I was first attracted to this book because of my Italian heritage. My mothers side of the family is Italian, so the title naturally peaked my interest. What an amazing story of the goodness of people, of their ability to choose right from wrong regardless of consequences, and ultimately of honor.
Elizabeth Bettina started out on a journey to discover why it was not common knowledge about the internment camps in small Italian villages. How even in her families own village, Jews were housed during World War II, and yet no one ever mentioned them. After all, everyone knew about the Holocaust, but I had never heard of internment camps in Italy. It showed me that sometimes we are more fascinated with the horrors of life than in the goodness.
The stories Elizabeth shares are heart warming. She goes through great lengths to return many of the surviving Jews to visit the small villages where they once were spared. Many met with Bishops, key leaders and even the Pope. They were shown great respect and honor. The photographs are timeless!
The message of honor is weaved throughout the entire book. The Italian people showed the Jews honor during their stay in these camps. They were not degraded or shamed. They were treated with respect and dignity. They were even allowed to practice their "religion". The Italians knew the consequences should they be "found out" but yet they chose to value human life over their own safety.
The stories were wonderful but the book was a bit long. I think it could have been condensed and made even more power packed!
With Joy UNquenchable,
I was first attracted to this book because of my Italian heritage. My mothers side of the family is Italian, so the title naturally peaked my interest. What an amazing story of the goodness of people, of their ability to choose right from wrong regardless of consequences, and ultimately of honor.
Elizabeth Bettina started out on a journey to discover why it was not common knowledge about the internment camps in small Italian villages. How even in her families own village, Jews were housed during World War II, and yet no one ever mentioned them. After all, everyone knew about the Holocaust, but I had never heard of internment camps in Italy. It showed me that sometimes we are more fascinated with the horrors of life than in the goodness.
The stories Elizabeth shares are heart warming. She goes through great lengths to return many of the surviving Jews to visit the small villages where they once were spared. Many met with Bishops, key leaders and even the Pope. They were shown great respect and honor. The photographs are timeless!
The message of honor is weaved throughout the entire book. The Italian people showed the Jews honor during their stay in these camps. They were not degraded or shamed. They were treated with respect and dignity. They were even allowed to practice their "religion". The Italians knew the consequences should they be "found out" but yet they chose to value human life over their own safety.
The stories were wonderful but the book was a bit long. I think it could have been condensed and made even more power packed!
With Joy UNquenchable,
The cover is enough to make me want to read it! Its lovely!
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