REMEMBRANCE – From Vicenza to Auschwitz by bike to remember the heroism of father and son partisans Fraccon
Their departure will be from Vicenza (Veneto) on August 12, and they will travel by bike to Auschwitz.
The 1,300-kilometer journey across Europe is to honour Catholic partisans Torquato and Franco Fraccon, a father and son. They were deported and killed in Nazi concentration camps in 1945. Lucia Farina (niece of the Fraccons), her husband Antonino Stinà, Paolo Massignan (son of Luigi “Gino” Massignan, a fellow prisoner), and Meme Padino will complete this journey that crosses borders, family histories, and places of remembrance. The journey’s goal is to never forget and to let the new generations know the fate that awaits those who decide not to turn their backs on others.
The project “1945-2025: 80 Memoria: Vicenza – Mauthausen – Auschwitz” is part of the initiatives for the 80th anniversary of Italy’s Liberation Day. It is supported by the municipalities of Vicenza and Venice and the Jewish Community of Venice. The project’s protagonists presented it at the Stefanini High School in Mestre, where a tree was planted to commemorate Torquato Fraccon. “We gladly accepted this initiative,” said Paolo Navarro, vice president of the Jewish Community of Venice, in an interview with Pagine Ebraiche. “At a time like this, with antisemitism on the rise, it’s crucial to send a message about remembrance. We joined the initiative because it is necessary to make others understand the true significance of these 80 years since Liberation Day. We must keep alive the lesson that we must fight for freedom against all forms of antisemitism and hatred.”
The journey will begin at the Fraccon home on Via Templari in the Commenda district of Vicenza. The first stop will be the San Biagio prison, where Torquato, Franco, and Franco’s mother and sisters were imprisoned. From there, the four cyclists will proceed to the historic city center and make their next stop in front of Palazzo Leone Montanari, where two stumbling stones in honor of father and son Fraccon are placed. On August 20, the group will stop at the Mauthausen memorial, and they will finally reach their destination in Auschwitz-Birkenau on August 27.
The heroism of a father and his son
Torquato Fraccon, born in 1887, was a committed Catholic from a young age. He was associated with the Azione Cattolica and the Democratic-Christian Party. After World War I, he worked at Banca Cattolica del Veneto, a private Italian bank. He openly opposed the Fascist party and was consequently attacked, monitored, and intimidated. After September 8, 1943, he joined the Vicenza network of Resistance groups. He organized escapes to Switzerland and provided counterfeit documents to political refugees, Jews, and Allied prisoners. Among those he helped find refuge in Switzerland was Giulio Reichenbach, a Jewish university professor who fled Italy with his family in December 1943.
In January 1944, Torquato was arrested for the first time, together with his 18-year-old son, Franco. After days of interrogation and torture, they were released. They were arrested again in October, along with Torquato’s wife and daughters. While detained in Padua, neither Torquato nor Franco gave in or revealed information about the Resistance network they belonged to. They were deported to Mauthausen, where Franco was killed in March 1945. Torquato died on May 8, three days after the camp was liberated. Both were posthumously awarded the Silver Medal of Military Valor. In 1955, the Union of Italian Jewish Communities awarded them a gold medal for merit. In 1978, Yad Vashem recognized Torquato Fraccon as Righteous Among the Nations.
Translated by Rebecca Luna Escobar and revised by Matilde Bortolussi, students at the Advanced School for Interpreters and Translators of the University of Trieste, trainees in the newsroom of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities — Pagine Ebraiche.