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Reading emails from others who survived the Holocaust because they are were Italy is – well – words cannot completely describe how amazing it is to know how many more stories there are and how similar they all are.  At times I do not know if they quoted the book, or I somehow quoted them.

It still amazes me that so little is known about this aspect of history.  I am extremely grateful to those who write expressing their thoughts and sharing what happened to them while they were in Italy.  Thank you.

 5-18-09

Dear Ms. Bettina,

I am writing on behalf of my father, Paul Millet who asked me to order your book for him through Amazon as he is not a user of computers

My father and his parents survived the war in Italy. I am sure you would be interested in his story, which I might add he is only too happy to tell and retell

My father was born in Vienna in 1930. After Kristallnacht in Vienna in 1938 it soon became apparent that the family could no longer remain in Austria. Unfortunately the family had left their run a bit late and the only country to which they could go was Italy and even in Italy they were originally issued with only a 6 week Visa.

 As my father tells it, however, he quickly learned Italian in Milan where they were living and was able to convince authorities to keep on reissuing their Visa every 6 weeks. He even obtained a part time job as a delivery boy for a book shop and has a chapter devoted to him in a book that the owner of the bookstore an  Alberto Vigevani subsequently wrote, La Febbre dei Libri.

In 1940, Paul’s father and my grandfather, Herman Millet was arrested and sent to jail in Milan. A month later he was sent to an internment camp in Badia Al Pino in Tuscany and some months later to Lucignano also in Tuscany. However, he was found wandering  outside of limits and as a punishment was sent to another internment camp in Pescaserolli in Abruzzo. There he was joined by my father and grandmother who wanted to escape the bombing and difficulties that had become life in Milan. They all remained in Pescasseroli until 1944 travelling to L’aquila and finally Rome where they settled until moving to Australia in 1946

I have tried to keep the story short but should you wish to speak with my father I’m sure he would be happy to provide you with greater detail.

My father has always told me that he and his parents owed their lives to Italy and the mostly benevolent Italians who helped them out whenever possible and warned them of any impending roundups. His story has given me an abiding love for Italy, its language and people and I am a frequent visitor as a result of this as well as being more or less fluent in Italian.

Please let me know if you would like to speak with my father and I will put you in touch.

Regards,
Leonie

AUSTRALIA

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5-22-09

 Hi Elizabeth,

My father has almost finished the book. He is very emotional as so much of it is his story. He is reading very late into the night.

He has just delivered a bundle of photos that I will have professionally scanned as many of the originals are too precious to risk in the post.  When they are done I will get an address from you so that I can send them on.

Regards,
Leonie

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5-23-09

Dear Elizabeth,

 I guess my father is so emotional because although Melbourne has the largest Holocaust survivor population other than Israel, most of the survivors are of Polish or Hungarian extraction and spent “their war” in various camps and/or hiding in Eastern Europe. There are very few Italian Jews or people who spent the war in Italy.

I have also had some experience interviewing Holocaust Survivors having worked as an interviewer with Stephen Spielberg’s Survivors of The Shah project. In the 40 or so interviews I conducted I never once encountered someone with an Italian experience.

 I will get those photos to you soon

 Regards,

Leonie

On 23/05/2009, at 9:06 PM, Elizabeth Bettina wrote:

 Dear Leonie,

 Thank you for writing to me.  After having interviewed so many people, I know that the stories have similar elements to them.  Sometimes Vince Marmoreal and I could finish the people’s sentences for them and they would look at us in awe – asking “how did you know”?  The answer – we had heard it before – so many times.

I know about the pictures….they are way too precious to risk. 

Ciao!

Elizabeth

Hi.

I received this lovely email today and wanted to share it with you.  Before the book tour in Nashville, I had never given a lecture at a University before.  In fact, I never thought it  was something I would do…like most things regarding this journey.  I am glad that this story touched so many students.

Elizabeth Bettina, It Happened in Italy: Untold Stories about How the People of Italy Defied the Horrors of the Holocaust

Belmont University (Convocation Lecture)

Tuesday May 5 at 2 pm, 110 Massey Hall

On Tuesday May 5, 2009 Belmont University had the pleasure of hosting a lecture by Elizabeth Bettina who was on a week-long book promotion tour in Nashville. The lecture at Belmont was included as part of the Academic Lecture Convocation Series, where students received convocation credit for attending.  It was the last day of classes for the semester, and as students filed into the lecture room, it was clear that most were in a disinterested mood, just biding their time, waiting to sit through what they thought would be yet another dreary and depressing lecture, especially as the subject of this one was the Holocaust.   

The following are comments from students who attended the lecture:

“I thought she was so informative.  We had learned about the holocaust in school, but had no idea Italians were involved in saving Jewish people.”

“Never knew this about Italy during the Holocaust.” 

“It was great how she really connected with the individuals and families actually involved.” 

“Amazing, a story never before told—her own enthusiasm over the subject inspired the same in the audience! She was so personally connected to the history, so connected to the people, it wasn’t just an ordinary history, but instead this history was brought to us as if in ‘real time’.”

“Ms. Bettina, as an Italian Catholic herself, made it clear that this was a story about the courage of ordinary Italians, and she described the history humbly and beautifully, and showed that she herself was in awe of this past!  It was great to hear her speak!”

“She is a great lecturer.  She seemed very natural speaking in front of the students”

“Ms. Bettina has done a great service to Italians and Jews alike—demonstrating their shared bond.”

“It was evident that she had done extensive research on this topic, and that she used her own personal contacts, of the people who actually experienced these events—nothing can beat talking to the actual people involved.”

“She also helped to clarify the role of the Catholic church in these rescue efforts, especially of ordinary priests and nuns.” 

“I was especially touched by the story of the milk brothers!”

“The Holocaust is a topic that I am very much interested in, it matters to me, and so I was so happy to learn about what Italians did for Jews during the Holocaust, an amazing story.”

“It’s something you never hear about, it’s just not talked about.” 

  “I really enjoyed how she took us though the photos in the book during the presentation.  It was like being there.”

“She has done a great service to generations past and future for bringing out this unknown history.  It’s amazing that this was a common story throughout Italy!”

The book signing and talking to her afterwards was great!”

 “I’m a junior and this is one of the best convocation lectures I’ve been to at Belmont University!”

Susan M. Jellissen, PhD – Assistant Professor

Department of Political Science – Belmont University

Nashville, TN 37212