Italo S. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Italo S., who was born in Gallarate, Italy in 1922. He recounts his family's deep roots in Pitigliano (he had his bar mitzvah there); complete absence of antisemitism prior to 1938; anti-Jewish laws resulting in his expulsion from school; attending a Jewish high school in Milan; studying with Nathan Cassuto; attending a Jewish community-organized university in 1941; draft into labor service in October 1942; being sent to a farm; a manager allowing him to return to school in Milan (he commuted from Gallarate); Allied bombing of Milan; being warned by non-Jews to leave in September, 1943; train travel with his family to Ancona to find his brother's friend; being denied shelter in a basilica; his brother's Catholic client finding an apartment for them; living under his protection for nine months (he was a fascist leader); vouching for him after the Allies arrived; returning to Gallarate in spring 1945; finishing his studies in Milan; attending MIT; receiving his Ph.D. in 1951; and marriage to an American woman. Mr. S. discusses restoration of the synagogue in Pitigliano with funds left by his brother, and Italian Jewish cultural uniqueness. He shows photographs.

2 videocassettes