MARCO_timeline_controllo_EN

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Roma Fondo David Calò

Settimia Spizzichino

Nasce il 15 aprile del 1921 ed è la quarta di sei figli. In un primo tempo la famiglia vive a Tivoli dove il padre, Marco Mosè Spizzichino, è commerciante. Dopo la promulgazione delle leggi antiebraiche, persa la licenza del negozio, la famiglia decide di trasferirsi a Roma, presso le figlie Ada e Gentile ormai sposate.
Il 16 ottobre i nazisti irrompono nell’appartamento di via della Reginella 2, dove gli Spizzichino risiedono. Con la prontezza che la contraddistingue, Settimia riesce a salvare la sorella Gentile e i suoi tre figli dichiarandoli non ebrei. Lei viene però deportata con la madre Grazia Di Segni, le sorelle Giuditta e Ada, la nipotina Rosanna di solo 18 mesi.
All’arrivo a Birkenau solo Settimia e Giuditta superano la selezione, mentre le altre vengono mandate alle camere a gas. Giuditta, purtroppo, non sopravvive al lavoro schiavo.
Settimia, immatricolata con il numero 66210, viene successivamente trasferita ad Auschwitz I per essere sottoposta a una terribile sperimentazione medica a cui miracolosamente sopravvive. Nel gennaio del 1945 deve affrontare anche la “marcia della morte” verso il campo di Bergen-Belsen, dove rimane fino all’arrivo degli inglesi. L’11 settembre rientra finalmente a Roma.
Settimia è una delle prime persone sopravvissute ad Auschwitz a testimoniare il dramma della Shoah, impegno che avrebbe onorato per tutta la vita.
Nel 1996 esce il suo libro: Gli anni rubati. Muore il 3 luglio 2000 a Roma.

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Roma Fondo David Calò

Dante Almansi sul suo colloquio con Herbert Kappler, in Silvia Haia Antonucci, Claudio Procaccia, Gabriele Rigano, Giancarlo Spizzichino, Roma, 16 ottobre 1943. Anatomia di una deportazione, Milano, Guerini e associati, 2006.

“Voi e i vostri correligionari avete la cittadinanza italiana, ma di ciò a me importa poco. Noi tedeschi vi consideriamo unicamente ebrei e come tali nostri nemici. Anzi, per essere più chiari, noi vi consideriamo come un gruppo distaccato, ma non isolato dei peggiori fra i nemici contro i quali stiamo combattendo. E come tali dobbiamo trattarvi. Però non sono le vostre vite né i vostri figli che vi prenderemo se adempirete alle nostre richieste. È il vostro oro che vogliamo per dare nuove armi al nostro paese. Entro 36 ore dovete versarmene 50 Kg. Se lo verserete non vi sarà fatto del male. In caso diverso, 200 fra voi verranno presi e deportati in Germania alla frontiera russa o altrimenti resi innocui.”

Da G. Debenedetti, 16 ottobre 1943, Torino, Einaudi, 2001.

“Effettivamente, la sera del 26 settembre 1943, il presidente della Comunità Israelitica di Roma e quello dell’Unione delle Comunità Italiane – tramite il dott. Cappa, funzionario della Questura – erano stati convocati per le ore 18 all’Ambasciata Germanica. Li ricevette, paurosamente cortese e «distinto», il Maggiore delle SS Herbert Kappler, che li fece accomodare e per qualche momento parlò del più e del meno in tono di ordinaria conversazione. Poi entrò nel merito: gli ebrei di Roma erano doppiamente colpevoli, come italiani […] per il tradimento contro la Germania, e come ebrei perché appartenenti alla razza degli eterni nemici della Germania. Perciò il governo del Reich imponeva loro una taglia di 50 chilogrammi d’oro, da versarsi entro le ore 11 del successivo martedì 28. In caso di inadempienza, razzia e deportazione in Germania di 200 ebrei. Praticamente: poco più di un giorno e mezzo per trovare 50 chili d’oro.”

October 16, 1943, Kappler’s report to the Supreme Head of the SS and the Police, Karl Wolf. ""Today, the action against the Jews started and concluded, according to the plan, applied according to what was deemed best. All the forces from the Security Police and available junior officers were engaged. Italian police were not involved because of their untrustworthiness in relation to this question. Individual arrests in 26 different neighbourhoods so only possible to do in succession. Impossible to block entire roads because of Rome’s open city status and insufficient numbers of German police officers: 365 men in total. During the operation, lasting from 5.30am to 2pm, Jews were arrested in their homes and taken to the collection point at the Military College, totalling 1,259 people. Foreigners, including a Vatican City citizen, the children and relatives of mixed marriages including Jewish spouses, Arian maids and tenants were let go, 1,007 Jews remain under arrest. Transport organised for Monday 18 at 9am. Escort comprises 30 men from the Police force . Behaviour of the Italian population: clear passive resistance, in many cases even giving assistance. In particular, for example, when police officers went to the front door of a Jewish apartment they were faced with a black shirt Fascist with all his documents in order, who had clearly taken possession of the property less than an hour earlier. Revealed obvious attempts of neighbours trying to hide Jews in their homes as houses were being raided. Presumably other similar episodes occurred. During the operation there were no anti-Semitic elements among the population while the majority actually tried to keep the police officers away from the Jews.

