German Jew Werner Adolf Goldstein Sought Refuge from the Holocaust in Italy

This blog is Part 3 of a 4-Part Series on German Jew Werner Goldstein
Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here, Part 4 [will be here when it is posted].

While Werner’s father, Willy, perished under the Nazis, Werner himself managed to escape Germany and fled to Italy. He made a good choice. While many German Jews chose to flee to France, Holland, or Belgium, they would soon find that the Nazi’s anti-Semitic juggernaut crushed Jews in every land that they invaded. Except for Italy.

Escape to Italy

As a Fascist “ally” of Nazi Germany, Italy maintained some autonomy over the policies implemented within its borders. While the Nazis encouraged the Italians to send all Jews to the extermination camps in Germany, Austria, Poland and Czechoslovakia, the Italians refused. Jews had lived in Italy for 2000 years and were well-integrated into society. The Italian authorities did restrict the rights of Jews, with many losing their jobs in such “sensitive” fields as the government and education. But, in general, Italian Jews were not interned in camps. While some extreme fascists in the Italian government advocated for all Jews to be sent to the extermination camps, the Italian military authorities refused to participate in the mass murder of Jews. They also refused to permit the deportation of Jews from Italy or Italian-occupied territory (e.g. Libya). The fascist leadership of Italy was both unable and unwilling to force the issue, despite a few extremists.

While Italian Jews remained in their homes (unless they were “subversives), foreign Jews were sent to internment camps, particularly Jews from “enemy” states (e.g. Poland). Interestingly, Jews from “allied” countries (e.g. Germany and Austria) were also sent to the internment camps. Some resisted boarding the trains until they were reassured by the Italian Police that they were NOT being sent to the border with German-occupied lands. In general, the internment camps were not as dehumanizing as the concentration camps in German-occupied lands. Marriages were celebrated and children were born. There were social events and in some camps, detainees were even permitted to lean the camp and work in their profession (e.g. dentists, doctors, etc).

So, while Italy did have some anti-Semitic legislation, it was generally much less dangerous to life and limb, than in German-occupied lands.

Before we follow Werner across the Alps into Italy, I want to touch on his paternal aunts and uncle. We don’t really know much about Werner’s mother, Emilie née Spiegel, so can’t track any of her relations. But for Willy Goldstein, we do have some information on his siblings.

Fate of the Goldstein Clan

Werner’s grandparents, Adolf and Natalie Goldstein, had five children within the space of seven years:

• Willy – born 1877
• Henriette – born 1878 and died 1879
• Arthur Salomon Goldstein – born 1881
• Erna Goldstein – born 1882
• Margaretha – born 1883

Arthur Salomon Goldstein, born 1 January, 1881, in Berlin, had married Bertha Mendelsohn on 24 June, 1909, in Berlin. Arthur was a businessman (Kaufmann) and he and his wife do not seem to have had any children. On 23 March, 1939, the couple boarded a ship destined for Melbourne, Australia. While I have been unable to trace the couple any farther, I am hopeful that they reached their destination in safety.

Erna Goldstein, born 8 November, 1882, in Berlin, married Kurt Neumann on 6 March, 1912, in Berlin. The marriage did not last long however, with the couple divorcing on 19 August, 1921. Erna quickly remarried, this time to businessman Hermann Friedländer on 1 October, 1921. Beyond that, I have not been able to trace them. Erna, with her multiple surnames, does not appear in the 1939 German Minority Census, nor does she appear in the Yad Vashem database. This gives me hope that this couple also escaped the Holocaust.

The youngest Goldstein child, Margaretha, born 6 December, 1883, in Berlin, would not be so fortunate. Margaretha married Alex Paul Emil Fleischer on 8 November, 1924, in Berlin. The one interesting thing on the marriage registration is that Margaretha was a Betriebsleiterin, or “office manager”. As with her sister, this Goldstein marriage also ended in divorce, on 23 March, 1936, lasting just 12 years. Unlike her older sister, Margaretha would not remarry. On 17 May, 1939, the date of the 1939 German Minority Census, she was residing at Kantstraße 129a. Two years later, on 27-29, October, 1941, she and hundreds of other Jews were deported to the Jewish ghetto in Litzmannstadt (Łódź). Although she survived winter in the ghetto, worse was to come. On 4 May, 1942, Margaretha was deported to the extermination camp at Kulmhof (Chelmno) where she was presumably murdered. Chlemno was the first stationary facility where poison gas was used for the mass murder of Jews. I have not been able to trace her ex-husband, Alex Paul Emil Fleischer.

Out of the four adult Goldstein siblings, one would survive, two would die at the hands of the Nazis and one is an unknown, although hopefully survived. I had expected, given the ages of the siblings, to find some evidence of children but, apart from Werner, I have found none. Now that we know the fate of Werner’s relations, it is time to find out what happened to our gold counterfeiting chemist.

