New evidence brings to light the significant role played by Catholic institutions in Rome during the Holocaust, in Second World War, protecting more than 3,200 Jews from Nazi persecution.
The announcement was made through a joint statement from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, the Jewish Community of Rome and Yad Vashem, Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust.
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The findings were presented this Thursday (7) at a conference at the Shoah Museum, close to the Great Synagogue of Rome, by researchers from the three institutions.
During the Nazi occupation of Rome between 1943 and 1944, approximately 2,000 Jews were murdered. However, new documents indicate that local Catholic institutions provided shelter to at least 3,200 individuals of Jewish origin.
The names listed were corroborated by the local Jewish community and reveal that help came from 100 women's congregations and another 55 men's congregations.
The joint statement highlights the importance of these acts of bravery and compassion in the grim context of Holocaust, and reinforces the continued need for research and education about this critical period of history.
After years of being thought lost, a crucial list detailing Catholic institutions in Rome that housed Jews during World War II has recently been rediscovered.
The list, originally compiled by the Jesuit cleric Gozzolino Birolo between 1944 and 1945, after the release of Rome by the allies, had already been mentioned in a publication by the Italian historian Renzo de Felice in 1961. However, complete documentation has remained missing until now.
The newly found document mentions more than 4,300 people, of which 3,600 are identified by name. According to an official statement, when comparing the list with the records of the Jewish Community of Pomegranate, it was confirmed that 3,200 of these people were, in fact, Jews.
The documentation provides detailed information, including the locations where many of these Jews were hiding and, in some cases, where they lived before facing persecution.
The history of Rome was marked by a dark period between 1943 and 1944, when the Italian capital was under Nazi occupation for nine months.
According to recently released information, approximately 2,000 Roman Jews, from a population estimated at between 10,000 and 15,000, were sadly deported and murdered during this occupation.
The Holocaust, one of the cruelest chapters in world history, killed around 8,000 Italian Jews.
