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Recent Posts
- Escaping the Holocaust- Via Switzerland? January 30, 2026
- Como’s Sepulchral Art – The City of the Dead January 15, 2026
- Federico Frigerio: The Face of Como October 14, 2025
- Como’s Twin-Tailed Mermaids June 23, 2025
- Beyond the City Walls: Via Milano May 21, 2025
Tag Archives: Shoah
Escaping the Holocaust- Via Switzerland?
Once the Nazis had occupied Northern and Central Italy from September 8th 1943, escape across the border to Switzerland was the only option for many Jews seeking safety. But the Swiss had issued an anti-semitic decree back on August 13, 1942 that closed their borders to most Jews Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized, People, History
Tagged Como, Politics, Mendrisio, holocaust, jews, second world war, History, Chiasso, Shoah, Switzerland, Asylum, Erwin Naef, Voetterl
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Escaping the Holocaust: Hiding from Home in Varese
Personal testimonies can help us understand the reality of living through historical events. These diary extracts convey some sense of the constant anxiety in avoiding deportation to a Nazi death camp. Continue reading
Posted in crime, History, People, Uncategorized
Tagged Auschwitz, cernobbio, Como, De Danonis, Fargion, germany, History, holocaust, Italian Jews, jews, nazifascists, Race Laws, Shoah, Varese, Wartime
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Como to Auschwitz on Convoy 8
Convoy 8 to Auschwitz. The story of a diverse group all arrested in Como over December 1943 but from different backgrounds forced on the same journey and to share the same fate due to their shared ethnicity. The enormity of where racism can lead us must surely never be forgotten. Continue reading
Posted in crime, History, Uncategorized
Tagged Auschwitz, Brunate, Convoy, Fossoli, History, holocaust, jews, Memorial Day, Olgiate, Questura, RSI, Shoah, SS, world-war-ii
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Como to Chiasso – Trying to Escape the Holocaust
Como witnessed the Holocaust – due to its border with Switzerland, Como became a place of both treachery and humanity – offering the opportunity for salvation or the road to extermination Continue reading
Escape to Switzerland via Monte Bisbino
Escape to Switzerland via Monte Bisbino – the story of Anna Sacerdoti and her family and how they avoided deportation – to honour this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day. Continue reading
Posted in crime, History, People, Politics, Uncategorized
Tagged Anna Sacerdoti, Bisbino, cernobbio, Chiasso, Christian Schiefer, holocaust, Leggi Razziali, Platform 21, Shoah, smugglers
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Como Remembers the Holocaust
Como Remembers the Holocaust. For this Memorial Day I wish to recall the exploits of Giorgio Perlasca, born in Como on January 31st 1910, who has been attributed with saving the lives of over 5000 Jews living in Hungary. Continue reading
Posted in crime, Events, History, People, Politics, Uncategorized
Tagged anti-semitism, Don Banfi, fascism, holocaust, Italian Jews, Perlasca, Politics, Racial Laws, Shoah
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Testimonies and Remembrance: Como Recalls the Shoah
Testimonies and Remembrance: Como Recalls the Shoah. Ines Figini and Alessandro Lukacs at Villa Olmo on Holocaust Memorial Day Continue reading
Posted in Events, History, People, Politics, Uncategorized
Tagged cernobbio, Enrico Caronti, Giorgio Perlasca, holocaust, Ines Figini, Jehovah Witnesses, Memorial Day, Pizzo, Schiavi di Hitler, Shoah, Villa Olmo
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The Como Companion 