfredi, who had become a senator. He confronts him with everything he has done. “You will have to be judged in some way,” are the words he addressed to him. Through the universality of art, this is a message that all those who are Manfredi should keep in mind today. Yes, they will have to be judged in some way.

Del Vecchio: Through the play, Cesare sends his message to the world

After the performance, the young actor Del Vecchio, who had a big task ahead of him, answered questions and said that, given the time difference, it was very difficult and challenging to somehow identify with the theme and character.

He says that he was analyzing what Cesare was saying.

When asked by "Vijesti", he emphasized that it was not pressure that he felt, but responsibility for what happened and how he would present it.

"Although responsibility implies great effort and in some ways some suffering, I certainly think we should fight bravely, to be responsible for what we take on, and in this case, it's a role," says Del Vecchio.

Answering the question of how to resist today's resurgence of forms of fascism, neo-Nazis... and whether art is strong enough as a form of resistance, Del Vecchio believes that art is strong, even too strong, because it "has passed and survived time, wars, all those bad things. Yet art has remained, moved on and given its messages. "What we talked about and to whom tonight can also be a reason for art to be even stronger and to fight even harder."

He believes that it is a universal message, which transcends all possible boundaries, including the boundaries of art, and which is still very current, very contemporary and which is spreading all over the world.

Actresses and actors live another life in the moment while conveying a message. They study the psyche, emotions, and life of the character they are portraying. "Vijesti" asked Del Vecchio how much this role affected him emotionally and psychologically.

"I'll explain the concept: there's Gaspare the actor who, in a way, technically, protects Gaspare the person. Then there's Gaspare as a pure actor who gives messages through acting and that's the most important part - because the actor gives some important message and that's what's significant to me," explains Del Vecchio.

He points out that in theater, no actor criticizes or condemns the character they are given as a role, "not at all."

He thinks that Teracina is not dead, that he is still alive, "because he is sending a message to the world through this play."

"I tried to get into him, his soul, and tried to feel what he felt, how he could live under such conditions and in such situations," says Gaspare del Vecchio.