Giovanni Palatucci
Encyclopedia
Giovanni Palatucci was an Italian
police official who saved thousands of Jews
from being deported to Nazi
extermination camps.
Palatucci was born in Montella
, Avellino
, Italy. He graduated from the University of Turin, Faculty of Law
in 1932. In 1936 he entered police service in Genoa
and the following year he was assigned to Fiume.
After the promulgation of racial laws against Jews in 1938 and at the beginning of World War II
in 1940, Palatucci was chief of the Foreigners' Office. Palatucci edited the necessary residence papers requested by law for the refugees. He began falsifying documents and visa
s. When Palatucci "officially deported" Jews, he instead arranged for them to be sent to Campania
. He told them to contact his uncle, the Catholic
Bishop
of Campania Giuseppe Maria Palatucci, who would offer them the greatest assistance possible. He managed to destroy all documented records of the some 10,000 Jewish refugees living in the town, issuing them false papers and providing them with funds.
Following the 1943 capitulation of Italy, Fiume was occupied by Nazis. Palatucci remained as head of the police administration without real powers. He continued to clandestinely help Jews and maintain contact with the Resistance
, until his activities were discovered by the Gestapo
. The Swiss
Consul to Trieste
, a close friend of his, offered him a safe pass to Switzerland, but Giovanni Palatucci sent his young Jewish fiancée instead.
Palatucci was arrested on September 13, 1944. He was condemned to death, but the sentence was later commuted to deportation to Dachau
, where he died on February 10, 1945, mere weeks before the Dachau camp was liberated by the Allies on April 29, 1945. Some say that he died of malnutrition and others declared that he was shot. He was only 36 years old.
He was officially honored by the Yad Vashem
Holocaust Memorial in 1990 as one of the Righteous Among the Nations
. As of March 2005, a beatification case
is in progress.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
police official who saved thousands of 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...
from being deported to Nazi
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
extermination camps.
Palatucci was born in Montella
Montella
Montella is a town with 7,979 inhabitants, comune in the province of Avellino, Campania, Italy. The zone was inhabited already in the neolithic period. The town was born like Sannites' village in the I millennium a.C., to become a Municipality of Roman empire and town under the...
, Avellino
Province of Avellino
The Province of Avellino is a province in the Campania region of Italy. The area is typified by many small towns and villages scattered across the province; in fact only two towns have a population over 20,000; its capital city Avellino and Ariano Irpino....
, Italy. He graduated from the University of Turin, Faculty of Law
University of Turin, Faculty of Law
The University of Turin, Faculty of Law is the law school of the University of Turin . The faculty of law is elsewhere called the Law Department of the University of Turin...
in 1932. In 1936 he entered police service in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
and the following year he was assigned to Fiume.
After the promulgation of racial laws against Jews in 1938 and at the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1940, Palatucci was chief of the Foreigners' Office. Palatucci edited the necessary residence papers requested by law for the refugees. He began falsifying documents and visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
s. When Palatucci "officially deported" Jews, he instead arranged for them to be sent to Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
. He told them to contact his uncle, the Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Campania Giuseppe Maria Palatucci, who would offer them the greatest assistance possible. He managed to destroy all documented records of the some 10,000 Jewish refugees living in the town, issuing them false papers and providing them with funds.
Following the 1943 capitulation of Italy, Fiume was occupied by Nazis. Palatucci remained as head of the police administration without real powers. He continued to clandestinely help Jews and maintain contact with the Resistance
Italian resistance movement
The Italian resistance is the umbrella term for the various partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians during World War II...
, until his activities were discovered by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
. The Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
Consul to Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, a close friend of his, offered him a safe pass to Switzerland, but Giovanni Palatucci sent his young Jewish fiancée instead.
Palatucci was arrested on September 13, 1944. He was condemned to death, but the sentence was later commuted to deportation to Dachau
Dachau
Dachau is a town in Upper Bavaria, in the southern part of Germany. It is a major district town—a Große Kreisstadt—of the administrative region of Upper Bavaria, about 20 km north-west of Munich. It is now a popular residential area for people working in Munich with roughly 40,000 inhabitants...
, where he died on February 10, 1945, mere weeks before the Dachau camp was liberated by the Allies on April 29, 1945. Some say that he died of malnutrition and others declared that he was shot. He was only 36 years old.
He was officially honored by 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....
Holocaust Memorial in 1990 as one of the 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....
. As of March 2005, a beatification case
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
is in progress.