Bundesarchiv Berlin

16 ottobre 1943, rapporto di Kappler al Capo Supremo delle SS e della Polizia, Karl Wolf ""In data odierna, intrapresa e conclusa l’azione concernente gli ebrei secondo il piano studiato messo a punto nel modo ritenuto migliore. Impiegate tutte le forze di Polizia di Sicurezza e d’ordine disponibili. Polizia italiana non coinvolta causa sua inaffidabilità riguardo tale questione. Arresti individuali nei 26 distretti d’azione quindi possibili solo in successione. Impossibile realizzare blocco di intere strade causa status Roma città aperta e insufficienza effettivi polizia tedesca: 365 uomini in tutto. Durante l’operazione protrattasi dalle 5.30 alle 14.00, arrestate nelle abitazioni di ebrei e condotte in luogo di raccolta presso collegio militare 1259 persone. Rilasciati gli stranieri, tra cui un cittadino vaticano, i figli e familiari di matrimoni misti inclusi i coniugi ebrei, domestici e inquilini ariani, rimangono in stato d’arresto 1007 ebrei. Trasposto predisposto per lunedì 18 ore 9.00. Scorta costituita da 30 uomini della Polizia d’Ordine. Comportamento della popolazione italiana: evidente resistenza passiva, in molti casi addirittura interventi d’aiuto. In particolare, ad esempio, i poliziotti hanno trovato sulla porta di un appartamento un fascista in camicia nera con documenti in regola che evidentemente aveva preso possesso dell’abitazione ebraica solo un’ora prima. Rilevati palesi tentativi da parte di vicini di accogliere ebrei in casa propria durante le irruzione negli appartamenti. Presumibilmente ripetuti episodi analoghi. Durante l’operazione non si sono manifestati elementi antisemiti della popolazione mentre la maggior parte di questa ha persino tentato di tener i poliziotti lontano dagli ebrei.

Bundesarchiv Berlin

Romeo Salmonì (22.01.1920 – 09.07.2011), arrested in Rome on 30 April 1944, writes to his mother shortly before leaving Regina Coeli prison for the Fossoli camp. After living through the horror of Auschwitz-Birkenau, he was transferred first to the Sachsenhausen (Lieberose) concentration camp and then to Flossenbürg (Nossen). He managed to return to Rome in early September 1945.

Private Archive Salmonì

Have faith in God who exists and protects Dear Mummy, We’re leaving, and I hope God is merciful enough to give me his holy blessing, along with yours. Don’t cry darling mummy, because soon, with the help of God, I will return with my brothers and then we will begin our normal lives again and we will always be united, until God wishes. Forgive me mummy even if I made you very unhappy, but you are kind and intelligent and you will understand that it is all destined and no one can escape that. Dear Mummy, don’t go without, don’t suffer, sell what little is left and eat; and pray to the Good Lord that everything ends well. Up until now, I can assure you that I haven’t suffered or come to any harm, and I hope God will protect me further. Mummy! The image of your beautiful face is always with me, and it fills me with courage and faith in the future. Dear Daddy, I also ask you for your blessing and your forgiveness for what I have done. But God is just, and he will know how to reward our atrocious suffering. I will pray for the Good Lord to give you the strength to wait for our return and to send you what is needed to avoid hunger or other suffering. I hope that Settimio, Guglielmo and Marco are out of danger, that way you can find consolation in their presence. I can assure you that both the first people [rounded up], in other words those on the 16 October, and the others are all fine and they work, as we too will work; so as you can see, there is nothing wrong in that. Pretend that we are soldiers, just as Settimio and Marco were in Africa and just as God helped you to see them again, so we hope the same is true for us. As I am writing, the friends in my cell are giving me courage. But there’s no need because I believe in God and believe he will protect me, as he will all my siblings. If you don’t receive any news from me for a while, don’t let dear mummy get worried, and stay strong! Say hello to everyone from me and take care of the photos in the packet inside the wardrobe, understood? Goodbye and see you soon my darling mummy and adored daddy. Pray to God and do not despair in him. Kisses, kisses, kisses, kisses, kisses, kisses. Don’t cry because it is the heart that speaks. Your most loving, Romeo They’re taking us to work Look after my siblings Please deliver it to: Mrs Rina Salmonì, 33 Via S. Angelo in Pescheria, Rome- Joiners workshop Thank you very, very much The person who finds this note will do a good deed by delivering to my mummy! And I hope God will hold the person in good merit for the good deed done. Thanks a million.

Biglietto consegnato dai nazisti agli ebrei durante la razzia del 16 ottobre.

Archivio privato Renato Di Veroli

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Rome David Calò Fund

SETTIMIA SPIZZICHINO

Was born on April 15, 1921, and she was the fourth of six children. The family initially lived in Tivoli where her father, Marco Mosè Spizzichino, was a shopkeeper. After the anti-Jewish laws came into force, he lost his licence to run the shop and the family decided to move to Rome, with his two, now married daughters Ada and Gentile.
On October 16, the Nazis raided the apartment at 2, Via della Reginella where the Spizzichinos lived. Applying the swift thinking for which she was known, Settimia managed to save her sister Gentile and her three children, saying they were non-Jewish. However, she herself was deported with her mother, Grazia Di Segni, her sisters Giuditta and Ada, and her niece Rosanna, who was just 18 months old.
On arrival at Birkenau, only Settimia and Giuditta survived the selection procedure, while the others were sent to the gas chambers. Unfortunately, Giuditta did not survive the slave labour conditions.
Settimia was registered with number 66210 and later transferred to Auschwitz I where she was subjected to a terrible medical experiment. It was a miracle she survived. In January 1945, she then had to go on a “death march” to the camp of Bergen-Belsen, where she stayed until the arrival of the British. On September 11 that same year, she finally returned to Rome.
Settimia was one of the first Auschwitz survivors to give eyewitness accounts of the drama that is the Holocaust. She started straight after the war and continued for the rest of her life.
In 1996 she published her book, Gli anni rubati.
She died in Rome on July 3, 2000, at the age of 79.