While we don’t know how Werner travelled to Italy, we can be fairly certain, given his permanent entry ban into Switzerland, that he did not go via that neutral state! Perhaps he went through German-occupied Austria; it would certainly have been the most direct route. When he went is also unknown, but thanks to an Italian history professor in Vasto, on the Adriatic Coast, we have a tiny glimpse into Werner’s sojourn in Italy.

The Istonio Marina Internment Camp

Professor Luigi Murolo wrote an article in January 2022 for Holocaust Remembrance Day (27 January). The article was published on several online Italian news sites (see Sources below). In the article, Professor Murolo laments the lack of awareness about local history and, in particular, the history of the Istonio Marina internment camp (also known as the Vasto Marina internment camp). The camp was not an extermination camp, but rather a labour camp that housed politically “dangerous” elements. At other times, the camp housed foreign Jews, transferred in from other camps.

Murolo tells the story of several individuals to highlight how Holocaust Remembrance Day is deeply rooted in the Vasto area (the city used to be known as Istonio before being renamed in 1944). He points to the former Bishop of Vasto. Vincenzo Fagiolo. Ordained in March 1943, Fr. Fagiolo’s first post was the parish of Saints Fabiano and Venanzio in Rome. He assisted Father Pietro Palazzini, vice rector of the Pontifical Major Roman Seminary, in sheltering Jews from the Nazis. In 1983, while Bishop of Vasto, Fagiolo, together with Palazzini were honoured by Yad Vashem as “Righteous Among the Nations”. And yet, according to Murolo, this aspect of the Bishop’s life is not remembered or honoured in his former diocese.

Murolo also tells the story of Aldo Finz, a Jew and former Fascist who was interned at the Vasto camp before ultimately meeting his death at the Ardeatine Massacre in Rome.

Between June and July 1943, 54 prisoners were removed from the camp, to be replaced by foreign Jews from the overflowing Tortoreto camp. Of those 54 prisoners, Murolo points to one, Polish Jew Alessandro Levitan (born 24 April 1901) who would be transferred to a camp that would ultimately deliver him into the hands of the Nazis. On 30 January, 1944, Levitan was deported to Auschwitz. His place and date of death are unknown.

Another Jew, Nicola Poras, born 9 February, 1893 in Fiume (Italy) was considered a stateless person. He died in the Vasto camp on 24 October, 1943, twelve days before the camp was liberated by the Allies.

Murolo urged his readers to attend the Vasto cemetery on Holocaust Remembrance Day, to stand in silence with him and remember the men who died, victims of a great tragedy. I wonder if anyone joined him at 3 pm on 27 January 2022?

At the end of his article, Murolo includes a list of 55 foreign Jews who were interned in the Vasto camp. Werner Adolf Goldstein is the 24th name on the list. His entry reads:

Goldstein Werner Adolf di Willy …, Berlino 21.12.1901 (Germania); Ferramonti 27.10.1941; Forno di Zoldo (Bl) 23.09.1942; Tortoreto (Te) 19.06.1943; Vasto Marina 28.06.1943. Bari 16.09.1944. Vasto Marina 03.07.1945.

Which we can translate as:

Goldstein Werner Adolf [son] of [by] Willy [and a mother’s name if known], [born in] Berlin 12.21.1901 (Germany);
[With a list of internment camps to which he was transferred. I take these dates to be the date of arrival at each camp.]

Ferramonti – 27 October, 1941
Forno di Zoldo (Bl) – 23 September, 1942
Tortoreto (Te) – 19 June, 1943
Vasto Marina – 28 June, 1943
Bari – 16 September, 1944
Vasto Marina – 7 March, 1945

The list of names is sourced from an Italian publication by Giuseppe Liberatoscioli. (“E’ veramente ebreo! Giuseppe Venturi e gli ebrei (1938-1944): storie di ebrei nelle diocesi di Chieti e Vasto”, Cusano Milanino, Aga Editice, 2018.) The book tells the tale of the Archbishop of Chieti-Vasto, Giuseppe Venturi, and how he aided and protected foreign Jews interned in his diocese during the months of German occupation. I haven’t managed to track down a copy of the book as it seems to be quite obscure, published by the archives of the Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto. Although, I have reached out to Professor Luigi Murolo via email and am awaiting a response.

Tracing Werner Through Italian Internment Camps

I have created a Google My Map of these camp locations so that readers can see where they were located.

According to the list from Giuseppe Liberatoscioli, Werner arrived at the Ferramonti internment camp on 27 October, 1941. The Ferramonti camp was opened in 1940 and is located in the far south of Italy, in the province of Tarsia. Between its opening in 1940 and its liberation in 1943, the Ferramonti camp held housed about 3800 Jews, the vast majority of whom were foreign born. Many arrived via Italian-occupied Libya or Rhodes, having fled Nazi Germany via any means possible. How Werner arrived at the camp, and his location prior to his arrival, is a mystery. This raising the interesting possibility that Werner did not enter Italy via Austria or another European continent, but via Africa. Certainly, this far south internment camp would make more sense for someone entering Italy from the south, rather than the north. The other possibility is that Werner left Germany prior to the German Minority Census in May 1939. The Census information has no address associated with Werner, and simply notes that he emigrated to Italy. This suggests to me that he may have been gone by the time of the census (17 May, 1939). Crossing the Italian border was also forbidden after May 1940. Perhaps he entered the country in 1939 and settled in Rome or Naples.

