"This book focuses on the experiences of thousands of Jewish displaced persons who lived in refugee camps in Italy between the liberation of the southern region in 1943 and the early 1950s, waiting for their resettlement outside of Europe. It explores daily life in the refugee camps, and interaction with the multitude of international actors involved in the rescue, rehabilitation and resettlement of the Jewish peoples. Drawing on a wide array of sources, this book sheds light on the dilemmas people faced when reconstructing their lives when, as refugees, they were able to shape a vivid temporary community. Against the backdrop of the better-known events of clandestine emigration, the book explores the Jewish displaced persons' approach to Zionism, their cultural revival, the role of humanitarian organizations and the attitude of the Italian authorities"--

This book focuses on the experiences of thousands of Jewish displaced persons (DPs) who lived in refugee camps in Italy between the liberation of the southern regions in 1943 and the early 1950s, waiting for their resettlement outside of Europe. It explores the Jewish DPs’ daily life in the refugee camps and what this experience of displacement meant to them. This book sheds light on the dilemmas the Jewish DPs faced when reconstructing their lives in the refugee camps after the Holocaust and how this challenging process was deeply influenced by their interaction with the humanitarian and political actors involved in their rescue, rehabilitation, and resettlement. Relating to the peculiar context of post-fascist Italy and the broader picture of the postwar refugee crisis, this book reveals overlooked aspects that contributed to the making of an incredibly diverse and lively community in transit, able to elaborate new paradigms of home, belonging and family.

The Jewish Displaced Persons, survivors of the Holocaust, among them former partisans and concentration camp inmates started arriving in Italy in summer 1945. Originally from the Baltic States, Hungary and other parts of Eastern Europe, their immigration reached its peak in 1947 and ended in 1951 when the last refugees left Italy. Throughout these years between 50 000-70 000 refugees passed through Italy on their way to mostly Eretz Israel. Contemporary testimonies support the refugee view that Italy was a different place and they felt for the most part accepted. The story of the Jewish refugees in Italy was a glorious one: they had a goal and most of them obtained it as they arrived in Eretz Israel. The purpose of the research is two-fold: it examines the movement and arrival in Italy of the refugees, as well as the attitudes of the Italian government, public and security forces towards them. It also examines the refugees themselves, their goals and aspirations and the social conditions of the DP camps. These aspects form an important part of political and social history, also in terms of the international effort to aid the refugees.

World War II tore apart an unprecedented number of families. This is the heartbreaking story of the humanitarian organizations, governments, and refugees that tried to rehabilitate Europe’s lost children from the trauma of war, and in the process shaped Cold War ideology, ideals of democracy and human rights, and modern visions of the family.

The volume investigates the interconnections between the Italian Jewish worlds and wider European and Mediterranean circles, situating the Italian Jewish experience within a transregional and transnational context mindful of the complex set of networks, relations, and loyalties that characterized Jewish diasporic life. Preceded by a methodological introduction by the editors, the chapters address rabbinic connections and ties of communal solidarity in the early modern period, and examine the circulation of Hebrew books and the overlap of national and transnational identities after emancipation. For the twentieth century, this volume additionally explores the Italian side of the Wissenschaft des Judentums; the role of international Jewish agencies in the years of Fascist racial persecution; the interactions between Italian Jewry, JDPs and Zionist envoys after Word War II; and the impact of Zionism in transforming modern Jewish identities.

Examines fascist policy and the fate of Italian Jews during the Holocaust, based on survivors' accounts and documents. Gives a detailed account of effects of the 1938 racial laws which were initiated by Mussolini in order to please Germany. During the war, refugees were interned and antisemitism increased. The Italian army protected Jewish refugees in areas under their control. With the German occupation in 1943, the Jews of Rome and other towns were deported. Asserts that Pope Pius XII had advance knowledge of the Rome roundup and failed to protest. 85% of Italy's Jews survived with the help of Italians. Those who died were betrayed and arrested by Italians or murdered by fanatical fascists. Several factors influenced the high survival rate: the Holocaust began late, the Jews had few identifying characteristics and had close contacts with non-Jews, lack of an antisemitic tradition, and Italian contempt for the authorities and their propaganda.