Was born on April 15, 1921, and she was the fourth of six children. The family initially lived in Tivoli where her father, Marco Mosè Spizzichino, was a shopkeeper. After the anti-Jewish laws came into force, he lost his licence to run the shop and the family decided to move to Rome, with his two, now married daughters Ada and Gentile.
On October 16, the Nazis raided the apartment at 2, Via della Reginella where the Spizzichinos lived. Applying the swift thinking for which she was known, Settimia managed to save her sister Gentile and her three children, saying they were non-Jewish. However, she herself was deported with her mother, Grazia Di Segni, her sisters Giuditta and Ada, and her niece Rosanna, who was just 18 months old.
On arrival at Birkenau, only Settimia and Giuditta survived the selection procedure, while the others were sent to the gas chambers. Unfortunately, Giuditta did not survive the slave labour conditions.
Settimia was registered with number 66210 and later transferred to Auschwitz I where she was subjected to a terrible medical experiment. It was a miracle she survived. In January 1945, she then had to go on a “death march” to the camp of Bergen-Belsen, where she stayed until the arrival of the British. On September 11 that same year, she finally returned to Rome.
Settimia was one of the first Auschwitz survivors to give eyewitness accounts of the drama that is the Holocaust. She started straight after the war and continued for the rest of her life.
In 1996 she published her book, Gli anni rubati.
She died in Rome on July 3, 2000, at the age of 79.

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Roma Fondo David Calò

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Rome Camerino family Fund

LUCIANO CAMERINO

Son of Italo and Giulia Di Cori, was born in Rome on July 23, 1926. He had a brother, Enzo, and a sister, Wanda. His father owned a company in Monza producing prefabricated materials in wood for Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). After the anti-Jewish laws were enacted, the family’s economic situation worsened considerably. In 1943, Luciano lived at number 11, Viale delle Milizie in the Prati neighbourhood. On 16 October, he and the whole family were arrested at home: his parents (aged 50 and 49), his siblings (15 and 25) and an uncle on his mother’s side, Settimio Renato Di Cori, who was 44 (1899-1943).
When the Nazis raided the house, the family thought it because they had helped some Italian soldiers and carabinieri officers who had tried to escape raids after the armistice. But the presence of other Jews and neighbours on the trucks transporting them to the Military College made them realise it was actually a general round up of Jews.
Apart from the uncle, who was killed on arrival at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the rest of the family were admitted to the camp to be slave labourers. However, the mother and sister soon disappeared without trace. Luciano, registered with the number 158510, was sent with his brother Enzo and their father to the Jawischowitz sub-camp to work in the coal mines. Though the father, Italo, died soon after.
In January 1945, Luciano was sent on the march to Buchenwald, where he arrived on January 22, before being liberated in the spring.
He and his brother Enzo returned to Rome, and in 1949, Luciano married Graziella Terracina. They had three daughters, Giulia, Fiorella and Marina. In 1966, in the aftermath of the terrible floods in Florence, Luciano decided to go to help the local Jewish Community to save the Torah scrolls. After seeing the shocking situation, he had a heart attack and died a few hours later, at the age of 40.

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Roma Fondo David Calò

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Rome Sabatino Finzi Fund

CESARE EFRATI

Known as “Little ball”, son of Abramo Umberto and Maria Di Segni, was born in Rome on May 2, 1927, and was the seventh of 13 children.
On October 16, he was captured in his home at 112, Via del Portonaccio (in the Casal Bertone area) with his father (aged 43), his mother (46) and seven siblings: Enrica (20), Angelo (19), Fortunata (15), Grazia (13), Rina (9), Dora (5) and young Marco, aged 2.
On arrival at Auschwitz, only Cesare (registered with number 158551), his father Abramo Umberto and brother Angelo were selected for forced labour. The rest of the family was killed in the gas chambers straight after selection.
The father died in the following weeks. After quarantining at Birkenau, the two brothers were sent to the Jawischowitz sub-camp to work in the coal mines. In January 1945, Cesare was sent on a “death march” to Buchenwald, where he was liberated in April.
When he returned to Rome and found his brother Angelo, he also discovered that another of his brothers, Lazzaro, known as “Stormy”, who was 23 in 1943, had been captured in the capital. From there he had been sent to Fossoli, then he reached Auschwitz-Birkenau in May 1944 and eventually died in Ebensee, a sub-camp of Mauthausen, on April 26, 1945. There were, however, four surviving siblings – Rosa, Samuele, Anselmo and Emilia – who had gone into hiding during the long period of German occupation in Rome.
A fabrics merchant, after the war Cesare married Giovanna Lucci and they had six children: Umberto, Dora, Lazzaro, Rosa, Enrica and Anselmo.
He died in Rome on May 20, 2008, at the age of 81.

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Roma Fondo David Calò

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Rome Leone Sabatello Fund

LEONE SABATELLO

Known as “little lion”, was born in Rome on March 18, 1927, to Alberto Abramo and Celeste Tagliacozzo. It was a large family: Leone was the youngest of seven siblings.
On October 16, Leone was at home – in 9, Via del Portico d’Ottavia – with his parents (both aged 51), a disabled uncle, Giovanni Sabatello (55) and his five sisters, Graziella (27), Italia (25), Emma (24), Enrica (22) and Letizia (20). Sister-in-law Enrica Tagliacozzo (31) was also there with her two young daughters, Alba Celeste (3) and newborn Liana Ornella. The only person missing was his brother Rubino, staying with Catholic friends in Ciampino, who hid him. When they were arrested, the sister-in-law could have escaped because she was on the terrace washing clothes, but she gave herself up immediately to be with her daughters.
On the journey to Auschwitz, during a stop at Padua, Leone was allowed to leave the train to get some water. When he returned, he found the wagon was already locked, but his desperate screams eventually led to the wagon being opened again, reuniting him with his family.
When they arrived at Auschwitz, Leone was the only one selected for work; all the others were immediately killed in the gas chambers. He was registered with the number 158621 and assigned to the Jawischowitz sub-camp, to work in the Brzeszcze coal mines until the camp was evacuated. He ended up in Buchenwald and was liberated near Berlin in April 1945.
After the war he returned to Rome and started work again, transporting goods. In 1948, he married Rina Calò and they had five children: Alba Celeste, Alberto, Giudit, Graziella and Marina.
He never came to terms with the fact that none of his five sisters had survived.
He died in Rome on October 5, 2008, at the age of 81.

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Roma Fondo David Calò

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Rome Michele Amati Fund

MICHELE AMATI

Son of salesman Adolfo Amati and of Celeste Piperno, was born in Rome on October 20,1926. He had four siblings: Alberto, Rosa, Giovanni and Giuditta. They all lived in Via dei Genovesi, in the Trastevere neighbourhood.
On October 16, Michele, his 21-year-old sister Rosa and his 13-year-old brother Alberto are arrested at the house of their uncle on their mother’s side, Peppe Piperno, at number 4, Via del Tempio.
On their arrival at Auschwitz-Birkenau, his sister and younger brother were sent to the gas chambers immediately. Michele and his 45-year-old uncle were forced to work as slave labourers. They were respectively registered with the numbers 158498 and 158592 and were transferred to the Jawischowitz sub-camp, where they worked in the Brzeszcze coal mine. Michele came down with pneumonia and was sent to Auschwitz I hospital, accompanied by his uncle. They stayed in this camp until the end of January 1945, when they were forced to march to Buchenwald concentration camp. During the camp’s last days in April, Michele manages to escape by joining a group of German communists and fighting to reach the American lines. Whereas his uncle Peppe fell ill and died soon after the liberation.
After the war, Michele married Ester Del Monte and had three children: Adolfo, Roberto and Cesare. In the post-war years, he worked as a travelling salesman.
He died in Rome on June 26, 1984, at the age of 58.

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Roma Fondo David Calò

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Rome Lello Di Segni Fund

CESARE DI SEGNI

Son of Samuele and Enrica Di Veroli, was born in Rome on October 5, 1899. A travelling salesman, he married Enrica Zarfati and they had four children: Lello, Angelo, Mario and Graziella.
The introduction of anti-Jewish laws meant Cesare lost his licence to sell and from then on, the family’s financial circumstances deteriorated considerably.
On October 16, the Di Segni family was captured at home, number 9 Via del Portico d’Ottavia. Also with them was Cesare’s mother-in-law Celestina Di Veroli, aged 71. His wife Enrica was 41, while the children were aged 17, 13, 8 and 5.
When they arrived in Auschwitz, only Cesare and his oldest son, Lello, were admitted to the camp to work as slave labourers. They were tattooed with the respective registration numbers 158525 and 158526. All the others were immediately killed in the gas chambers. Lello was soon transferred to another camp, while Cesare stayed at Birkenau until the Russians arrived on January 27, 1945.
Father and son met up again many months later in Rome and started to work together as travelling salesmen. However, Cesare suffered was seriously ill for the rest of his life.
He died in Rome on December 23, 1978, at the age of 79.

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Roma Fondo David Calò

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Rome Sabatino Finzi Fund

SABATINO FINZI

Was born in Rome on January 8, 1927, to Giuseppe Finzi, a Jewish textiles agent from Leghorn, and Zaira Zarfati from Rome. The family was well off and he lived with his parents and his younger sister Amelia in the centre of the Jewish district, at number 4, Via del Tempio.
On October 16, he was arrested with his whole family, including his maternal grandparents Angelo Zarfati (aged 67) and Ester Di Porto (65), and an uncle on his mother’s side, Leone Zarfati, who was in his forties.
When they arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau, his grandparents, mother Zaira (aged 40) and his sister Amelia (12) were immediately sent to the gas chambers. Sabatino and his father Giuseppe were admitted to the camp and registered with the respective numbers 158556 and 158557. After quarantining, Sabatino was assigned to the Jawischowitz sub-camp, where he worked in the coal mines. On January 17, 1945, he was included in the groups of prisoners who had to undergo a terrible transfer on foot towards the interior of the Reich. He arrived in Buchenwald on January 22 and was put in its worst area, the Kleines Lager (“little camp”, with an extremely high death rate, used to house thousands of Jews after the Auschwitz complex was evacuated) until the liberation, on April 11, 1945. His father Giuseppe, who was on the same “death march”, died in the Buchenwald sub-camp of Ohrdruf, shortly before the liberation.
On Sabatino’s return to Rome, he married Ester Pavoncello, whom he affectionately nicknamed “Little girl”, and they had two sons, Giuseppe and Giorgio, who worked in a metal workshop opened by the family in the Magliana area. He had four grandchildren, two named after him. By a quirk of fate, one of them was born on October 16.
Sabatino died in Rome on May 24, 2012, at the age of 85.

