![]() ![]() Were they “prisoners of hope”? 5 Did they decide to reintegrate into the Italian political, social, and economic context hoping that their relationship with Italy could be the same as if nothing had happened, as if the Italian Government had not adopted the Racial Laws in 1938, and as if Italians had not played any role in their deportation? Or was it a question of “amnesia”? 6 Was the lack of memory of the Fascist persecution a price they had to pay in order to succeed in their request for a full reintegration or was it due to the attitude of forgetting the past that Jews shared with the entire Italian society? In fact, the vast majority of Italian Jews did not leave the state that had betrayed them in 1938 and that had contributed to their deportation in 1943-45, but decided to remain in Italy. Actually, the former were not an exception, whereas the latter were. ![]() This paper deals with the Italian Holocaust survivors’ migration to Israel, and wants to investigate the reasons why only a very small percentage of those who returned from the extermination camps migrated to Israel, compared to a much higher percentage of Italian Jews who were not deported and who made aliyah. At the same time, only limited studies have investigated on the post-war Italian aliyah, which started in March 1945, even before the entire Italian territory had been liberated. Historiography has not focused on what happened to them after their return, and no one investigated whether they emigrated to Israel or elsewhere, or whether they remained in Italy. 3 Out of them, only 312 survivors returned. Out of the 38.000 Italian Jews 2 who were residents in Italy in 1938, 4,148 were deported between Septemand February 24, 1945. “Rome is Rome… it has nothing to do with Italy. ![]() They replied: “Rome? After what they did to you?” “Before that, I have to see Rome again” I said. But then I felt so homesick, maybe because of the Roman dialect songs we were singing. You have to come to Palestine", the soldiers of the Jewish Brigade told me. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |