The history of Jews in Italy during the Holocaust is complicated and fascinating, the museum explained in its announcement. Italy was a Fascist country, yet the percentage of Jews who survived the Holocaust was high. Professor Ariella Lang of Barnard College will speak about the development of the Italian Jewish community from Italy’s unification in 1871 to the deportation of the Jews in Rome in 1943. Dr. Susan Zuccotti will examine the action and inaction of the Vatican and the Catholic Church in Italy. Mrs. Bruna Herzfeld, the daughter of the late chief rabbi of Venice, will give survivor testimony. The day will conclude with a presentation by Alessandro Cassin and Natalia Indrimi on further resources for the study of the Holocaust in Italy.
The program is free of charge, however space is limited and pre-registration is required. To pre-register or for more information, please contact Dr. Paul Radensky at [email protected] or call (646) 437-4310. A light lunch for teachers will be available at 12:00 noon (dietary laws observed).
Public transportation or parking for teachers will be reimbursed up to $17 per person or vehicle upon presentation of original receipt.
This seminar is made possible by The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany: The Rabbi Israel Miller Fund for Shoah Research, Documentation and Education.
About the Speakers
Ariella Lang is the author of Converting a Nation: A Modern Inquisition and the Unification of Italy (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2008). A lecturer in the Departments of Italian and Comparative Literature at Barnard College, Lang earned her Ph.D. from Columbia University in 2003. Her areas of expertise include Jewish-Christian relations, the Holocaust, and Jewish film.
Alessandro Cassin is an Italian journalist based in New York. He covers culture and the arts for L’Espresso, Diario and The Brooklyn Rail. He is the editor of the online column Printed Matter for Centro Primo Levi.
Dr. Susan Zuccotti is an independent historian living in New York. She is the author of the award-winning Under His Very Windows: The Vatican and the Holocaust in Italy. Her next book, which is forthcoming by Indiana University Press is Père Marie-Benoît and Jewish Rescue: How a French Priest Together with Jewish Friends Saved Thousands during the Holocaust.
Natalia Indrimi is the Director of the Primo Levi Center in New York.