Was born in Rome on January 8, 1927, to Giuseppe Finzi, a Jewish textiles agent from Leghorn, and Zaira Zarfati from Rome. The family was well off and he lived with his parents and his younger sister Amelia in the centre of the Jewish district, at number 4, Via del Tempio.
On October 16, he was arrested with his whole family, including his maternal grandparents Angelo Zarfati (aged 67) and Ester Di Porto (65), and an uncle on his mother’s side, Leone Zarfati, who was in his forties.
When they arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau, his grandparents, mother Zaira (aged 40) and his sister Amelia (12) were immediately sent to the gas chambers. Sabatino and his father Giuseppe were admitted to the camp and registered with the respective numbers 158556 and 158557. After quarantining, Sabatino was assigned to the Jawischowitz sub-camp, where he worked in the coal mines. On January 17, 1945, he was included in the groups of prisoners who had to undergo a terrible transfer on foot towards the interior of the Reich. He arrived in Buchenwald on January 22 and was put in its worst area, the Kleines Lager (“little camp”, with an extremely high death rate, used to house thousands of Jews after the Auschwitz complex was evacuated) until the liberation, on April 11, 1945. His father Giuseppe, who was on the same “death march”, died in the Buchenwald sub-camp of Ohrdruf, shortly before the liberation.
On Sabatino’s return to Rome, he married Ester Pavoncello, whom he affectionately nicknamed “Little girl”, and they had two sons, Giuseppe and Giorgio, who worked in a metal workshop opened by the family in the Magliana area. He had four grandchildren, two named after him. By a quirk of fate, one of them was born on October 16.
Sabatino died in Rome on May 24, 2012, at the age of 85.

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Roma Fondo David Calò

International Tracing Service, Bad Arolsen

ANGELO SERMONETA

Was born in Rome on June 10, 1916. His mother, Giuditta Piperno, died before the war in 1934; his father, Eugenio, was a shop assistant and he remarried in 1937, taking Angelina Piperno as his new wife.
On October 16, Angelo, who was a trader by profession, was arrested at number 16, Via Conte Verde together with the father (aged 58), his second wife (50), Angelo’s widowed sister Celeste (32) and her two daughters Gemma (10) and Giuditta (7) Anticoli.
On arrival at Auschwitz, they were all sent to their deaths in the gas chambers except for Angelo, who was admitted to the camp with the registration number 158624. After, he was assigned to the Jawischowitz sub-camp to work with other Roman Jews in the Brzeszcze coal mines. At the end of March 1944, he was moved to Monowitz, where he worked on the construction of the IG Farben Buna factory, Germany’s largest industrial complex.
In early 1945, Angelo was sent with other prisoners on the march to Buchenwald, where he arrived on January 26 and claimed he was a mechanic. A month later he was moved to the Holzen sub-camp, near Hannover, then sent back to Buchenwald and finally to the Dachau concentration camp, where he was liberated in April 1945.
In 1946, he married Renata Sabatucci.

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Roma Fondo David Calò

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Rome Anticoli Fund

LAZZARO ANTICOLI

Son of carter Marco Mosè and of Giuditta Di Veroli, was born in Rome on January 3, 1910. In February 1941, he married Emma Di Castro and two months later their first daughter, Grazia, was born, followed by twins Rosella and Mario in June 1943.
On October 16, he was arrested at his home in 4, Via del Tempio with his wife, their three children, his parents and three of his sisters: Emma, aged 27 who was pregnant with her fourth child, Rosa aged 25 and 18-year-old Celeste.
When they arrived at Auschwitz, the parents (aged 65 and 59), his 26-year-old wife Emma and their three young children were sent straight to the gas chambers, while Lazzaro was registered with number 158501. After quarantine, he was assigned to the Jawischowitz sub-camp to work in the coal mines. In January 1945, he had to withstand the tough march to Buchenwald concentration camp, where he claimed to be a mechanic and blacksmith. He was liberated at Stolberg, in Rhineland, in May 1945. He was the only member of his family to return.
Lazzaro found it hard to readjust to daily life. He had a permanent disability after being exposed to freezing conditions when in prison. However, in 1950, he married Elisa Di Cori and they had three children: Cesare, Roberto and Grazia.
He died in Rome on January 18, 2000, at the age of 90.

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Roma Fondo David Calò

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Rome Emilia Efrati Fund

LELLO DI SEGNI

Born in Rome on November 4, 1926, was the oldest son of travelling salesman Cesare and Enrica Zarfati. The father lost his licence to sell after the 1938 anti-Jewish laws were introduced, and at that point Lello, even though he was very young, had to start work.
On October 16, Lello was captured with his entire family: the mother (aged 41), father (44), his maternal grandmother Celestina Di Veroli (71) and three younger siblings, Angelo (13), Mario (8) and Graziella (5).
At Birkenau, only Lello and his father passed the selection procedure. The young boy was introduced into the camp as a slave labourer and registered with the number 158526. Father and son were separated almost immediately: Lello was transferred to the concentration camp built on the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto. Here he had to undertake extremely hard work digging through the rubble for months on end. In summer 1944, he was moved to Allach, a sub-camp of Dachau, where he was sent to work in an engine factory. He was liberated from Dachau by the Americans in April 1945.
Lello returned to Rome in June that year, where, against all expectations, he found his father, Cesare: theirs is one of the very rare cases of a father and son surviving their deportation to Auschwitz. After the war, Lello worked as a travelling salesman, he married Silvia Tagliacozzo and they had a son, Roberto. Later, he opened an underwear shop, which he ran until his retirement. In the early 1990s, he decided to tell the world about the tragedy of racism and the deportations.
In 2008 he published his eyewitness account in Buono sogno sia lo mio, edited by Edoardo Gaj.
He died in Rome on October 26, 2018, at the age of 92.

