Giorgio Perlasca: A Quiet Hero
Filmmakers tell the story of an Italian who saved thousands of jews.
Aug 7, 2008
The made for TV docu-drama is a popular genre of filmmaking that has immortalized some of the most influential people in Italian history. Most of these made-for TV- movies are shown throughout Italy on RAI Uno. However, some do reach international shores to provide the world with a fascinating look into Italian history.
Courage in the Face of Tragedy
With that said, enter Giorgio Perlasca, Stefano Rulli and Sandro Petraglia. Giorgio Perlasca has been described as a fascist who saved Jews. Stefano Rulli and Sandro Petraglia are the filmmakers who told his story. During the fall of Mussolini in 1943, Giorgio Perlasca was working for an Italian importer in Budapest, Hungary. When Italians residing in the country were urged home, Perlasca refused, on the grounds that he did not want to live under German occupation in Italy. He stayed in Budapest and found work at the Spanish envoy, Angel Sanz-Briz. He, along with other members of the diplomatic community, issued protective passes to Budapest Jews. In late 1944, Sanz-Briz left the country…but Perlasca stayed. He appointed himself in charge, changed his name from the Italian “Giorgio” to the Spanish “Jorge” and continued issuing protective passes. Between November 1944 and January 1945, Perlasca worked with officials from Sweden, the International Red Cross and the Vatican. Together, they saved about 3,500 Hungarian Jews.
Honoring a Hero
In the spring of 2002, RAI Uno aired a movie written by Stefano Rulli and Sandro Petraglia, which documented the extraordinary life of Giorgio Perlasca. I spoke with Stefano Rulli in New York at the Open Roads Film Festival. He said that for 50 years, Perlasca’s heroism was virtually forgotten, perhaps because he doesn’t fit into the stereotype of a typical war hero. Perlasca could not accept that churches were burned and could not believe that people were killed only because they had different religious ideas. He did what came natural to him, and saved people from what he believed to be senseless killings. Rulli stressed the importance of Perlasca’s role in Italian history and feels that he could be of great interest to Italian Americans, simply because he was a very likeable, brave person. His legacy offers a different perspective into one’s Italian origins.
Spreading the Word
Efforts have been made to get Perlasca’s story into American textbooks. Many believe his contribution to Italian history is one that should be taught along with those of Christopher Columbus and Galileo. In the meantime, you can read about Perlasca in books such as, L’impostore and El Schindler Italiano. In researching, Stefano Rulli found a biography written by Enrico Deaglio, a famous Italian journalist who rediscovered Perlasca a few years before the film was made. The book is called, The Banality of Goodness, and is available in English. There is also an official website for Perlasca; www.giorgioperlasca.it, which has a link to an English version.
