On September 27, 1943, the people of Naples revolted against the Nazi-Fascist occupiers. Thousands of Neapolitans from all walks of life engaged in a passionate street-by-street battle to defend their freedom and dignity: An act of Resistance that would be known as the ‘Four Days of Naples’. Thanks to the courage and resourcefulness of these insurgents, Naples became the first city in Europe to liberate itself. Eighty years later, Head of State Sergio Mattarella first attended a commemorative ceremony at the \u2018Monumento allo Scugnizzo\u2019 in Piazza della Repubblica and later participated in a conference organized by the University of Naples L’Orientale.
\nAmong the heroes of those days of struggle were several Neapolitan Jews, including brothers Alberto and Leo Defez, who were among the first to join the insurrection. Their story has been meticulously reconstructed on the website resistentiebrei.cdec.it by historian Liliana Picciotto for the Fondazione Cdec (the Institute for Italian Jewish History and Culture) in Milan. Seven names from Jewish Naples echo in history. “This contribution is significant, given the small size of this Community and the fact that at that time many Neapolitan Jews were hiding in the municipalities of Tora and Piccilli,” explains the scholar to Pagine Ebraiche. The uprising, she recalls, was triggered \u201cby the dire conditions Naples found itself in that September. When the Nazis entered the city, many structures were in ruins, even the most basic services were non-functional, and there was a collective sense of despair.\u201d Picciotto points out that a Neapolitan, Giorgio Formiggini, was also among the heroes who defended Rome at Porta San Paolo and was one of the first to join the GAP, the Patriotic Action Groups. “Formiggini is a figure to be remembered, not only for his courage but also for his mother Gina’s valuable studies. Gina is the author of the seminal book ‘Stella d’Italia, Stella di David: Gli ebrei dal Risorgimento alla Resistenza’ (Star of Italy, Star of David: Jews from the Risorgimento to the Resistance), published in 1970 by Mursia, and which provided the most comprehensive study on this subject for years,” emphasizes the historian. The work on the protagonists of the Jewish Resistance continues online. Picciotto states that “Currently, we have approximately 400 stories available on our site. The upcoming entries, to be published in the next months, will focus on three Italian regions: Umbria, Marche, and Abruzzo.”
\nGoing back to Naples, the book ‘Raccolta di Memorie’ (Collection of Memories), edited by Suzana Glavas for the publisher La Mongolfiera, contains the firsthand account of Alberto Defez, who later became a renowned engineer and a close friend of the recently deceased President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, in whose memory the celebrations opened. As Defez recalled: \u201cDuring the night between September 26 and 27, we heard the sporadic sound of machine guns being fired and, peering through a crack, we saw German light vehicles moving along Via Roma (…). At the crossroads with Via Tarsia, as well as at other intersections, they fired first from one side and then from the opposite, continuing as another vehicle repeated the same operation.\u201d In the morning, after hours of uncertainty, Defez witnessed \u201ca man in a fascist military uniform, a greyish green uniform and a black shirt, being pushed forward by about six or seven young men around the age of twenty armed with rifles while holding his hands up.\u201d From that moment, \u201cWe waited no longer.\u201d These initiatives were attended by the city’s Jewish Community and the Municipality. “Remembering these events underscores the democratic roots and active participation embedded in the DNA of our city, for which we have received the Gold Medal of Valor,” emphasized Mayor Gaetano Manfredi.<\/p>\n