Born in Rome on November 4, 1926, was the oldest son of travelling salesman Cesare and Enrica Zarfati. The father lost his licence to sell after the 1938 anti-Jewish laws were introduced, and at that point Lello, even though he was very young, had to start work.
On October 16, Lello was captured with his entire family: the mother (aged 41), father (44), his maternal grandmother Celestina Di Veroli (71) and three younger siblings, Angelo (13), Mario (8) and Graziella (5).
At Birkenau, only Lello and his father passed the selection procedure. The young boy was introduced into the camp as a slave labourer and registered with the number 158526. Father and son were separated almost immediately: Lello was transferred to the concentration camp built on the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto. Here he had to undertake extremely hard work digging through the rubble for months on end. In summer 1944, he was moved to Allach, a sub-camp of Dachau, where he was sent to work in an engine factory. He was liberated from Dachau by the Americans in April 1945.
Lello returned to Rome in June that year, where, against all expectations, he found his father, Cesare: theirs is one of the very rare cases of a father and son surviving their deportation to Auschwitz. After the war, Lello worked as a travelling salesman, he married Silvia Tagliacozzo and they had a son, Roberto. Later, he opened an underwear shop, which he ran until his retirement. In the early 1990s, he decided to tell the world about the tragedy of racism and the deportations.
In 2008 he published his eyewitness account in Buono sogno sia lo mio, edited by Edoardo Gaj.
He died in Rome on October 26, 2018, at the age of 92.

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Roma Fondo David Calò

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Rome Alberto Sermoneta Fund

ISACCO SERMONETA

Son of Abramo and Costanza Della Rocca, was born in Rome on March 8, 1912. In 1938, he married Pacifica Efrati and they had three daughters, Costanza, Emma and Franca, who were respectively 4, 2, and a few months old in 1943.
When the Nazis stormed their house at 4, Via del Tempio on October 16, they found and arrested Pacifica (26) with her three daughters, but not Isacco. However, he discovered what had happened and so as not to abandon his family, he handed himself over to the Nazis.
On arrival at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Isacco was selected for work while his wife and daughters were killed immediately. After quarantining, he was sent from Birkenau to the concentration camp built on the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto. In July 1944, he was sent to Dachau, on Reich territory, where he was registered with the number 90622 and claimed he was a textile agent. He was put to work in various sub-camps, one of which he tried to escape, but he was captured in the woods by a civilian and handed over to the SS again, who took him back to the camp. As the front came closer, he was loaded onto a stockcar wagon towards an unknown destination. During a stop in Munich, Isacco tried to escape again, and this time he succeeded. He was free on May 1, 1945, shortly before the Americans arrived.
He returned to Rome and did not marry again. He managed a souvenir shop in the heart of the Jewish district and was active in coordinating religious services, acting as warden (parnas) in the Spanish Synagogue.
He died in Rome on October 24, 1991, at the age of 79.

Son of Abramo and Costanza Della Rocca, was born in Rome on March 8, 1912. In 1938, he married Pacifica Efrati and they had three daughters, Costanza, Emma and Franca, who were respectively 4, 2, and a few months old in 1943.
When the Nazis stormed their house at 4, Via del Tempio on October 16, they found and arrested Pacifica (26) with her three daughters, but not Isacco. However, he discovered what had happened and so as not to abandon his family, he handed himself over to the Nazis.
On arrival at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Isacco was selected for work while his wife and daughters were killed immediately. After quarantining, he was sent from Birkenau to the concentration camp built on the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto. In July 1944, he was sent to Dachau, on Reich territory, where he was registered with the number 90622 and claimed he was a textile agent. He was put to work in various sub-camps, one of which he tried to escape, but he was captured in the woods by a civilian and handed over to the SS again, who took him back to the camp. As the front came closer, he was loaded onto a stockcar wagon towards an unknown destination. During a stop in Munich, Isacco tried to escape again, and this time he succeeded. He was free on May 1, 1945, shortly before the Americans arrived.
He returned to Rome and did not marry again. He managed a souvenir shop in the heart of the Jewish district and was active in coordinating religious services, acting as warden (parnas) in the Spanish Synagogue.
He died in Rome on October 24, 1991, at the age of 79.

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Roma Fondo David Calò

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Rome Camerino family Fund

ENZO CAMERINO

Son of Italo and Giulia Di Cori, was born in Rome on December 2, 1928. He had a brother, Luciano, and a sister, Wanda. His father owned a company in Monza producing prefabricated materials in wood for Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). After the anti-Jewish laws were enacted, the family’s economic situation worsened considerably. After losing his factory, the father sold chocolate to wholesalers and Enzo left the “Umberto I” school to help the family by working in a barber’s shop.
On October 16, Enzo was arrested along with the rest of his family, including his uncle on his mother’s side, Settimio Renato Di Cori (1899-1943), in their house at number 11, Viale delle Milizie, in the Prati neighbourhood.
Once deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, they were all admitted to the camp for work, apart from the 44-year-old uncle, who was sent to the gas chambers. Enzo was registered with number 158509 and after quarantining, he was sent to work in the Jawischowitz sub-camp, along with his brother Luciano (aged 17) and father (50). Working in the mines was insufferable for the father, given his age, and he died in early January 1944. In January 1945, Enzo and Luciano were forced on a terrible journey to Buchenwald camp, first marching on foot and then by train, packed into open cattle wagons. They were liberated in April that year and Enzo returned to Rome on June 12. The only other member of his family to return was his brother Luciano. His mother, aged 49 in 1943, and his sister Wanda (25), disappeared in the camps on some unknown date in 1944.
In 1951, Enzo married Silvana Pontecorvo and they had two children, Italo and Giulia. In 1957, the family emigrated to Montreal in Canada. But Enzo returned to Rome and to Auschwitz often in the 1990s, to give eyewitness accounts of the sad fate of the Jews from the Italian capital.
He had four grandchildren and died in Canada on December 2, 2014, which was actually his 86th birthday.

