 He tried to escape from the authorities who suspected him of tearing down the posters, but he was caught while trying to reach Rome and ended up in jail for a short time.He refused to enlist in the army of the Republic of Salò, Mussolini's puppet state after the Allied invasion in 1943.Dolci was inspired by the work of the Catholic priest Don Zeno Saltini () who had opened an orphanage for 3,000 abandoned children after World War II.