The Italians and the Holocaust: Persecution, Rescue, and Survival [Paperback]

Susan Zuccotti (Author), Furio Colombo (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0803299117 | ISBN-13: 978-0803299115

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.”

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Historian Zuccotti's excellently researched and vividly written study is loaded with poignant or inspiring accounts derived from interviews with Jewish-Italian survivors of the Holocaust in Italy and from unpublished sources. The book, her first, takes its place among other authentic Holocaust histories and will be praised for its evenhanded and wide-ranging analysis of Italian history and culture, and how these affected the response of masses of Italians, whether in hiding or rescuing persecuted Jewish Italiansespecially after Mussolini set up "racial" laws in 1938, and his alliance with Hitler led to his own downfall and Nazi occupation. An estimated 85 percent of Jewish Italians survived the Holocaust; 6000-plus perished. Zuccotti credits warm Italian humanness and the historic Italian contempt for authorityalong with timingwith this brave showing. Photos.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Eighty-five percent of Italy's tiny and highly assimilated Jewish minority survived the Holocaust, which began in earnest with the German occupation in late 1943. The relative lack of anti-Semitism, general disgust with the war and Fascism, and the problematic role of the Vatican are among a host of complex factors for which the author provides careful and documented analysis. It is however the personal testimony of the survivors and those who aided them that actually explains the survival of most and, similarly, the murder of thousands. Human actions are recalled in their basest and most noble forms and provide this gripping narrative with a devastating sense of reality. The only general account available in English and an important contribution to Holocaust studies. Recommended for academic and public libraries. William Young, State University of New York at Albany Library
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 342 pages
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (January 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803299117
• ISBN-13: 978-0803299115
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compassionate human being, December 17, 2001

By 

Gina Milano (Short Hills, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Italians and the Holocaust: Persecution, Rescue, and Survival (Paperback)

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.

5.0 out of 5 stars GREATTTTT !, October 31, 2011

By 

forrest c posey - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Italians and the Holocaust: Persecution, Rescue, and Survival (Hardcover)

Boy, this is one ww2 book you're gon'na love, having never read about Italy during the war, i was really amazed at those Italian people ,they are really something else. Can't say nothing good about the old pope X11, as he was gutless & a wimp,but the average priest & nuns took untold dangers to help the Jews[ God Bless The Wonderful Jewish Race ] & so did the common man & it seems, most soldiers. It seems the higher up the ladder people were[ not all ] the less inclined they were to help, but the poor risked life & limb against those nazi monsters.A book you can hardly put down, LOVED IT !

14 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THEY HAD THE COURAGE OF THEIR CONVICTIONS, June 2, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Italians and the Holocaust: Persecution, Rescue, and Survival (Paperback)

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.