Benevolence and Betrayal: Five Italian Jewish Families Under Fascism

by Alexander Stille

A profoundly moving history of Italy’s Jews under the shadow of the Holocaust, told through the lives of five Jewish Italian the Ovazzas of Turin, who prospered under Mussolini and whose patriarch became a prominent fascist; the Foas of Turin, whose children included both an antifascist activist and a Fascist Party member; the Di Verolis of Rome, who struggled for survival in the ghetto; the Teglios of Genoa, one of whom worked with the Catholic church to save hundreds of Jews; and the Schonheits of Ferrara, who were sent to Buchenwald and Ravensbruck. An extraordinary montage that resurrects a forgotten and tragic era.

Genres: Italy, Nonfiction, History, Holocaust, World War II, War, Jewish

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Violet wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliantly and thoroughly researched account of the plights of five different Italian Jewish families during WW2. Alexander Stille, the author, has interviewed surviving members of each of the families and presents a narrative history pulsing with riveting and profoundly moving anecdotes.

The families live in different cities – Turin, Ferrara, Rome and Genoa. There are several truly memorable characters. There’s Ettore Ovazzi who is a militant fascist and remains so even after the anti-Semitic racial laws are introduced. He runs a newspaper which condemns unpatriotic Jews. There’s the writer Pittigrilli who works for OVRA, the Italian secret police and informs on the activities of all his Jewish friends, including the writer Carlo Levi. There’s Franco Schonheit from Ferrara who together with his father survives Buchenwald and Franco’s mother Gina who often stands up to the SS and miraculously survives Ravensbruck. There are the men and women of the Di Veroli family in the Jewish ghetto in Rome who are the poorest of Italian Jews and their narrative includes the moving story of how many Catholics donated gold and money when the Jewish leadership was ordered to supply a ransom of fifty kilos of gold. And there’s Massimo Teglio, an aviator, who comes across as a Schindler character, instrumental in saving many lives and greatly helped by the bravery of members of the Catholic clergy.

It really is a tale of benevolence and betrayal and highly recommended for anyone interested in the subject matter.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely riveting account of the wartime experiences of five Jewish Italian families. It’s structured in exactly the way I complained The Last Jews in Berlin wasn’t – that is, an unbroken account of each set of characters so that you’re able to fully immerse yourself in each narrative. The characters are almost all fascinating. There’s the fervent Jewish Fascist who had the offices of a Jewish newspaper in Florence burnt to the ground because he thought they were too critical of Mussolini’s government; there’s a notorious Jewish novelist who works as a spy for the fascist secret police; there’s a playboy aviator who ends up saving hundreds of Jews from the Nazis and one night even sleeps at the German Embassy so brazen is he; there’s the plight of the poor families of the Roman ghetto and in particular one woman who never stops shouting at Nazis and miraculously survives Auschwitz where she takes lice from her body and plants them in the trousers of SS officers (it’s her job to sow buttons on SS uniforms). It’s heartening to learn how much help the Catholic Church provided and in particular a few very courageous individuals. Also to learn that Schindler wasn’t alone; a few very powerful Italian businessmen provided funds for DELASEM, the organisation that helped the Jews. One Jewish Italian though remained bitter about Italy’s role, pointing out they stamped all Jewish identity papers with a tell-tale mark, making it impossible for them to hide and handed over lists of addresses to the Gestapo. And as a mark of how petty people are there’s the story of how the Jewish community in Rome demonised two Jewish sisters who survived Auschwitz because they assumed the girls had offered sexual favours to survive. Extraordinary how after what happened during the war such blinkered prejudice could still find a voice.
I whole heartedly recommend this for anyone interested in the subject matter.

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different cities and districts in Italy during the 1930's and 1940's all seem to have had greatly varying numbers of Jewish populations. Multiplied by so many various class and/or work occupation status. And the reactions and complicated levels of anti-fascism as varied, as well. So this is researched history with literally hundreds of documented characters within 5 family groups and their lives and outcomes during these years. It is a difficult read, it does not read as a novel. Turin so different from Rome, and smaller town groups different again. And the Jewish families themselves of completely varied political, religious attachments, and class level degrees. Like nearly everything in Italy, even today, who you know or what town job you have inherited and/or other factors of association to power or bribing influences never far out of the picture either. The photographs were interesting and the after war outcomes told in an epilogue, excellent too.

For me the back story of Carlo Levi (attached to the Fao group) was known but not entirely understood. Now I comprehend one of my favorite books "Christ Stopped at Eboli" much better.

[Marian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walking around Rome you occasionally notice small brass squares embedded in the sidewalk, each one engraved with the name of an Italian Jew who was sent to Auschwitz. In some cases entire families including babies were deported and killed. This story is horrifying but fairly well-known.

Benevolence and Betrayal goes beyond the familiar horror into the more complex nature of the experience of Italian Jews, who were (and are) deeply assimilated into Italian society, and reluctant to believe that they were in danger. Many were fervent fascists, army officers, government officials, and respected members of society, where their religion seemed irrelevant. Some were poor, entrenched in former ghettos, oblivious to the ominous changes about to occur. Some were resistance fighters. Some bravely stood their ground in an attempt to strengthen and hold their community together.

There had been persecution, but no threat to their lives. After the Nazi invasion in 1943, this changed. Italians met the change in extremely different ways. Non-Jewish Italians sometimes betrayed their Jewish neighbors; but many others hid them, forged new identities,took them to safety, paid enormous sums to meet Nazi ransom demands, and saved their lives. This may explain why, unlike most European Jews, after the war the majority of Italian Jews returned to live again in Italy.

Stille's report on this time features vivid characterization and suspense enough to drive the best thriller. I thought it was important and engrossing, and would especially recommend it to anyone interested in Italy, World War II, or the European holocaust.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides fantastic insight into the plight of Italian Jews during the Holocaust. I found it especially poignant to read while living in Italy, so close to many of the events. The fate of Jews during this period was not cut and dry and neither was the response on the part of the Italian government. I was most impressed to learn the pivotal role played by the Catholic leadership in Genoa (where we currently reside), who worked alongside the Jewish underground to rescue thousands of Jews.

Although it's a harrowing subject, the book is a breezy read (lest for some overlap/repetition that should have been edited away). Highly recommended to anyone interested in Italian and/or Jewish history.

[Hermien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating story of five Jewish families in Fascist and WWII Italy.

[LauraT · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro molto bello e ottima analisi, di un tema che è stato si più volte affrontato, ma che non si finisce mai di sviscerare abbastanza. Visto poi dal punto di vista delle famiglie ebree è anche più interessante - e dal figlio di un amico di Giaime Pintor poi!!!!

gli Schönheit furono arrestati non dai tedeschi ma dai neofascisti italiani, che ebbero un ruolo di rilievo nella fase italiana dell’Olocausto.

Scrivendo dopo la guerra, Emilio Lussu, membro di GL a Parigi, affermò che Pitigrilli era il perfetto simbolo del regime che servì. Se la Germania hitleriana produsse il soldato d’assalto pieno di zelo ideologico, che sterminava con convinzione, il Giappone il kamikaze pronto al sacrificio, l’esponente tipico del fascismo mussoliniano fu l’opportunista cinico che si metteva al servizio del miglior offerente e cambiava felicemente sponda a ogni novità nel mondo politico.

Gli italiani erano divisi dagli altri prigionieri anche da una barriera linguistica che spesso si rivelava fatale. «Questo per gli italiani è stato un problema molto grosso. Per i polacchi, i russi o gli slavi era già meno difficile: se non sapevano il tedesco lo imparavano facilmente.

A volte Franco non riesce a trattenere il riso quando racconta del rapporto tra lui e suo padre a Buchenwald, e per la verità sembrano dei personaggi usciti da una commedia nera di Samuel Beckett: due figure scarne ed emaciate con la testa rasata, le grigie uniformi da prigionieri e gli zoccoli, che oscillano tra speranza e disperazione sullo sfondo del vuoto.

Quando sono uscito dal carcere e sono entrato nella resistenza, ho trovato attorno a me molti ebrei. Molti sono caduti e morti. Io non vedevo nel loro impegno il loro essere ebrei, ma un segno della loro integrazione. Cercavamo di recuperare un’identità nazionale italiana che non aveva nulla a che fare con l’Italia della campagna razziale.

«Qualche volta mi lascio imbrogliare, mi dispiace diffidare della gente», racconta Teglio con fare divertito e senza mostrare rimpianto. «Mia figlia [ora medico] mi dice spesso: “Non capisco come alla tua età credi ancora nella gente”. Mia figlia è molto più sveglia di me.»

[Lorri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Benevolence and Betrayal: Five Italian Jewish Families Under Fascism by Alexander Stille is intense, compelling and extraordinary in its details and depths.

The stories within this compelling book revolve around five Italian Jewish families preceding and during World War II, and their plight, idealism, their commonalities and their differences. Put together the stories read like an intriguing and profound historical novel, rather than five separate accountings of Italian Jewish families whose lives are affected in different, yet similar, ways.

