In 1935 Italy began a quick war in Abyssinia (present day Ethiopia). The people in Levi's village thought little to nothing about it. It did not faze them and they had no hope of any gain because of it. Levi refers to them as being indifferent to the war cause, and mentions only one man who enlisted to escape a troubled home life. He does notice, however, that they do not talk about World War I despite the fact that a large number of men in the village lost their lives.