Popes and 1943 Rome, + Italian concentration camps + Other questions

Who is Pope Pius XI?

He was born in May 1857 and governed the church from 1922 to 1939

When does he die? (Pope Pius XI)

He dies on February 10th, 1939

What are his positions on racism? What are his positions on antisemitism? (Pope Pius XI)

Pope Pius XI opposed racist ideologies and antisemitism, particularly when they conflicted with Catholic values and human dignity. In 1939 he prepared a speech against Nazism in German Churches that was supposed to be read on February 11th. But he dies on February 10th and the speech is destroyed

Who is Pope Pius XII?

He was born March 2, 1879 in Rome

When is he elected? (Pope Pius XII)

He was elected Pope on March 2, 1939

How can we describe his behavior during the Shoah? (Pope Pius XII)

He remained silent during the Shoah, because he didn’t want the church to lose its privileges. He was asked several times to denounce the Nazi regime, and Racial laws. He never spoke of Jews in public. He was also asked to help return Jewish children who had been secretly baptized and he did not.

What happened on October 16, 1943 in Rome?

Dark Saturday/La Razzia. It was a raid on the Roman Ghetto. It started at 5:30 am in order to catch Jew’s by surprise and it lasted until 2 pm. 1259 jews were captured. 689 women, 363 men, and 207 children.

Dark Saturday/La Razzia numbers

1259 Jews were captured. 236 were released and 1023 jews were deported to Auschwitz. At Auschwitz, 820 were deemed unfit for physical labor and were all killed in the gas chambers. There were 154 men and 47 woman who were deemed healthy. 17 survivors.

What is the entity of the Jewish population in Rome in 1943?

The Jewish population in Rome was around 8,000. It was one of the oldest Jewish communities in Europe with roots going back over 2,000 years.

What happened to the Jewish population in Rome in 1943?

September 10th, German occupation of Rome, Republic of Salo Laws were adopted which stripped jews of citizenship and ordered them to be put in concentration camps.

How many people were deported and killed? (Jewish population in Rome in 1943)

There were 2091 Jews deported and 101 survivors.

What was the reading assignment that you found most instructive during the semester?

What was the viewing assignment that you found most instructive during the semester?

What aspects of Jewish Italian life did you find most surprising/and or inspiring?

The architecture of the Synagogues was surprising, as they were hidden inside ordinary looking buildings but had very extravagant details on the inside. Also the major communities in Turin, Livorno, and Florence are reality small today with most having around 1,000 members.

What aspects of Davide Ferrario’s film Levi’s Journey did you find the most instructive?

What aspects of this course would you want to modify and why?

What were Italy's main concentration camps?

The four main camps were Fossoli, Ferramonti, Risiera di San Sabba, and Borgo S. Dalmazzo

Did they differ from German concentration camps? In what ways? (Italy concentration camps differ from German)

The camps were often transit or internment camps, used to detain Jews, political prisoners and Slavs before deportation to Nazi extermination camps. The conditions of the camps were not as bad German camps. The camps were first run by the Italian government, then the Germans took over some camps as well as the SS. The camps were smaller and mass killings were rare.

Which of the presentations did you find more instructive? Can you summarize some of its content?

I found the presentation on Dark Saturday, The Raid of the Roman Ghetto most instructive. In September of 1943, Germans occupied Rome and in October the Raid happened. It started at 5 am in order to catch them by surprise. It was the largest raid of Jews in Rome.