Memory Page | Placing of the stumbling blocks in memory of the Anticoli family

: Published: January 10 2024

Share

Today in Rome, at the headquarters of the National Research Council, the ceremony of placing four stumbling blocks in memory of Giacomo Anticoli, an employee of the organization who was deported to Auschwitz together with his wife Gemma and his daughters Luciana and Fiorella. The event, which was also attended by the Ambassador of Israel to Italy Alon Bar, is part of the “Page of Memory” project, the initiative that brings together Cnr, Ingv, the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, the Jewish Community of Rome, the National Institute for the analysis of public policies and the Union of Italian Jewish Communities in the collection and dissemination of testimonies and documents on citizens of Jewish religion and/or origin suspended and then released by research bodies, universities and Italian academies

The ceremony of placing four stumbling blocks in memory of the Anticoli family took place this morning at the headquarters of the National Research Council (Cnr): Giacomo Anticoli - employee of the organization who for service reasons lived in the building where the central administration is located - his wife Gemma and daughters Luciana and Fiorella, who following the roundup of the Rome Ghetto were deported to Auschwitz, never to return. The Anticoli family was expelled from the CNR as a result of the application of the so-called "racial laws".

The event took place in the presence, among others, of the Israeli Ambassador to Italy Alon Bar, while the former senator and current advisor to the Minister Anna Maria Bernini was present on behalf of the Ministry of University and Research Maria Alessandra Gallone, which brought a message from the Minister: "Today's ceremony is an important opportunity to reflect on the power of research and knowledge as instruments of global peace, of union between peoples, of coexistence between Nations, of international collaboration for the solution of common problems. And it is a ceremony that has a very strong symbolic value. Today, faced with a scenario marked by dramatic events and strong international tensions, after the terrible terrorist attack last October by Hamas on defenseless civilians, the light of these stones, the clarity of research and knowledge must shine even brighter . And like research that never gives up, like those who make mistakes and stumble then get up again until they find the right answer, we too strongly feel the duty to act for peace, in defense of the values of democracy and freedom, promoting a just and lasting solution that gives serenity and security to people who encounter violence instead of finding solutions through dialogue".

The first part of the day was dedicated to the ceremony of placing the stumbling blocks, the investigation of which was carried out by the "Arte in memoria" association; then, the event continued with a round table introduced and moderated by the project coordinator “Page of Memory” Aldo Winkler (Ingv), with interventions by Giulia Simone (University of Padua), Alessia Glielmi (Responsible for Document Management and Archives of the Cnr and contact person for the project), Ada Chiara Zevi (President of the “Arte in memoria” association) e Maria Paola Gargiulo (Head of Secretariat of the Senate Anti-Discrimination Commission, with greetings from Senator Liliana Segre, who joined the project).

The Ambassador Alon Bar declared that: “Researching the impact of racial laws on the world of science and culture in Italy and mapping the personal and family stories of those who have suffered discrimination represents an action of considerable importance and social value. This initiative draws attention to the personal cost faced by Italian citizens and highlights the importance of preventing similar situations in the future. As in the past, the spread of hate speech can lead to violent acts, therefore the messages expressed by political and academic leaders play a crucial role, especially in the face of the current unprecedented waves of anti-Semitism, even in Italy".

In conclusion, Presidents and representatives of the bodies in agreement expressed their reflections: "The cultural and scientific-academic world were among the most affected by the 'Provisions for the defense of the Italian race' of 1938: many Jewish citizens experienced humiliation of expulsion from school, university and suspension from all public offices and jobs. For this reason, today, the detailed reconstruction work that emerges from the "Page of Memory" project is of particular importance, which intends to bring to light the stories and sacrifice of many personalities of science and culture, as well as of innocent families who paid a very high tribute, like that of Giacomo Anticoli, who was deported and killed in Auschwitz together with his wife and two very young daughters. The historical-documentary exhibition set up in the organisation's headquarters is dedicated to him and other stories of Cnr employees released from service", recalled the President of the Cnr Maria Chiara Carrozza.

“Science has no borders, rather it breaks them down, it unites: researchers from all over the world dedicate their existence to improving the lives of everyone, in any nation”, added the President of Ingv Carlo Doglioni. “The INGV, thanks to the initiative of Aldo Winkler, has established the Memory Page (https://www.ingv.it/paginadellamemoria.it), a portal where to collect the precious testimonies of those who have experienced deportation, anti-racial violence, even in the field of research and university, in a world that has yet to become mature, to understand that, as Luigi Cavalli Sforza has demonstrated, on Earth there is only one human species, there are no different races, that the solidarity of peoples is a possible and useful achievement for everyone. Even the two-year-old daughter of Leone Anticoli, an ING employee, Fiorella Anticoli, was deported on 16 October 1943. Her memory is a powerful defense weapon that we cannot give up for a future of reasonableness and peaceful coexistence. Thanks to the Cnr, its President Maria Chiara Carrozza and Alessia Glielmi for wanting this moment of reflection for a more supportive future. As John Lennon says in his timeless “Imagine all the people living life in peace… and the world will live as one.”

“The ethical and civil commitment of the scientific community in the preservation of memory is essential to avoid the repetition of events that have trampled on human dignity and respect for others,” declared the General Director of Inapp Holy Darko Grillo. “The racial laws, a disastrous page in history, have also produced serious consequences in the academic world. It is, therefore, necessary to keep the memory alive through the dissemination and sharing of existing historical documentation with other research institutions. The task of our Institute is to make all its experience available so that the memory of the past is kept alive in the present, to promote better future conditions of civil and democratic coexistence".

The Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Community of Rome Rav Riccardo Shemuel Di Segni he added that: “It is important to maintain the memory, even more so in a body like the National Research Council, founded by Vito Volterra, a Jewish scientist persecuted for his anti-fascism”.

Also Roberto Antonelli, President of the Accademia dei Lincei, a body among the first promoters of the Memory Page, remembered the figure of Vito Volterra, president of Lincei from 1920 to 1926, to whom a conference was dedicated in 2022, underlining that: "If the main task of the Academy is to give indications and build relationships between the main European and non-European academies, this is also done on the basis of those who preceded us and what has happened. A thought then goes to all that Italy, Europe and the whole world have lost with the racial laws and extermination, not only in terms of human lives, but also of human growth and of all thought, scientific and otherwise. ”.

The culture councilor of Roma Capitale participated in the ceremony as a delegate of the Mayor of the Municipality of Rome. Miguel Gotor: “The placing of the stumbling blocks has the great value of enriching the heritage of shared memory to be transmitted to younger generations and of bearing witness to the dramatic history that shocked and changed the lives of thousands of Roman citizens forever. Last October, with the celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the roundup of the Jews from Rome, we wanted to make the memory of those years which wiped out families and broke lives even in our city a collective heritage. And it is a warning, so that what happened will never be repeated again, full of hope in a historical moment in which we lose direct witnesses and each of us becomes part of a responsibility that becomes collective", he stated.

At the end of the event, a guided tour took place Digital Gallery of the Cnr, within which the historical-documentary exhibition itinerary was installed “Stories and images”, accompanied by the voice of the curators of the project and dedicated to the employees of the organization who, as Jews, were "dismissed from service" in the spring of 1939.