Carlo Angela
Encyclopedia
Carlo Angela was an Italian doctor, who has been recognized as a "Righteous Gentile" for his efforts during World War II in saving Jewish lives. He is the father of TV journalist and science writer Piero Angela
.
, Province of Vercelli
.
He graduated with a degree in medicine
in 1899 at the University of Turin
. In Paris
he attended the Neuropsychiatry courses held by Babinski
. During World War I
he was an officer of the Italian Red Cross
at the "Vittorio Emanuele III" Territorial Hospital of Turin.
, by joining the Democrazia Sociale movement, a political movement born from the ashes of the Partito Radicale Storico. Within the party there were lots of contradictions: together with left-wing deputies there were others who became ministers in the first government run by Mussolini
, formed after the march on Rome
.
Then Angela left the party and allied with the reformist Socialists led by Ivanoe Bonomi
, whom he ran with at the elections of 6 April 1924, without being elected.
After the murder of Giacomo Matteotti
, in June 1924, Carlo Angela openly blamed the fascists from the pages of the weekly paper Tempi Nuovi.
. There, he became health director of the clinic for mental diseases "Villa Turina Amione". It was there that Angela offered a safe haven to numerous antifascists and Jews
during the German Occupation and the Repubblica Sociale Italiana, by forging the medical cards to justify their stay inside the clinics. He diagnosed patients incorrectly and changed names or nationalities. In his rescue he was helped by Vice-Director dr. Brun, by sister Tecla and by the nurses Fiore De Stefanis, Carlo and Sante Simionato. As suspected by the fascist police, Mr. Angela was summoned and interrogated in Turin and he also ran the risk of being shot during a retaliation.
. Afterwards he ran for the first democratic elections after longer than twenty years, in the same list as Norberto Bobbio
, Massimo Mila and Ada Gobetti Marchesini.
He also became the President of the Molinette hospital in Turin
.
He died in 1949.
The deeds of Angela remained unknown for more than 25 years because of his family's reserve, and were only revealed in 1995, when Anna Segre decided to publish the diary of her father Renzo, written during the time when he had escaped the extermination camps together with his wife Nella in the clinic "Villa Turina Amione"
Based on the evidence and the testimonies collected and presented to it, on 29 August 2001 an Israel
i committee awarded Professor Angela the Medal as a Righteous among the Nations
and inserted his name into the Garden of the Righteous
at the Yad Vashem
museum in Jerusalem: the awarding ceremony took place in San Maurizio Canavese
on 25 April 2002. The Adviser of the Israeli Embassy in Rome
Tibor Schlosser, in the name of the world's Jewish community as a whole, assigned the award to Sandra and Piero
, Carlo Angela's children.
Since 3 June 2000, a street holds the name of Carlo Angela in San Maurizio Canavese
and a plaque was put up over entrance of the Town Hall.
Piero Angela
Piero Angela, Grand Officer OMRI is an Italian science journalist and writer, and pianist. He was born in Turin.- Music :...
.
Early life
Angela was born in OlcenengoOlcenengo
Olcenengo is a comune in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km northeast of Turin and about 10 km northwest of Vercelli....
, Province of Vercelli
Province of Vercelli
Vercelli is a province in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. Its capital is Vercelli., it has an area of 2,088 km², and a total population of 176,829...
.
He graduated with a degree in medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
in 1899 at the University of Turin
University of Turin
The University of Turin is a university in the city of Turin in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy...
. In Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
he attended the Neuropsychiatry courses held by Babinski
Joseph Babinski
Joseph Jules François Félix Babinski was a French neurologist of Polish descent. He is best known for his 1896 description of the Babinski sign, a pathological plantar reflex indicative of corticospinal tract damage....
. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he was an officer of the Italian Red Cross
Italian Red Cross
The Italian Red Cross is the Italian national Red Cross society that has its origin in the Comitato dell'Associazione Italiana per il soccorso ai feriti ed ai malati in guerra that was formed in Florence in 1863, and in Milan on June 15, 1864. Other committees were formed later...
at the "Vittorio Emanuele III" Territorial Hospital of Turin.