Benevolence and Betrayal (the title of the book), stems from the fact that the Italian Jews and fascism seemingly coexisted for almost two decades before the Anti-Semetic roots dug deep into the skin and earth of the Italians, gripping like a vine, and causing some to betray Jews, and others to rush to help them.

Although the families come from different backgrounds, social classes, occupations and geographical areas of Italy, their stories are strong and vivid, and each one represents a part of the whole, in the Italian-Jewish structure.

From the accounts of the lives of a Jewish facist family and an antifacist Jewish family, a Jewish family living in the ghettos of Rome and a family in Genoa, and finally to a family whose members were deported to Germany, the book is a revalation on the actual issues and almost unknown situations that happened to occur in Italy during World War II.

Stille’s book is more than compelling, it is a profound and historical accounting of events in Italy leading up to, and including, World War II, and it is eye-opening, heart-wrenching, mesmerizing and absorbing read. I was astounded by what I read, and realize how ignorant I had been about the Italian Jewish factor during World War II. I read the book straight through in one day.

[Joan Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book. At first I felt a bit like I was reading a textbook, but, especially with the later families and with the updates on these families at the end, I feel that I know the people, though as always I stand in awe of their bravery. I can't imagine risks like this - the hiding and running from, or risking the dangers of providing sanctuary for...The wealth of primary source research made this come alive. The letters and diaries and reported conversations are those of real people, not just historical figures. It makes me wish that I'd spoken more intimately to my grandparents, and that my parents, especially my dad would speak more openly about his early life and the war etc. with my kids.This is a book that I'll continue to think about.

[Cynthia Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed it so much more than I initially expected to!
The author has such a strong love for the Italian people generally, such an understanding of the history, uniqueness, and diversity within both the fascist and antifascist movements.
This one book taught me more about Italy, Italian fascism and resistance to it, than I've learned in a lifetime!

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read describing the experiences of five Italian Jewish families during the years of WWII. As one reviewer also noted, I learned more from this book about fascism...what it means, how it can into being, and how it exited Italy after the war. I also learned general Italian history and loved that the five families were from different areas. This book is so well written and covers an era that should not be forgotten. I highly recommend it.

[Kelly Hicks]

First Stille book I read, and I was totally hooked. Such a compelling history of these families. I had no idea of the details of Italian Jewish families under fascism, usually because Hitler and Nazism takes center stage. I learned so much about the historical situation of the Jews in Italy--starting in Roman times and up through WWII.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not always "easy reading" but a solid exploration of how Italy moved from a place where Jews were at home to a place where they were at risk during WWII. Alexander Stille is an American journalist with a historical bent.

[Iain McNab]

I was led to this through Bassani's beautiful novel The Garden of the Finzi-Continis. This history of five Italian Jewish families under fascism fleshes out much of the historical background to the novel and is equally moving on the personal tragedies.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent non-fictional discussion of five extended Italian families under Fascism, with a detailed and fascinating explanation of historical trends, currents, etc. Well-written, easy to follow and well documented.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book sheds light on the little-covered WWII experiences of Italian Jewish families. It is a great book - I had a hard time putting it down and didn't want it to end.

[Lu]

Got up to pg. 210. Good but not in the mood

[KNK · Rating 5 out of 5]

heartbreaking / fascinating stories of Italian Jews in WWII Italy.

[Kraig Puccia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The two parts of Stille’s book, Benevolence and Betrayal: Five Italian Jewish Families Under Fascism, that we read for class highlight the conditions and experiences of two different Jewish Italian families, the Ovazzas and the Schonheits. These two families had extremely different experiences under the fascist regime. The Ovazzas, which had a long military history within the family and personal experiences with World War I, became staunch supporters of the fascist movement. Having strong feelings of nationalism, a history of military service within the family, and the anxieties felt by this middle-class family during the Red Scare in Italy are some of the many reasons that Stille suggests that they became involved in fascist politics. Furthermore, the Ovazzas were not particularly religious and did not practice Judaism to the same degree other Jewish families of the time did, which is why it was much easier for them to dissociate from that community and fall under the identity, or idea, of “Italianness.” As Stille notes, even Jewish communities, such as the Turin Jewish Community, committed themselves to supporting the fascist government despite the racial laws against them (Stille, 73). Despite being politically and socially connected, and supporting the fascist regime, the Ovazzas were executed by German forces in 1943.

