A special occasion brought Florence Sara Baruchi Campagnano back to her native Florence. She is the daughter of Hulda Campagnano, the only Italian witness to the Eichmann trial. She is also the niece of Rabbi Nathan Cassuto, the heroic chief rabbi of Florence who was murdered during the Holocaust. She came back for the ceremony on May 26, which honored her saviors, Cesare Conti and Dina Bardossi Conti, as “Righteous Among the Nations.” During the Nazi-fascist persecutions, the couple took in little Sara, whom they affectionately called “Mimma.” She was four years old at the time. They protected her until August 1944, when Florence was liberated. After WWII, she moved with her family to Israel. She lived in the Yavne kibbutz for many years.
The documentary film Fili nascosti (Hidden Threads), which was shown after the ceremony, reconstructs the bond between the saviors and the saved. A new chapter opened when Sara Baruchi Campagnano rediscovered the correspondence between Hulda and the Contis. In her letters, Hulda recounts how the couple took little Sara to heart. The Conti’s niece, Laura Cecchini, confirmed this bond in a 1961 letter. “I want to tell you that my dear grandmother thanks the Lord for having been able to save dear ‘Mimma,’ whom everyone loved so much…even more than myself. I cannot forget.”
The ceremony was attended by the descendants, the president of the Jewish Community of Florence, Chief Rabbi Gadi Piperno, Israel’s honorary consul Marco Carrai, and Mayor Sara Funaro.
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Photo: Sarah Baruchi Campagnano with some letters between her mother and the Contis from “Fili nascosti“