Italian Army saved many Jews from Ustashi

[mord]

Here it is Italian Army rescued Jews from the ustashi     



http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/the-holocaust-14968   









To the Editor:

Theodore S. Hamerow [“The Hidden Holocaust,” March] must be applauded for his excellent article exposing the almost total neglect by Holocaust historians of the widespread and enthusiastic collaboration with the Nazis by the governments and populations in Nazi-occupied Europe. In fact, that collaboration was the essential element in the logistics of roundups and deportations. Paradoxically, historians of the Holocaust have also largely ignored the opposite aspect of the Holocaust, which is the rescue of Jews by non-Jews. These omissions of scholarship are nowhere better illustrated than in the case of the near-total destruction of the Croatian Jewish community of Yugoslavia by Croatian fascists (the Ustasha) on the one hand, and the rescue of several thousand Croatian Jews by the Italian army acting in concert with the Italian foreign ministry, on the other.

The Croatian Ustasha state came into being in April 1941, following the defeat of Yugoslavia by the Axis partners who proceeded to divide the country into occupation zones. Within days, the Ustasha began their terror campaign against the 40,000 Croatian Jews without any prodding or coaching by the Germans. The Croatians set up 13 “collection” camps and 9 death camps, including the infamous Jasenovac complex. By mid-1942, 25,000 Jews had been killed or were dying in the death camps.

The Ustasha brutality shocked even the Nazis, who decided to put an end to “that Balkan savagery” and deported some 5,000 Jews to Auschwitz where they all perished. Yet to this day there is no scholarly study in English of the Ustasha “Independent State of Croatia,” or of the Holocaust in Yugoslavia which would, of course, have to include the near-total annihilation of Serbia's Jews. The same failure to investigate applies to the Italian rescue (except for Daniel Carpi's article on the subject in the 1977 Yad Vashem Studies) .

I was among the 5,000 Croatian Jews who managed to escape to the Italian occupation zone on the Adriatic coast. The Italian Second Army protected us against the Ustasha administration and the Italian foreign office fought off the Germans for almost two years, refusing steadfastly to surrender us to the Nazis. In 1942, the Italian army interned some 1,600 of us in what must surely have been the most extraordinary concentration camp in history. We were free to organize our lives; we had a synagogue, a complete secondary school, Italian military hospital facilities, etc. I must point out that the Italians protected foreign Jews as much as was possible wherever the Italian army was the occupying power—in Southern France, Greece, Albania, and North Africa—which was an extraordinarily humanitarian act in view of the fact that those Jews inevitably hoped for a German, and therefore an Italian, defeat. The Italians saved our lives in 1941, when it was far from clear who would win the war.

Thus, the most extraordinary story of massive rescue during the Holocaust—besides the abundantly publicized Danish rescue—remains hidden. Whatever the audience, Jewish or Gentile, professional historians or just “ordinary” people, I invariably encounter total surprise and often utter bewilderment on the part of my listeners when I mention these facts. This, too, is a hidden Holocaust, but not for lack of linguistic abilities on the part of historians. The definitive study, Jews Under Fascism, by the renowned Italian scholar Renzo de Felice, remains untranslated. Surely, there are translators of Italian into English.

Could it be that there is a simpler explanation for all this neglect, namely, that historians feel that the destruction of the numerically preponderant Jewish communities of Eastern Europe makes the story of the destruction and partial rescue of the Mediterranean communities just a footnote?

[cjd]

Here it is Italian Army rescued Jews from the ustashi     



http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/the-holocaust-14968   









To the Editor:

Theodore S. Hamerow [“The Hidden Holocaust,” March] must be applauded for his excellent article exposing the almost total neglect by Holocaust historians of the widespread and enthusiastic collaboration with the Nazis by the governments and populations in Nazi-occupied Europe. In fact, that collaboration was the essential element in the logistics of roundups and deportations. Paradoxically, historians of the Holocaust have also largely ignored the opposite aspect of the Holocaust, which is the rescue of Jews by non-Jews. These omissions of scholarship are nowhere better illustrated than in the case of the near-total destruction of the Croatian Jewish community of Yugoslavia by Croatian fascists (the Ustasha) on the one hand, and the rescue of several thousand Croatian Jews by the Italian army acting in concert with the Italian foreign ministry, on the other.

