Avec des yeux d’enfants... la persécution des enfants Juifs en Italie, 1938-1945

Résumé 0

The persecution of Jewish children in Italy, 1938-1945This paper describes the history of the persecution of Jewish children in Italy between 1938 and 1945 “through the children’s eyes.” This expression underscores the fact that the story focuses on the children’s point of view and their specific memories, which were shaped by experiences that differ to some degree from those of the parents. Additionally, this expression suggests that the paper will analyze the strategies, behavior, rituals and aspects of daily life through the historical reconstruction of the persecution and deportation of Italian Jewish children. From playtime to study time, from relationships with family members to objects and places – these specifics help us recreate a more richly detailed world, full of fondnesses, fears and hopes. This is the history of roughly seven to eight thousand children, 900 of whom were deported, mainly to Auschwitz but also to Ravensbrück and Bergen-Belsen. With the exception of a minority who managed to emigrate, all of the remaining children lived through the 20 months of the Nazi occupation and the Italian Social Republic as “hidden children,” which constituted a clear, psychologically scarring prolongation of the persecution.