Pepi, one of Gina's brothers who survived his ship being bombed by on clinging to a piece of wood

Gina Sinozich took up painting in her 70's, documenting her family’s story. In 2020 the Memorial acquired 21 of her works. Painted in a naïve style and influenced by European folk art, they provide valuable interpretations of stories of survival, hardship and resistance during the Second World War in Europe. On 6 April 1941, when Gina was 11, Nazi Germany invaded Yugoslavia and overwhelmed its army, which surrendered unconditionally. Axis countries took control, but were met with fierce resistance from Partisan forces.

Sinozich’s five elder brothers either fought with Partisans or were forcibly recruited into Axis forces. One brother, Toni, was taken into the Italian army; after capture by the British in Libya, he spent time in a prisoner-of-war camp in Western Australia. Sinozich’s mother was a Partizanka (a female Partisan) who carried supplies to Partisan forces camped in the mountains, at one time walking 400 km to deliver food and clothing to her Partisan son, Riko. Sinozich’s husband, Eugen, enlisted with Partisans when he was 18; captured by the Germans, he was spared execution and taken into slave labour. He was transported to the Eastern Front and witnessed the siege of Stalingrad. After the war, Gina, Eugen and their two eldest children escaped the Communist dictatorship in Yugoslavia and immigrated to Australia, where they raised their family. Sinozich died in 2020.

This painting tells the story of Pepi, Sinozich’s brother, who was drafted into the Italian Navy during the Second World War. In 1943 his ship was bombed by the United States Air Force and he survived by clinging to a piece of wood that he swam with for three kilometres to safety.