Survivor

There is an aspect of my trip that I have yet to mention, and that is that first and foremost, I am here to study. Sometimes its easy to forget that I have academic obligations when I'm off indulging in my latest adventure. But today that was not the case.

I am taking a class on the Holocaust and contemporary German politics. During this mornings class we had a guest speaker come in. His name is Dr. Jenna and he is the owner of the hotel we are staying in. Hes 76 years old and has lived in Italy his whole life. We have gotten to the point in history where many of those who lived through those terrible years in Europe are either very old with fading memories, or have since past away. Dr. Jenna however is one of the few who still remembers it as if it were yesterday.

He came in and shared with us his experience of the Holocaust. His father, a Jew, was a decorated militia man who believed that since everyone knew him, he and his family would be safe. This however eventually lead to his demise.

At the beginning of the war, the Italian Race Laws were established to mirror those in Germany. These laws established who was considered a Jew and what Jews were and were not allowed to do. For example, Jewish children could not go to public school, all Jews had to wear the star, and many Jewish professionals lost their jobs and were unable to practice, leaving them without a source of income. This was the case for Dr. Jenna's family. His father was a lawyer and was forced to stop practicing. However, Dr. Jenna was baptized and raised Catholic by his mother, so he was able to continue schooling. The family eventually left their home town at the advisement of a close friend and began their trek to safer areas of Italy.

After the German invasion of Italy, it became clear that they were no longer safe in their new home, as they were now positioned between the Italian Fascists and the German Reich. His father knew they had to leave, so they made preparations to flee to the next town that Friday. His father however was a superstitious man and believed Friday to be a bad day for travel, so the trip was postponed until the following day. Friends advised them to take the back roads as they believed the main roads to be unsafe for Jewish travel. But Dr. Jenna's father did not heed their warnings. Dr. Jenna and his father started the journey to the next town, and his mother was to follow later with some of the belongings and a horse drawn buggie. He was eleven years old.

As they neared the town, they came to a road block under the command of a group of Italian Fascists. They asked his father for his ID card (which was distributed to all Jews in Europe stating that they were a Jew and providing other basic information). Upon discovering that Dr. Jenna's father was a Jew, the IF officer arrested him on the spot. He inquired as to who the boy was that was with him. His father turned to him and looked him in the eye and said "He is just a boy from the last town showing me the way, as I am not familiar with the area." Dr. Jenna did not say a word, but said later that at the time he understood completely what was going on. His father took his hand and shook it, and that was the last time he saw him.

As Dr. Jenna was telling this story, he admitted to being thankful that the guards caught his father and not him. After he returned to his home, he was hidden by a Catholic Seminary. His father was sent to the camp in Bolzano and was later transported to Auschwitz II also known as Birkenau. He arrived in poor health and was sent to the gas chambers nearly immediately. Dr. Jenna and his mother were notified of his death by a young engineer from a neighboring town who had survived his experience at the camp.

One of the most striking parts about traveling Europe is the presence of history. It becomes quite clear that as Americans, it is very easy to remove ourselves from the affects of European history. But for the people here, it is a part of who they are and will forever remain that way.