Political activity
He joined politics after World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, by joining the Democrazia Sociale movement, a political movement born from the ashes of the Partito Radicale Storico. Within the party there were lots of contradictions: together with left-wing deputies there were others who became ministers in the first government run by Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
, formed after the march on Rome
March on Rome
The March on Rome was a march by which Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party came to power in the Kingdom of Italy...
.
Then Angela left the party and allied with the reformist Socialists led by Ivanoe Bonomi
Ivanoe Bonomi
Ivanoe Bonomi was an Italian politician and statesman before and after World War II.Bonomi was born in Mantua. He was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies in 1909, representing Mantua as a member of the Italian Socialist Party...
, whom he ran with at the elections of 6 April 1924, without being elected.
After the murder of Giacomo Matteotti
Giacomo Matteotti
Giacomo Matteotti was an Italian socialist politician. On 30 May 1924, he openly spoke in the Italian Parliament alleging the Fascists committed fraud in the recently held elections, and denounced the violence they used to gain votes...
, in June 1924, Carlo Angela openly blamed the fascists from the pages of the weekly paper Tempi Nuovi.
Humanitarian actions
The government's reaction to this article was to set the newspaper's office on fire and Angela fled to San Maurizio CanaveseSan Maurizio Canavese
San Maurizio Canavese is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 15 km northwest of Turin...
. There, he became health director of the clinic for mental diseases "Villa Turina Amione". It was there that Angela offered a safe haven to numerous antifascists and Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
during the German Occupation and the Repubblica Sociale Italiana, by forging the medical cards to justify their stay inside the clinics. He diagnosed patients incorrectly and changed names or nationalities. In his rescue he was helped by Vice-Director dr. Brun, by sister Tecla and by the nurses Fiore De Stefanis, Carlo and Sante Simionato. As suspected by the fascist police, Mr. Angela was summoned and interrogated in Turin and he also ran the risk of being shot during a retaliation.
After World War II
During the Liberation, Carlo Angela was appointed mayor of San Maurizio CanaveseSan Maurizio Canavese
San Maurizio Canavese is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 15 km northwest of Turin...
. Afterwards he ran for the first democratic elections after longer than twenty years, in the same list as Norberto Bobbio
Norberto Bobbio
Norberto Bobbio was an Italian philosopher of law and political sciences and a historian of political thought. He also wrote regularly for the Turin-based daily La Stampa....
, Massimo Mila and Ada Gobetti Marchesini.
He also became the President of the Molinette hospital in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
.
He died in 1949.
Medal of "Righteous among the Nations"
The necessary requirements for a man to be acknowledged as a "Righteous" are three: saving Jews, doing so under the threat of a serious life risk, and never getting any reward for this.The deeds of Angela remained unknown for more than 25 years because of his family's reserve, and were only revealed in 1995, when Anna Segre decided to publish the diary of her father Renzo, written during the time when he had escaped the extermination camps together with his wife Nella in the clinic "Villa Turina Amione"
Based on the evidence and the testimonies collected and presented to it, on 29 August 2001 an Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i committee awarded Professor Angela the Medal as a Righteous among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
and inserted his name into the Garden of the Righteous
Garden of the Righteous
Garden of the Righteous may refer to one of the following:* An inexact translation of Riyad-us Saliheen* Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations, a garden in Yad Vashem commemorating the Righteous Among the Nations....
at the Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
museum in Jerusalem: the awarding ceremony took place in San Maurizio Canavese
San Maurizio Canavese
San Maurizio Canavese is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 15 km northwest of Turin...
on 25 April 2002. The Adviser of the Israeli Embassy in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
Tibor Schlosser, in the name of the world's Jewish community as a whole, assigned the award to Sandra and Piero
Piero Angela
Piero Angela, Grand Officer OMRI is an Italian science journalist and writer, and pianist. He was born in Turin.- Music :...
, Carlo Angela's children.
Since 3 June 2000, a street holds the name of Carlo Angela in San Maurizio Canavese
San Maurizio Canavese
San Maurizio Canavese is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 15 km northwest of Turin...
and a plaque was put up over entrance of the Town Hall.