Petar Cukon

„The first remark I heard from a judge...he said: „Why did they send us that children like they are adult boys?“ We were all youthful, young and Special court deals with more serious subjects. That how he thought, he didn't want to deal with some boys but as they were commenting, one of them countered. Mi were able to listen because that to was wery near us... 3, 4, 5, meters away. Our benches were in a shape of a semicircle and down was their table. It was six or seven of them, I have list of their names. So he says: Those youngsters are dangerous, there are, there are dangerous ones.“ Anyway it ended there. They began with calls in order. One by one we would come in front of judges. He asks: „Who are you? What are you? – because it was written that we were members of organization Slavo – komunista. When I came in line one fascist general said: „What kind of Slav are you with name Cukon?“ I responded that they had changed our names, surnames. Then he angrily asked me: „Then what was your name before?“ I said: „Cokun.“ I had heard earlier that a doctor Cukon used to have his name written as Cokun (Cokun). Anyway we did, back then it was a very good excuse to prove with our surname that we are Croats although that is most certainly incorrect (his surname Cokun)..., but that came in hand as response. While I was with him, as it were, debating; one of his fascists in the Court said: „I had told you, I had told you, don't change surnames“ As if he accused him that surnames didn't had to be changed, as if that contributed to Istrian resistance against fascism.“

„Then after few days the Italians decided to occupy Krk so one morning, as if they had expected to meet resistance, they attacked with their machines on Krk and started to conquer the city climbing towards our boarding school which was on a high ground. That morning I saw through window a group of soldiers, Italian uniforms with rifles ready to fire aiming to our....in the direction of our and already were in the schoolyard. I was afraid that they will enter the school building so I jumped over the wall through the opposite window. We were located next to a monastery. Over that wall I jumped into their yard and hid. During peaceful times, here we were doing our belfry duty. The oldest of us reported as volunteers. In case of an aerial attack we were supposed to alarm people so they can withdraw outside the city. So in that...after short period of time I realised that nothing was happening. I peeked out a little – it was a high wall and saw in the distance the Italians going up the hill. I saw they didn't enter out boarding school. I came back and realised that we weren't their targets but they probably had other assignments.“