Copyright by Gregory Krauss 2007 - The University of Texas at Austin

espects Saragat more than vice-versa. For example, the former always sends
[Saragat] a Christmas card. Of course, it is easier for Nenni to be more generous, for
he is in a stronger position, but I think this is genuinely indicative of the real feelings
between the two men.” 69
Some of the Italian Socialists Lister made contact with became true friends.
His apartment in Rome, where he lived with his wife and mother, was centrally
located, permitting it to become “an open-house for advocates of the center-left.” 70
Lister became friends with two Italian Socialists in particular—Paolo Vittorelli and
Giovanni Pieraccini—with whom Lister recalled debating “day and night.” 71 The
trust Lister developed with various Italian Socialist leaders was strong enough that he
was able to affect their public statements and actions. He recalled that sometimes he
would receive phone calls from Nenni’s friends late at night asking him to help them
with public statements they were preparing for Nenni. 72
Lister’s overtures to Italian Socialists not only brought him into their favor,
but also improved their perception of the United States. Lister later wrote that the
Socialist autonomists labored “under many misconceptions, many of them
grotesque…as to life in the United States, the nature of our society, and American
foreign policy aims, in general and in Italy specifically.” 73 Lister used his
conversations with Italian Socialists to try to shed light on why the U.S. so strongly
opposed the Soviet Union; he also drew upon his experiences in Poland to emphasize
the differences between life under a democratic system and life under Communism. 74
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