Assisi- My Safe Haven

Graziella Viterbi was born on May 19, 1926. She lived happily in a villa in Italy with her mother and father. At the age of six, she began to learn about Jewish culture and the Jewish festivals. Graziella had many friends, both Jewish and Christian. Her sister Mariam was born when Graziella was seven. Discrimination against the Jews in their region began in 1938 when Graziella was twelve. The newspapers reported that every Jew, whether student or teacher, was no longer welcome in the schools. Graziella's reaction was indifference but Miriam was five years old and didn't have many friends and felt the sting of the racial laws. She suffered from loneliness and the girls' father, a professor at Padova's university, was fired from his job because he was Jewish. Lucia and Clara Levi, two Jewish sisters who were former teachers, decided to educate Jewish children at their home. Soon a villa in Pontecorvo was purchased so a proper Jewish school could be organized. Rabbi Augusto Levi was the school's principal and religion classes were taught in addition to the academic subjects. Persecution continued to increase and members of Graziella's father's family were fortunate to take refuge in the United States. During the summer of 1943, Graziella's family went on a trip to Porretta, in the province of Bologna. Their vacation was serene until the arrival of Nazi soldiers on September 8, 1943. The decision was made to go farther south to Assisi, a city considered to be a safe destination for Jews. An underground movement was led by Bishop Placido Nicolini. The monks had a system of hiding Jews in the religious buildings of the city and supplied them with false documents. The Viterbis had new identity cards printed with their last name changed into "Varelli. It was difficult for the girls to keep the lies straight in their minds. A German Colonel named Valentin Muller was assigned to occupy Assisi. He turned a blind eye to the situation. He was part of the German army, but he was a good man who didn't share Nazi ideology. When the Nazis planned to attack Assisi, Colonel Muller stopped the German troops from destroying the city. When he reported back to Germany, problems arose because of his actions. But he returned to Assisi where the mayor granted him honorary citizenship. When the Colonel died two years later, many olive tree branches were sent to decorate the grave of this noble man. The olive branches are the Christian symbol of charity and peace. The Viterbis stayed in Assisi for seven years, and then Graziella moved to Rome, where she studied law and sociology at the same university where her father once taught. She became editor of a newspaper connected with an Israeli humanitarian organization. She also served as a social worker for an American organization assisting Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe.