stolpersteine and sanpietrini

Stolpersteine in Schoeneberg.

we were neighbors

Tuesday 27th January: “Holocaust Remembrance Day”  or “Tag des Gedenkens an die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus” or, with typically italian “understatement”, “Giornata della Memoria”.

I was in Berlin on Jan 27th and I visited the exhibition in the Rathaus Schoeneberg Town Hall: “Wir waren Nachbarn” – we were neighbors.

At the townhall all the victims of our Kiez  were listed, by name, occupation. A map highlighted were they lived. Gruenewaldstrasse. Close. Eisenacherstrasse. Pallasstrrasse. Really close.

No “masses” of human beings. But neighbors. Real people. With names, jobs, addresses, families.

History Manipulators at Work

It’s that time of the year when the manipulation of history gets even more intense, here in Italy.

That’s because we’re getting closer to a series of important dates.

The Date: January 27th, Giornata della Memoria.

The Facts:

Fact 1. A few days ago, again nazi graffiti in Rome, also in our neighbourhood, around the corner where there is a small synagogue.

Fact 2,  BXVI rehabilitated a formerly excommunicated bishop charged with Holocaus denial, Richard Williamson.

“I believe there were no gas chambers … I think that 200,000 to 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps but none of them by gas chambers. There was not one Jew killed by the gas chambers. It was all lies, lies, lies!” Richard Williamson interview on swedish tv.

Fact 3. Let’s not even mention the name of the very local politician who launched headline-grabbing declarations that “money shouldn’t be spent” for the Shoah Museum in Rome, which is planned to be built in the Villa Torlonia park, former italian dictator residence. There is always someone who does not want that History hits the Streets.

The Date: February 10th – Foibe commemoration

The Facts:

Every year, outrageous simplistic provocations are done during the prime-time talk-shows on this terrible chapter of history. Wait a couple of days…a few “experts’ and “historians” will start to pop up on tv.

But if you look closer, some underwater manoeuvres already started with the  come back of the wannabe-law 1360, by which this government aims at confusing the ideas of the new generations by granting the same status and honors of partisans to “repubblichini”.

Basically those who fought the fascists and…the fascists themselves should be treated in the same way, according to the government. Mr Vassalli brought the matter out of the murky shadow.

If you look on Osservatorio dei Balcani, you will see that tout se tient, as also the foreign affairs minister messed around with this theme in talks with Croatia and Slovenia. Italiani brava gente…

And all this brings us to another horrible episode of the XX century, in which the manipulation of history started on the same very day of the events.

The Date: March 23, Massacro delle Fosse Ardeatine.

All our politicians should spend one night, alone, in the Fosse Ardeatine, before taking office.

Left or right. Young or old. And take oath there, where it’s written:

“Here we were killed

victims of an horrendous sacrifice

from our sacrifice

may a better country arise

and a lasting peace among the people of this world”

Maybe this could avoid the blasphemous manipulation of history?

A few days ago, during a dinner a friend told us that his oncle was among the roman citizens randomly executed by Priebke in the massacre. Or maybe not randomly, as some italians “suggested” names of fellow citizens to the nazis.

We bought some books and read more about the events, and how they were timely manipulated while happening. And then we went to the Fosse. The guardians told us that they rarely see visitors. An iron wrought gate leads to the caves where 335 men and even young boys were executed and buried with an explosion.

Here it is difficult to manipulate history. It is just too visible. But the city turns the back to the Fosse.

If you visit Rome, along the beautiful Appian Road, not distant from Cecilia Metella, in the Roman Countryside…please, stop here.

“Do not exploit our death and do not forget why we were killed” – museum of the Fosse Ardeatine