3) ITALY & HOLOCAUST

Although, Italy had a fascist regime during World War II, it had one of the highest Holocaust survival rates (85%). Out of the 45,200 Jews in Italy during the war, 6,800 died in the Holocaust. Following are the areas we covered for Italian Jewry.

The Great Synagogue of Rome (1870). Roman Jewish community is more than 2200 years old! There were around 12,000 Jews in Rome in 1943; about 1,800 were deported and killed.

Canton Synagogue of Venice (1531). Shylock, one of the most infamous fictional characters from Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice' was a Venetian Jew. Out of the 1,200 Venetian Jews (1943), 205 were deported to Extermination Camps.

The notorious Platform 21 (Binario 21) of Milan from where an estimated 850 Jews were deported to the gas chambers.

The Great Synagogue of Florence (1882). There were 3000 Jews in Florence in 1931, of which 230 died in holocaust.

Pisa Synagogue (1595). There were 535 Jews in Pisa in 1931, at least 38 died in holocaust.