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Roma Fondo David Calò

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Rome Emilia Efrati Fund

ANGELO EFRATI

Known as “little Angelo the beast”, was born in Rome on April 29, 1924. His father, Abramo Umberto, had a shop in the Jewish district, while his mother, Maria Di Segni, looked after their large family. Indeed, Angelo had 12 siblings.
On October 16, he was captured in his home on 112, Via Portonaccio (in the Casal Bertone area) along with his father (aged 43), his mother (46) and seven of his siblings: Enrica (20), Cesare (16), Fortunata (15), Grazia (13), Rina (9), Dora (5) and young Marco, aged 2.
After the initial selection at Auschwitz-Birkenau, only Angelo (registered with number 158550), his brother Cesare and their father Abramo Umberto were admitted to the camp; all the other family members were gassed.
The father died almost immediately, while still in quarantine, whereas the two brothers were sent to the Jawischowitz sub-camp. In spring 1944, Angelo fell ill and was hospitalised at Birkenau, where he stayed until being transferred to Auschwitz III-Monowitz. Here he was forced to work as a slave labourer in the “Buna” factory of the IG Farben chemical company. Later, he was moved to the Janinagrube sub-camp to work in the mines again. Before Auschwitz was evacuated, he was sent to Stutthof camp where he stayed until April 1945, when he was put on a boat heading for north Germany. In front of the Bay of Neustadt the boat was bombed and sunk by the Allies, but Angelo jumped into the sea and was miraculously saved.
He returned to Rome where he found his brother Cesare and another four siblings who had managed to go into hiding. He also discovered that his brother Lazzaro, known as “Stormy”, who was 23 in 1943, had ended up at Fossoli then Auschwitz-Birkenau and then had died at Ebensee on April 26, 1945.
After the war, Angelo sold textiles and in 1948, he married Angelica Pavoncello and they went on to have two children, Maria and Umberto.
He died in Rome on December 23, 2008, six months after the death of his brother Cesare, at the age of 84.

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Roma Fondo David Calò

International Tracing Service, Bad Arolsen

MARIO PIPERNO

Was born in Rome on June 6, 1916, to second-hand dealer Mosè and Colomba Citoni. He had married Ester Sonnino shortly before October 16, when he was arrested at 114, Viale del Re (now Viale di Trastevere) with his wife (aged 20), his parents (71 and 63) and his brother Angelo (33). In the same round up, his sister Enrica (aged 40) was also captured at 136, Via S. Francesco a Ripa, with her daughter Clara Di Segni (aged 18).
They were all deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, but only Mario and his brother were admitted to the camp, with the respective registration numbers 158596 and 158597 and then sent to the Jawischowitz sub-camp. Mario, who had claimed to be a “driver” during registration, then fell ill and was taken to the hospital in Auschwitz III – Monowitz, where he stayed to work.
In January 1945, he was among those sent on a march to reach the interior of the Reich. He reached Buchenwald on January 26, where he claimed to be a blacksmith, and was finally moved to Dachau, where he was liberated in April. Shortly before the liberation, he did an extraordinary thing: even though his life was in danger, he still donated most of his food rations to a fellow Italian particularly in need, the political prisoner Gigi Mazullo, thus saving his life.
Mario was the only member of his family to return home: in fact, his brother Angelo disappeared without trace after his arrival in Buchenwald on January 22, 1945.
He died in Ostia, Rome, on May 21, 2003, at the age of 87.

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Roma Fondo David Calò

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Rome Wachsberger family Fund

ARMINIO WACHSBERGER

Was born in Fiume on November 4, 1913. He was the son of the city’s Chief Rabbi, David, and of Matilde Miriam Gellis, of Hungarian origin, and he had seven siblings.
During his national service, Arminio was assigned to the Roman base of the Air Ministry. He stayed on in the capital, working as an office clerk and as an interpreter. In 1937, he married Regina Polacco and the following year their daughter Clara was born, who was soon afflicted with Polio.
On October 16, he was arrested at his home in number 6, Lungotevere Ripa, with his wife (aged 31), daughter (5), his in-laws Moise Polacco (68) and Carlotta Cesana (67), and with Vittorio, a 2-year-old boy, son of his brother-in-law who was out of Rome. In the post-arrest chaos, Arminio managed to throw young Vittorio out of the truck and into the arms of the building’s porter, thus saving the young boy’s life.
At the Military College, Theodor Dannecker, who was in charge of the round up, used him as an interpreter. Once Arminio arrived at the camps, he was also given a similar role by doctor Josef Mengele on the Judenrampe at Birkenau, a job he performed until the liberation. His wife and daughter were killed straight after the selection process.
Arminio was registered with number 158639 then transferred to Warsaw to the camp built on the ruins of the ghetto. In July 1944, when this camp was cleared, he was sent within the Reich to Dachau and some of its sub-camps, where he was liberated in April 1945.
At that point, Arminio decided to stay in Germany to fulfil the role of administration manager at a camp for Displaced Persons, at Feldafing, a small village south of Munich. Here he met and married Olga Wiener, an Hungarian survivor of Auschwitz. In 1946, in Munich, he became father to a baby girl, who was named Clara, after his first daughter murdered by the Nazis. He returned to Italy in 1949, settling in Milan, where he once again worked for Ammonia, the chemical company that had courageously hired him after the armistice was announced on September 8, 1943. Another daughter, Silvia, was born in 1954.
He died in Milan on April 24, 2002, at the age of 89.

