Italy 

Day of Remembrance: 27 January, 16 October 

Historical Background:
On the morning of January 27, 1945, the Soviet Army entered Auschwitz III, followed by Birkenau and Auschwitz I later that afternoon. Only some 7650 prisoners survived to be liberated. Over the course of WWII, the Nazis murdered over one million Jews in the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps.

On October 16, 1943, under the German occupation government, a large-scale hunt for Rome’s Jews began. 1,015 Jews were arrested that morning, and within two months an additional 7,345 Jews were found and deported from Northern Italy.

Italy and the Holocaust:
Lexicon entry from Yad Vashem's online Holocaust Resource Center: Italy  

Educational Activities:
On 20 July 2000, 27 January was enacted by Law 211 to be a memorial day for the Holocaust. High state organizations conduct various commemorative events. Students observe one minute of silence at 11:59am and then read Primo Levi's poem, “If This is a Man”.
On October 16, the day of the deportation of the Jews of Rome from the Ghetto, the President, the Mayor of Rome and the Chief Rabbis of the Community of Rome gather at the Portico d’Ottavia for a special ceremony.

The “School Autonomy” law of 2000 and the “National Guidelines” enables teachers to choose relevant topics within subjects they teach.
The Holocaust is not a mandatory subject, but it is included as part of the history curricula of the 20th century. Students first learn about the Holocaust in the third, fourth and fifth grades of the primary school. They encounter it at least twice more during history classes in the junior and senior years. The topic is often discussed in literature lessons. The most commonly read books concerning Holocaust history are: “Anne Frank’s diary”, Uhlmann’s “L’amico Ritrovato”, and novels by Primo Levi and Elie Wiesel.
September 8th, the day of the Monarchy’s surrender to the Allies, and October 16th, the day of the deportation of Rome’s Jews, were crucial turning points and are the focus of interest for historians.
The L’Associazione Figle della Shoah is active in the field of Holocaust awareness. Over the past 5 years, they have displayed numerous exhibitions on different topics in Holocaust history, such as Anne Frank, and Remembrance: from Racial Laws until Liberation. These exhibitions were in the Royal Palace in Milan.
Every year, they also have a competition amongst the different universities in Italy for the best thesis in Holocaust studies. They also offer seminars, lectures, and meetings with Holocaust survivors in the big cities in Italy.

Every year pedagogical material was prepared and distributed to teachers and students. Education kit for teachers on Holocaust education, with maps, cd rom, video have been prepared.
Currently, the Association is developing the area at the Milan Central railway station from where the deportations to Auschwitz-Birkenau took place into a memorial and educational site.

Educational Activities on Holocaust Memorial Day:
For local events in Italy, commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day, please see:
 - http://www.italia-liberazione.it/it/memoria2007.php
 - http://memoria.comune.rimini.it  
For details on Holocaust Memorial Day events in Turin and Piedmont, Italy please see the following link: http://www.istoreto.it/
Union of Jewish Communities page on January 27th: www.ucei.it/giornodellamemoria

Websites and Teaching Aids:
Associazione Olokaustos: www.olokaustos.org
La Fondazione Centro di Documentazione Ebraica Contemporanea: www.cdec.it
January 30th 1944 Convoy RSHA Milan-Auschwitz www.binario21.org
Guidelines on What, How and Why to Teach about The Holocaust are available in Italian at: www.holocausttaskForce.org

The three major textbooks used in teaching the Holocaust:
1) A.CHIAPPANO-F.PACE, Shoah: documenti testimonianze, interpretazioni. Einaudi Scuola.Milano, 2002.
2) E.TRAVERSO, Insegnare Auschwitz. Bollati Boringhieri, Torino,1995.
3) E.PERILLO, G.LUZZATTO VOGHERA, Pensare e insegnare Auschwitz. Franco Angeli, 2004

▲ Top