The village where Germans threatened to kill everyone (Image: BNPS.co.uk )
Teenager Gabriella Ezra intervened to stop her father Luigi and 37 other inhabitants of a village in her native Italy from being massacred by a firing squad. Gabriella, who was 17 at the time, chased after a German officer and pleaded with him to show mercy to the people of Cappella di Scorze, near Venice, who had been rounded up and locked in a cowshed. The Germans were seeking retribution following an attack on their men by Italian partisans which had left several wounded.
They had previously executed 31 men in a neighbouring town following partisan action.
Gabriella, who spoke immaculate German because her family had lived in Austria, was taken by the officer to speak to his commander.
She lied, claiming the villagers had no knowledge of the ambush.
She was then told she would be shot if the Germans found out she was hiding the truth.
Gabriella with medal (Image: BNPS.co.uk )
Luckily, the villagers had buried their partisan armbands and all the prisoners were released, with the German commander telling them they owned their lives to Gabriella.
The very next day the Germans fled the village which was then liberated by the Allies.
After the war Gabriella met and married British Army officer Captain Peter Ezra and moved to Britain to start a family with him, living in Hove, East Sussex.
Now 91, she has finally been awarded the prestigious Star of Italy medal after her son Mark set out to ensure his mother's heroic actions on the morning of April 28, 1945, were recognised.
Gabriella as a teenager (Image: BNPS.co.uk )
Mark, 65, wrote a letter to the Italian embassy to tell his mother's extraordinary tale. It was read by the ambassador and he subsequently presented her with the Star of Italy, which is awarded to British and Commonwealth forces who served in the Italian Campaign from 1943 to 1945.
Mark said: "If my mother had not intervened they would all have been killed. She showed such remarkable courage.
"My wife's sister saw a newspaper article about another woman who received an award from the Italian government and I thought my mother deserved the same recognition.
"I wrote to the embassy and my