On the other hand, the Schonheits had a different experience with a not so dissimilar fate. The Schonheits, who lived in Ferrara, were apolitical in nature. They were relatively divorced from politics and were rather indifferent to what was going on around them, demonstrating a degree of complicity in the face of violent political activity. Despite not supporting, or necessarily challenging, the fascist regime, the Schonheits elected to stay in Ferrara, believing that their friends and neighbors would vouch for them and keep them safe in the event anything ever happened to them. Unfortunately, they were relocated to Fossoli and then concentration camps in Germany where they would remain until some of them were executed, but Franco and Carlo were liberated in the Buchenwald camps by advancing American forces. These two different stories demonstrate the unfortunate fate of many Italian Jews who believed their friends and neighbors would potentially keep them safe but were ultimately betrayed by the state. These sections of the book not only demonstrate the active participation of the Italian fascist state against Jewish people in compliance with Nazi ambitions but also explores how Jews loyal to the fascist state, like the Ovazzas, who were politically active and connected could not be saved and were betrayed by the state they supported.

[Cherise Wolas · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinary and fascinating dive into five Italian families living under Mussolini, Fascism, censorship, the German occupation of Italy, the race laws, anti-semitism, the deportations to the Third Reich's concentration camps, the Holocaust. The five families portrayed, via narrative and interviews, are the Ovazzas of Turin, a loyal Fascist family, their lives following the rise and assimilation of northern Italian Jews who prospered and were devoted to their city and country; the anti-Fascist Foa family, a counterpoint to the Ovazzas; the Di Veroli family who lived a radically different life in the Rome ghetto, hundreds going into hiding with the deportations, hundreds of others deported. The fourth section, set in Genoa, focuses on Rabbi Riccardo Pacifici and Massimo Teglio, a pilot and charmer who ended up leading a clandestine Jewish assistance group despite the dangers of capture by the Germans, and highlights the cooperation between Jews and the local Roman Catholic church in hiding and saving Jews. The fifth family is the Schonheit family from Ferrara, arrested not by Germans but by Italian Fascists who played a strong role in the Italian phase of the Holocaust; the Schonheit father and teenaged son survive Buchenwald and the mother survives Ravensbruck. This is a masterly work, highly readable and powerful, with many surprises and paradoxes, a portrait of a people who have lived in Italy since at least the time of Caesar, sometimes in bondage, via the Jewish ghettos which originated in Italy, and sometimes in freedom.

[Socraticist · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a very good book of history at ground level. It makes WWIi and the events leading up to it very personal.
We get to know these people as individuals, not as simple statistics, and this is how popular history is being written these days.

Though it lives up to its title, the book’s stories are more about life under German occupation than about conditions under Italian fascism. Though the Italian government was already persecuting Jews, things seemed endurable until the Nazis snuffed out all hope.

Most surprising to me were the many heroic acts of help by the non-Jewish (Catholic) Italians, which is certainly a moral lesson for future generations.

[Graziella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stille racconta la storia di 5 famiglie ebree, dislocate in diverse zone dell'Italia fascista. Di alcune racconta lo stretto rapporto con il fascismo, fino alla disillusione causata dalle leggi razziali e dall'alleanza mortale con la Germania nazista. Il ritratto che emerge è di una'Italia sfaccettata, così come appare sfaccettata l'appartenenza alla "razza" ebraica, che al contrario, continuiamo a considerare un'unica entità monolitica. Una lettura molto interessante, resa tale anche dallo stile dell'autore.

[GONZA · Rating 4 out of 5]

L'inizio é stato duro, il primo capitolo non finiva mai, magari perché mi aspettavo un romanzo e questo é invece é un saggio o magari perché parlava di fascisti, non lo so, ma fatto sta che passato il primo ostacolo, tutto il resto del libro é stata una velocissima e affascinante discesa, dove ho imparato moltissime cose e mi sono chiesta perché l'ho fatto a 47 anni, ma tant'è, meglio tardi che mai.....

[Suzanne Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fabulous resource for me in researching for my work in progress, a novel of Piemonte between 1918 and 1946. The covid pandemic hindered my ability to access books from the interlibrary loan system, but I was able to get my hands on this treasure. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in Italian history from 1922 through the end of World War II and the Nazi occupation. I believe my readers will find it a great adjunct to my upcoming novel.

[Pj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling account of five different Italian Jewish families' experience of the Nazi occupation of Italy. It was good to hear that for the most part they were all treated with kindness and courage by their Catholic neighbours. The families range from well off middle class professionals in Turin to the impoverished in the ghetto in Rome. Highly recommended.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stille does a great job capturing this period and the personal nature of this struggle. Some of the transitions were a little difficult to follow, but that is minor in comparison to the wealth of knowledge he has amassed. This book is worth the read for the story of Massimo Teglio alone.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling and fantastic read about a horrifying time. I couldn't put it down.