Elsie Ragusin Azzinaro papers
Extent and Medium
folders
10
Creator(s)
- Elsie A. Ragusin Azzinaro
Biographical History
Elsie Anna Ragusin (later Elsie Ragusin Azzinaro, 1921-) was born in New York City on 4 November 1921 to Giovanni (1882-1945) and Domenica Ragusin (1886-1948). She had three brothers, John (1911-1939), Edward (1912-), and Albert (1914-). Her parents were Catholic and married in Neresine, Italy (present day Nerezine, Croatia) in 1908 and immigrated to the United States the same year. Right after Elsie was born, the family returned to Italy where the remained for several years, returning to the United States around 1930. In 1939, Elsie’s brother John was killed in a fire. In 1939, Giovanni, Domenica, and Elsie returned to Neresine to care for Giovanni’s ailing parents. They purchased a home and Giovanni found work. By 1941, they were unable to leave the island and had their passports confiscated. In May 1944 the German Army reached Neresine, and Elsie and Giovanni were arrested shortly thereafter on accusation of being American spies. They were separated and interrogated. Giovanni was deported to Buchenwald concentration camp where he perished on 28 February 1945. Elsie was deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp where she was a forced-laborer. She was then deported to the Ravensbrück concentration camp where she was again a forced-laborer. While in the camp she befriended Gemma La Guardia Gluck, the sister of New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. Ravensbrück was liberated in April 1945, and Elsie and other prisoners were taken to Malmö, Sweden. She lived with the Alkeman family for around 9 months. On 10 December 1945 she sailed back to the United States from Sweden on the Stig Gorthon. Domenica survived the war, and sailed back to the United States on the MS Sobieski in 1947. She died a year later of heart problems. During the war, Elsie’s brother Albert joined the United States Army, and her brother Edward was a civilian employee of the United States Navy.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection
The collection was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum from Elsie Ragusin Azzinaro in November 2016.
Scope and Content
The collection documents the Holocaust experiences of Elsie Ragusin Azzinaro and her parents Giovanni and Domenica Ragusin in Neresine, Italy (present day Nerezine, Croatia). Correspondence includes a letter written by Elsie in Italian to her mother while in a train boxcar as she was being deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944; letters from the Red Cross regarding the fate of Elsie’s father Giovanni; and postwar letters written to Elsie from Gemma La Guardia Gluck whom she was imprisoned with at Ravensbrück. Other material includes clippings about Gemma La Guardia, a eulogy of Giovanni Ragusin, and a postcard announcing Domenica Ragusin’s return to the United States from Italy in 1947. The notes and family history also include descriptions of drawings made by Elsie while on a train boxcar to Auschwitz and a printout of a survey of the Ragusin property in Neresine. Additionally, there is a copy of an interview regarding a Dutch woman’s experience in Auschwitz.
System of Arrangement
The collection is arranged as a single series.
People
- Gluck, Gemma La Guardia, 1881-1962.
- Ragusin, Giovanni, 1882-1945.
- Azzinaro, Elsie Ragusin, 1921-
- Elsie A. Ragusin Azzinaro
- Ragusin, Domenica, 1886-1948.
Corporate Bodies
Subjects
- Catholics--United States.
- Holocaust (1939-1945)--Personal narratives.
- Italy--History--German occupation, 1943-1945.
- Catholics--Italy.
Genre
- Postcards.
- Letters.
- Newspaper clippings.
- Document