Montella, Italy and the borough of Norristown have more than just a street name in common. These sister cities were both home to Claudio Sica, a Montella native with a proud legacy of heroism pulsing through his veins.
Sica’s uncle, Giovanni Palatucci, is a name worth remembering.
Sacrificing his life to transport hundreds of persecuted Jews from northern Italy to the south of his country, Palatucci died in Dachau, a concentration camp in Germany during WWII after his arrest by the Gestapo for his selfless deeds.
Palatucci was the Police Commissioner of Fiume, Italy in the late 1930s. There he was able to use his position of power to notify a ship with 800 hundred Jewish refugees of its doomed fate towards Nazi death camps in Germany. The Jews on the ship thought they were headed to Palestine, and instead had to go to Southern Italy for safety.
Palatucci did all that he could to help the Jews, Sica said, his uncle was a warm and compassionate man – and it shows through his actions.
According to Yad Vashem, an international center that houses the largest archives of Holocaust remembrance documentation in the world, Palatucci provided residency permits and fake passports for Jews so they could stay in Italy.
The Commissioner was emblematic of Italy’s hospitality and kindness to strangers and he is not alone in his many acts of love. Yad Vashem states that over 370 Italians have been recognized for their generosity to Jews during the Holocaust.
Yad Vashem honored Palatucci as a Righteous Among the Nations in 1990. The honor is given to those who have exemplified nobility and selflessness in the face of anti-Semitism during the Holocaust.
Yad Vashem was established as a public Commission in 1963 in the state of Israel and headed by a Supreme Court Justice. The judge evaluates all cases, determining which are deserving of the Righteous Among the Nations honor.
In what is oft described as the core identity of Italian culture, Palatucci was able to count on his family to further his cause. Palatucci’s uncle, Giuseppe Maria Palatucci was the Bishop of Salerno. Palatucci sent Jews from the North to Salerno to safe camps.
Sica said many of the Jews made a soccer team in the camps with other Italians.
Palatucci’s family was given a Gold medal by the Group of Italian Jewish communities in 1990 when he was recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations.
On Sunday, the mayor and other officials of Montella, Italy will be present for Mass at Holy Saviour Church in Norristown. Bishop Louis DeSimone of Philadelphia’s Santa Monica Church will be hosting the Mass. Following the service, a monument of Giovanni Palatucci will be unveiled at the Holy Saviour Club on East Main Street. Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6) will be present.
The monument was made by Luigi Santoro and Jeanie Gambone.
