Victims of political and racial persecution: Italian PM introduces study committe

By Pagine Ebraiche staff

In the last few days, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of Italy has established the appointment of a study committee to amend the regulations in favour of the victims of political and racial persecution, responding to the request of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI), which has repeatedly underlined practical difficulties in the application of those same regulations.

The commission will consist of a qualified working group and it will be presided over by former First President of the Italian Court of Cassation Giovanni Canzio. UCEI will be represented by Councillor Davide Jona Falco.

“Lately, many criticalities have arisen within the commission designated to examine allowance applications, especially regarding the difficulties which applicants are increasingly faced with. The Italian government has responded promptly to UCEI’s request. This intervention has been welcomed positively, while waiting for a further decree to officialise all of the members of the working group which will be appointed”. This was underlined by Giulio Disegni, UCEI Vice President and member of the Commission for Allowance to Victims of Political Antifascist and Racial Persecution since 2001.

The commission will address various topics: Italian Jews’ hiding places and escape routes to escape from Nazi and Fascist raids after 8th September 1943; the condition of children, even at a preschool age, who had to hide and run away, with or without their families; the condition of Italian-Libyan citizens who lived in Libya and were subjected to anti-Jewish laws; the condition which Jews who were born in 1944 had to endure until the liberation of their hometowns; the burden of proving the suffered persecution, especially carried by those who had to hide and leave their homes, but also by people whose situation is compliant with the law or has already been recognised; the significance of the ordinance issued on 30th November 1943 by Minister of the Interior Guido Buffarini Guidi, who ordered the capture and deportation of all Jews residing in Italy, along with the immediate seizure of their property, both movable and immovable, while waiting for their subsequent requisition; collection, prisoner-of-war, labour and concentration camps, as well as extermination camps.

Among the commission’s responsibilities is meeting with people who carried out specific research and in-depth analyses or gained significant experience in the field.
When the study will be accomplished, within four months after the first meeting, the commission will hand in a report to Italian Prime Minister.

Translated by Claudia Azzalini and revised by Sara Facelli, both students at the Advanced School for Interpreters and Translators of Trieste University and interns at the newspaper office of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities.