It Happened in Italy: Untold Stories of How the People of Italy Defied the Horrors of the Holocaust by Elizabeth BettinaMy review
rating: 3 of 5 stars
It Happened in Italy by Elizabeth Bettina tells the important story of the kind and dignified treatment of the Jews living in Italy during World War II by the Italians. It is a story that needs to be told and archived for history's sake and sheds a glimmer of hope in an era of heinous world wide crime against humanity. The humane treatment of the Jews by the Italians during this time says a lot about Italian culture and values and those of the Church. The stark contrast with Germany and other countries where most of the citizens cooperated with the Nazi regime only serves to heighten our awareness of what most Jews during World War II went through.
Given the emotional nature of the Holocaust story, however, I was surprised that the writing did not make me feel as if I were there. It was more like I was reading an email. For whatever reason, the author was not able to delve deeply into individual emotions of her characters in any great detail.
Also, as the author admits, many of the people's stories are very similar, which tends to cause the individual survivors to blend together in the book. It may have helped if the book's appendixes were moved to the beginning to give the reader an idea of the structure of the story before it is read.
While I am very glad that this story has been so well researched, it could have been better told.
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I think the topic of the Holocaust is a difficult one for books and movies. It was such an upsetting time. My dd had to read a few books during her schooling on the Holocaust and each one had us in tears. Your review is nicely written.
ReplyDeleteThanks. You have a good point. I think the challenge of writing a "positive" Holocaust story is making the reader feel present, since the experience of the survivors was not nearly as horrific as occurred in Germany and Poland, but they were still not "free".
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