13 October 2004
Tomorrow, Thursday, October 14, 2004, a ceremony commemorating the Holocaust in Italy, will take place at the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem at 16:30. The ceremony is an annual event marking the deportation of Italian Jews during the Shoah. Italy’s Ambassador to Israel HE Sandro De Bernardin will attend. This year, the ceremony will be followed by a discussion of two recent publications on Italian Jews during the Holocaust. The discussion is part of a week-long workshop between Italian researchers and their Israeli counterparts at Yad Vashem.
In convening its sixth “Annual Workshop with Researchers from Abroad” from 10 - 14 October 2004, the International Institute for Holocaust Research is hosting a group of young and talented Italian researchers led by Prof. Enrico Giaccherini and Prof. Paolo Pezzino from the University of Pisa. Historical investigation over the last decade has changed once held stereotypes of Italy prior to, during, and after the war. Thus, this workshop conducted at Yad Vashem is extremely important as it brings together Italian and Israeli scholars to discuss new conceptualizations and research on Italy within the framework of Fascism and the Holocaust.
Discussed topics include: The reaction of Italian Jewry to the Antisemitic Legislation (1938-1943); From Fascist Persecutions to German Occupation: The Aryanization of Jewish Properties in Italy; German Military Occupation of Italy and the War Against Civilians; Some Aspects of Cultural Persecutions of Jews in Italy (1938-1943); Jewish Refugees in Italy; and Analyzing the Debates on Total War and Moral Responsibility (1944-1947).
The workshop is being conducted as part of an agreement that was established between Yad Vashem and the University of Pisa last year and was organized with the generous support of the Gutwirth Family Fund. To enhance cooperation between the two institutions, a Yad Vashem researcher, Dr. Iael Nidam-Orvieto, will be a guest lecturer and researcher at the University of Pisa during February 2005.