Was born in Fiume on November 4, 1913. He was the son of the city’s Chief Rabbi, David, and of Matilde Miriam Gellis, of Hungarian origin, and he had seven siblings.
During his national service, Arminio was assigned to the Roman base of the Air Ministry. He stayed on in the capital, working as an office clerk and as an interpreter. In 1937, he married Regina Polacco and the following year their daughter Clara was born, who was soon afflicted with Polio.
On October 16, he was arrested at his home in number 6, Lungotevere Ripa, with his wife (aged 31), daughter (5), his in-laws Moise Polacco (68) and Carlotta Cesana (67), and with Vittorio, a 2-year-old boy, son of his brother-in-law who was out of Rome. In the post-arrest chaos, Arminio managed to throw young Vittorio out of the truck and into the arms of the building’s porter, thus saving the young boy’s life.
At the Military College, Theodor Dannecker, who was in charge of the round up, used him as an interpreter. Once Arminio arrived at the camps, he was also given a similar role by doctor Josef Mengele on the Judenrampe at Birkenau, a job he performed until the liberation. His wife and daughter were killed straight after the selection process.
Arminio was registered with number 158639 then transferred to Warsaw to the camp built on the ruins of the ghetto. In July 1944, when this camp was cleared, he was sent within the Reich to Dachau and some of its sub-camps, where he was liberated in April 1945.
At that point, Arminio decided to stay in Germany to fulfil the role of administration manager at a camp for Displaced Persons, at Feldafing, a small village south of Munich. Here he met and married Olga Wiener, an Hungarian survivor of Auschwitz. In 1946, in Munich, he became father to a baby girl, who was named Clara, after his first daughter murdered by the Nazis. He returned to Italy in 1949, settling in Milan, where he once again worked for Ammonia, the chemical company that had courageously hired him after the armistice was announced on September 8, 1943. Another daughter, Silvia, was born in 1954.
He died in Milan on April 24, 2002, at the age of 89.

Fondazione Museo della Shoah, Roma Fondo David Calò

16 OTTOBRE 1943

Geografia di una Deportazione

Villa Wolkonsky (German embassy until the occupation), 11 Via Ludovico di Savoia.

Villa Wolkonsky, via Ludovico di Savoia 11

Villa Wolkonsky, via Ludovico di Savoia 11

September 26, 1943

September 26-28, 1943

Jewish Community

Comunità Ebraica

155 Via Tasso

Via Tasso 155

September 28, 1943

September 29, 1943

Jewish Community

Comunità Ebraica

Hotel Bernini, 23 Piazza Bernini

Hotel Bernini, piazza Bernini 23

October 4, 1943

October 5-7, 1943

155 Via Tasso

Via Tasso 155

Jewish Community

Comunità Ebraica

October 14, 1943

October 16, 1943

Whole Rome

Tutta Roma

Military College (Palazzo Salviati), 82-83 Via della Lungara and Piazza della Rovere.

Collegio militare (Palazzo Salviati), via della Lungara 82-83 e Piazza della Rovere

October 16-18, 1943

October 18-23, 1943

Tiburtina station - Auschwitz-Birkenau

Stazione Tiburtina - Auschwitz-Birkenau

145 VIA TASSO - HEADQUARTERS OF THE GERMAN SECURITY POLICE IN ROME

Collegio militare (Palazzo Salviati), via della Lungara 82-83 e Piazza della Rovere

september 1943 – 04 june 1944

8 september 1943 – 04 june 1944

Regina Coeli prison

Stazione Tiburtina - Auschwitz-Birkenau

The Santa Maria dei Sette Dolori monastery

Collegio militare (Palazzo Salviati), via della Lungara 82-83 e Piazza della Rovere

18 october 1943 – 04 june 1944

24 march 1944

Massacre at the Ardeatine caves

Stazione Tiburtina - Auschwitz-Birkenau

The arrest of the Terracina family - 17 Piazza Ippolito Nievo

Collegio militare (Palazzo Salviati), via della Lungara 82-83 e Piazza della Rovere

7 april 1944

4 - 5 june 1944

Liberation of Rome

Stazione Tiburtina - Auschwitz-Birkenau

Victims and Survivors

26 Settembre 1943

Villa Wolkonsky (Ambasciata tedesca fino all'occupazione tedesca), via Ludovico di Savoia 11

Ugo Foà e Dante Almansi sono convocati da Herbert Kappler a Villa Wolkonsky per la richiesta dei cinquanta chili d'oro

APPROFONDIMENTI

Ugo Foà

Dante Almansi

Herbert Kappler

villa Wolkonsky

Verbale dell'interrogatorio

Almansi in Rigano, p.27

Contattaci

September 26, 1943

Villa Wolkonsky (German embassy until the occupation), 11 Via Ludovico di Savoia.

Herbert Kappler called Ugo Foà and Dante Almansi to Villa Wolkonsky to demand a ransom of 50 kgs of gold.

MORE INFORMATIONS

Ugo Foà

Dante Almansi

Herbert Kappler

villa Wolkonsky

Verbale dell'interrogatorio

Almansi in Rigano, p.27

September 26-28, 1943

Jewish Community

Gathering the gold

MORE INFORMATIONS

Sinagogue

Verbale dell'interrogatorio

Verbale dell'interrogatorio