The Italians and the Holocaust: Persecution, Rescue, and Survival

By Susan Zuccotti

Book Overview

Eighty-five percent of Italy's Jews survived World War II. Nevertheless, more than six thousand Italian Jews were destroyed in the Holocaust and the lives of countless others were marked by terror. Susan Zuccotti relates hundreds of stories showing the resourcefulness of the Jews, the bravery of those who helped them, and the inhumanity and indifference of others.

For Zuccotti, the Holocaust in Italy began when the first "black-shirted thug" poured a bottle of castor oil down the throat of his victim, or when the dignity of a single human being was violated. She writes: "We might examine again how most Italians behaved from the onset of fascism. . . . Did they do as much as they could? Or should they, and the Jews as well, have recognized the danger sooner, with the first denial of liberty and free speech? We might also ask ourselves whether we, as creatures without prejudice, would act as well as most Italians did under similar pressures. Would we risk our lives for persecuted minorities? Would we be more sensitive to the first assaults upon our liberties, when the only ones really hurt in the beginning are Communists, Socialists, democratic anti-Fascists, and trade unionists? And finally, we might be more aware than we are of the horrors that a racist lunatic fringe can commit, even in the best of societies."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803299117
• ISBN13: 9780803299115
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Length: 342 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.7" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

WELL DOCUMANTED

If you want to know a brief and condensed history of the situation of Jews in Italy during the nighmarish years of the WWII,this is the book to read.I do not share the view of the writer who gives the reason (among others)for the survival of the majority of the Jews of Italy survived because they were "nonsubmissive" and " a tiny minority (who were massacreted) were terrified,unimaginative,passive..." Millions of Jews perished under the nazis. Hardly I can say it was because they were unimaginative and passive,included those Jews and non Jews who died in the Ardeatine Caves (in Rome) who were dragged out from their homes or prision with to their deaths.

A compassionate human being

I recently saw Susan Zuccotti lecture at Seton Hall University and was very impressed by her scholarship, objectivity and above all, compassion. Being the daughter of an Italian Jew who suffered the humiliation of the racial laws during the late l930's, I was fascinated by the fact that only 15% of Italian Jews perished during the war. Professor Zuccotti presents this fact along with others still contending that while this was a relatively small percent compared with other countries in Europe, the pain and loss suffered must not be minimized. Similarly, she presents a very objective view of Pius XII involvement(or lack therof) in saving the Jews. While she states that there was no evidence of a clear directive from the Pope,she does acknowledge the behind-the-scenes efforts by so many in local churches, convents, monasteries and schools who sheltered Jews under very dangerous circumstances. Again, I have several friends and relatives of my father's generation in Italy and NYC who survived the war under these conditions. I am looking forward to reading her work.

THEY HAD THE COURAGE OF THEIR CONVICTIONS

THIS SUPERB ACCOUNT OF ONE OF CIVILIZATION'S DARKEST HOURS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN, IF THIS QUOTE FROM PAGE 217 WERE FOLLOWED BY OTHER PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD AND HISTORY. "WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THAT THEY VIEWED THE HOLOCAUST AS ABOVE AND BEYOND POLITICS, THEY UNDERSTOOD THEIR DUTY AS CHILDREN OF GOD, AS ITALIANS, AND AS HUMAN BEINGS, AND THEY HAD THE COURAGE OF THEIR CONVICTIONS." GREAT READING.