The Croatian Ustasha state came into being in April 1941, following the defeat of Yugoslavia by the Axis partners who proceeded to divide the country into occupation zones. Within days, the Ustasha began their terror campaign against the 40,000 Croatian Jews without any prodding or coaching by the Germans. The Croatians set up 13 “collection” camps and 9 death camps, including the infamous Jasenovac complex. By mid-1942, 25,000 Jews had been killed or were dying in the death camps.

The Ustasha brutality shocked even the Nazis, who decided to put an end to “that Balkan savagery” and deported some 5,000 Jews to Auschwitz where they all perished. Yet to this day there is no scholarly study in English of the Ustasha “Independent State of Croatia,” or of the Holocaust in Yugoslavia which would, of course, have to include the near-total annihilation of Serbia's Jews. The same failure to investigate applies to the Italian rescue (except for Daniel Carpi's article on the subject in the 1977 Yad Vashem Studies) .

I was among the 5,000 Croatian Jews who managed to escape to the Italian occupation zone on the Adriatic coast. The Italian Second Army protected us against the Ustasha administration and the Italian foreign office fought off the Germans for almost two years, refusing steadfastly to surrender us to the Nazis. In 1942, the Italian army interned some 1,600 of us in what must surely have been the most extraordinary concentration camp in history. We were free to organize our lives; we had a synagogue, a complete secondary school, Italian military hospital facilities, etc. I must point out that the Italians protected foreign Jews as much as was possible wherever the Italian army was the occupying power—in Southern France, Greece, Albania, and North Africa—which was an extraordinarily humanitarian act in view of the fact that those Jews inevitably hoped for a German, and therefore an Italian, defeat. The Italians saved our lives in 1941, when it was far from clear who would win the war.

Thus, the most extraordinary story of massive rescue during the Holocaust—besides the abundantly publicized Danish rescue—remains hidden. Whatever the audience, Jewish or Gentile, professional historians or just “ordinary” people, I invariably encounter total surprise and often utter bewilderment on the part of my listeners when I mention these facts. This, too, is a hidden Holocaust, but not for lack of linguistic abilities on the part of historians. The definitive study, Jews Under Fascism, by the renowned Italian scholar Renzo de Felice, remains untranslated. Surely, there are translators of Italian into English.

Could it be that there is a simpler explanation for all this neglect, namely, that historians feel that the destruction of the numerically preponderant Jewish communities of Eastern Europe makes the story of the destruction and partial rescue of the Mediterranean communities just a footnote?

Here is another story to support this. I met this man Walter Wolff at a lecture given by him. Despite the fact that the man was pushing 90 he spoke to a large room of people for over an hour with no sound system. After his presentation he mingled with anyone that cared to speak to him and question him further. If you can find his book get it its a great read.
http://www.italiausa.com/walterwolff/index.htm

[mord]

Yes there are many stories like this one in Italy

[Boyana]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/13/italian-jews-give-back-to_n_186217.html

Italian Jews give back to Earthquake Victims who helped   during WWII

[Serbian Canadian]

Meanwhile the rest of the Serbs and Jews at the camp were butchered like animals. 

[mord]

Meanwhile the rest of the Serbs and Jews at the camp were butchered like animals. 

this is true

[Boyana]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Palatucci

GIOVANI PALATUCCI

[Manch]

I think I posted recently a source describing the role of fascistic Italy in saving Jews. One of the more interesting aspects is that Italian army was saving French Jews from their own Vichy government!

[Boyana]

4 out of 5 starsReviewed by Amy Sondova (Emmaus, PA), August 11, 2009

Elizabeth Bettina’s book, It Happened In Italy (Thomas Nelson) tells the story of Jews living in Italy during the time of the Holocaust. After learning that her Italian grandparents helped to save Jews in the small village Campagna, Bettina decided to further investigate what happened in Italy during World War II. As it turns out, many of the Jews escaped to Italy (one of the only countries that would accepted their visas) and were hidden in small villages such as, Campagna, saving 75%-80% of the Italian Jews. Through interviews with survivors, Bettina is able to use a casual conversational style that lures the reader into the lives of her subject. The first-person accounts add depth to the book as the real survivors and their protectors tell their own stories. The book is full of photographic evidence, such as marriage certificates and baptismal records that show not only that these people existed, but that they also lived. To think, while many other countries cringed in fear of the Nazis, the Italians fought back and protected the Jews in their midst—and it all happened in Italy. This review is part of the Thomas Nelson Blog Reviewers Program.