Assisi
The
Stories – Part 2
There
are some especially wonderful stories of generosity, courage, and
inventiveness that are a testimony to the goodness of humanity; one
such is the narrative about the Viterbi family. Emilio Viterbi was a
professor at the University of Padua who, as a result of the Laws of
1938, was no longer allowed to teach. Daughters Grazia and Mirjam had
to leave school and their friends came less and less to visit,
fearful that they would get into trouble. Some time later, a red Star
of David was painted over their front door and for the next 4.5
years, the family lived in uncertainty and fear...and, then, in May
of 1943, the synagogue of Padua was set in flames. That summer, while
the family was staying temporarily in a hotel away from Padua which
then, ultimately, became too dangerous a place for them, Grazia and
Mirjam's parents heard from other guests that, in Assisi, although
the podesta was Fascist, he was “una bravissima personna.” The
family left for Assisi shortly after.
Once
there, Emilio, who was an admirer of San Francesco, found a friend
from Padua who told him of two other Jewish families in the city.
Emilio and his wife, Margherita, were introduced to Don Aldo
Brunacci, Arnoldo Fortini, and Monsignor Nicolini. An apartment was
quickly found for the family, their name was changed, and false
documents were procured. Their “true” identity cards were hidden
by Monsignor Nicolini behind a picture of the Madonna that hung on a
wall in his study. With a new identity, the family was able to leave
the house and visit with other families that were in hiding, some of
whom were in the Monastery of San Quirico.
In the
early months of 1944, the police went to the hotel where the family
had first stayed in search of them. Although the police were told
that the family had gone to Firenze, it was felt by all that their
apartment would no longer be safe. There is a lovely story of how
Monsignor Nicolini offered his own bedroom for the Viterbi's to stay
in. Not wanting to accept this generous offer, Emilio decided to
take the family to Perugia and go into hiding there. This plan was
foiled with the arrest of some members of the underground movement in
March of 1944 and the further bombing of the apartment the family was
supposed to have lived in. The new identity cards which had already
been printed changing the family's name, origin, and residency, would
not be used.
On May
15th of that year, Emilio and Margherita were waiting in
in Don Aldo's office to discuss a new plan for the family when two
policemen came to arrest him. Don Aldo quickly went upstairs, took
his breviary, closed the door to his office, and walked calmly
outside with the police who then had no reason to search for
anything...or anyone. Once again, the Viterbi family had been saved.
Another
story, which I love to share, is that of Signora Weiss. Originally
from Vienna, she was staying in the Monastery of San Quirico, when
she died from a cardiac crisis. The problem became how to bury her
without revealing her true identity. As the sky grew dark, her coffin
was carried to the Cimitero di Assisi, right outside the city walls.
Don Aldo led the funeral procession and the casket was placed in a
funeral niche that he had purchased under his own name. The next day,
Signora Weiss became “Bianca Bianchi” where she still lies
peacefully to this day. The only difference is that her tombstone
has been changed to reveal her true identity; her son, coming after
the war to visit her grave, acknowledged the loving hospitality of
the people of Assisi on her stone.
As an
added note...To all those who watched, this appeared to be a Catholic
funeral and, being such, the German soldiers saluted the coffin of an
elderly Jewish refugee as she was carried away...
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