From Ferramonti, Werner was then transferred to the far north of Italy, to the Forno di Zoldo camp, arriving on 23 September, 1942. The reason for the transfer is hard to determine, but was perhaps triggered by overcrowding in the southern camps. Or perhaps the Italians shuffled people to internment camps closer to their country of origin.

A little less than a year later, on 19 June, 1943, Werner was transferred farther south to the internment camp in Tortoreto in the province of Teramo. From the far south, Werner had moved to the far north and now, he was in the middle of Italy, Located along the Adriatic coast, the Tortoreto camp had a maximum capacity of 110-120 people and housed mostly foreign Jews. It operated from July 1940 to September 1943. When Werner arrived, the camp was overcrowded and many of the Jews were sent onwards to other camps.

From 1940 to September 1943, it really didn’t matter in which part of Italy a Jew might find themselves interned. But with the collapse of Mussolini in July 1943, the Allied invasion of Italy on 3 September, 1943, and Prime Minister Badoglio’s capitulation to the Allies on 8 September, 1943, everything changed. The Germans quickly invaded northern and central Italy while the Allies pushed northwards up the Italian peninsula.

By November 1943, the front between Germany and the Allies sat along the Gustav Line, one of the many defensive lines that the Germans set up to slow or halt the Allied advance. Foul winter weather and atrocious road conditions mean that Allied advance had to halt until the following year.

Jews who found themselves interned south of the Gustav Line were safe. Jews who were interned north of the Gustav line were rounded up and sent north to the extermination camps in Germany. Even the 43,000 Italian Jews living in German-occupied territory found themselves under threat. Under Mussolini, although they had some of their rights stripped from them, and lost key jobs, they were still able to live in their homes. With the turmoil of 1943, and the invasion of Italy by German forces, the Italians were ordered to round up Jews and send them north to the extermination camps. Fortunately, due to advance warning from the Italian authorities and the Vatican, many Jews were able to avoid these round-ups. Of the 10,000 Italian Jews in Rome, only 1100 were deported by the Germans. Of those 1100, very few survived.

Had Werner stayed in the Tortoreto internment camp into November 1943, it is virtually certain that he would have been deported north with the other foreign Jews. Fortunately, on 28 June, 1943, less than 10 days after arriving at Tortoreto, Werner was sent further south to the Istonio Marina internment camp. The Allied advance arrived in Vasto on 3 November, 1943, before stalling just south of Ortona. Overcrowding at the Tortoreto camp was a blessing for Werner and other foreign Jews who were moved further south.

Werner would have been in the Istonio Marina camp when the Allies arrived. The relief that came with liberation cannot be understated. A year later, on 16 September, 1944, Werner arrived at the refugee cap in Bari, farther south along the Adriatic coast. He would overwinter here and then, on 7 March, 1945, return north to the Istonio Marina camp.

And then? Well… we lose him. Werner simply vanishes from the genealogical record. He doesn’t seem to have emigrated to Canada, the USA or the UK. He could have emigrated to Palestine, or perhaps he returned to Germany after the war. Or maybe he stayed in Italy and built a new life.

Conclusion

I have traced Werner Adolf Goldstein as far as I can. I am hopeful that he survived and lived a rich, full life in a country of safety and within a society that welcomed him. He would have been 34 years old when the war ended, young enough to find a wife and start a family. Perhaps he reconnected with his Uncle Arthur in Australia. Perhaps he tracked down his Aunt Erna. I can only hope.

Perhaps, one day, a relative of Werner will find this blog and reach out to share the ending to his story.

I do have one more blog post on Werner coming up next week. When Margarete visited Josef in Switzerland in the summer of 1934, they went on several road trips and outings. On some of those, there is a third person, a man who could, perhaps, be Werner Goldstein.

Sources

Italian News Site – Il Nuovo Online – 26 January 2022 article about foreign Jews held at the Vasto Marina internment camp (no author listed by based on content, is the same as the link below and written by Professor Luigi Murolo)
Italian Histonium.net site – Same 26 January 2022 article about the Vasto Marina internment camp – written by history Professor Luigi Murolo to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day (27 January)
Mussolini’s Camps (1940-) – by Carlo Spartaco Capogreco (Translated by Norma Bouchard and Valerio Ferme), Routledge, 2019 – opens as a pdf
Internmento Veneto – A site that documents some of the foreign Jews interned at Forno di Zoldo – Werner is on the list
Ferramonti Internment Camp – Wikipedia article
Tortoreto Internment Camp – Wikipedia article (Italian)
US Holocaust Memorial Museum – has a very good summary article of Italy and the Holocaust

Cover image by photosforyou from Pixabay