Elizabeth Bettina

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

Thank you for visiting my blog!

I am so excited that you wish to know more about this amazing untold story of the Holocaust – how Jews were saved in Italy. You are reading this because of one simple photograph I saw a few years ago while visiting my grandmother’s village tucked away in the Apennine Mountains about one hour south of Naples.

What in the world was a rabbi doing on the steps of the church my grandparents were married in? It was 1940. This church is  only a few hundred feet from my great-grandparents house — the same house I stayed in summer after summer as a child. Why had I not heard about this?. I knew that “some” Jews were saved during World War II….but “some “ did not include a rabbi and hundreds of Jewish men —in Campagna of all places!!

People always want to know “how did I get interested in this?” Well, there are a lot of things I do not know in life, but one of the things I do know is that I was meant to write about this.

I grew up as an Italian Catholic in an almost completely Jewish neighborhood. All my best friends were Jewish. I don’t remember learning abou about the Holocaust – it was something it seems I always knew about – and could not understand. Why would people do that to each other? How could this have happened?

Some of my friends’ parents, aunts and uncles were victims or survivors of the Holocaust. Why, because they were of another religion. It didn’t make sense to me. One of the Ten Commandments is “thou shalt not kill”.  But kill they did — more than six million Jews and five million other “undesirabls” along with them. And if they “lived” in Nazi camps, places of destruction and death, they weren’t really living – they were being worked to death before being sent to death.  So, why were people in this photo in Italy smiling? I just had to know.

Again, another “why”? Why were these facts not known in the general population and mentioned briefly in most history books? Although it is a small number saved in Italy – about 32,000 compared to the six million murdered, it is imporant to know that this represents approximately 80% of the Jewish population in Italy while approximately 80% were murdered in occupied Europe.

And thus began this most unexpected journey – a journey on which I would be joined by many survivors – some in my own backyard, on visits to many of the little villages where this history occurred, and in meetings with members of the Vatican, including an audience with Pope Benedict XVI.

And…just when you think you have heard all the stories possible…Others appear…literally in front of my eyes – a reunion that only the stars aligning could have brought about…

I look forward to hearing your comments. Did you know anything about Jews being saved in Italy? If so, how? If not, what do you think about this little known piece of history? Perhaps some of you reading recognize family members in photographs – or recognize your last name in the list in the back of the book.

I look forward to hearing from you.