War In Italy, 1943-45: A Brutal Story

1943-1945 : a brutal story

Plot

Ch. 3 (pp. 34-55), "Italian Jews under the Nazis, " relates the fate of the Jews in the Nazi-controlled areas of Italy. Before the Nazi occupation in fall 1943, the Italians were known to treat the Jews favorably. Many Jews fled to the Italian zones of occupation in France, Yugoslavia, and Greece. Mentions the Nazi concentration camps Fossoli and San Sabba; more than 8,000 Jews were deported from there to the East. States that Mussolini's administration, especially the lower ranks, obstructed the Nazi Final Solution in Italy. The Vatican, led by Pope Pius XII, eschewed formal protest to Hitler, but the Pope's "open door" policy (allowing Jews to hide in convents and other Church institutions) saved many lives. The Italians' counteractions to Nazi measures thwarted the destruction of Italy's Jews.