A surprisingly large number of Jews in the recently liberated towns in northern Italy escaped death and deportation, and are now engaged in rebuilding their communal life, it was reported here today by Reuben Resnik, representative of the Joint Distribution Committee who just returned from a tour of the battlefront areas.
With the cooperation of the Allied Military Government, and carrying with him 1,500,000 lires in cash, Resnik visited four key centers for the purpose of reestablishing Jewish charitable and welfare activities, as well as reviving Jewish religious institutions.
In Leghorn, formerly one of the most important centers of Italian Jewish culture, he found 900 Jews of the 1,300 who lived there before the German retreat. Hundreds of others escaped the Germans and are reported to be hiding in the hills and in the nearby villages.
Leghorn’s famous synagogue, one of the oldest and most beautiful in Europe, was destroyed, but the priceless antiquities were saved from German hands. Twenty-six cases of these antiquities were hidden in the hills and are now being brought back to Leghorn. A community kitchen feeding several hundred school children and a Jewish home for aged are already functioning.
In Pisa, where formerly only ninety Jews resided, there are now 300 Jews, including stateless scientists and scholars who sought refuge in Pisa because the university there offered them protection. Resnik also found 560 Jews in Lucca. In Viareggio he found about 100 destitute Jews. They formed a community committee while shells still crashed into town and they are now operating a children’s school and a community kitchen.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
