The Consulate of Italy in Detroit, in collaboration with the Dante Alighieri Society of Michigan, presents the screening of two movies, Twenty Minutes, directed by Daniele Esposito and Piazza, directed by Karen Di Porto, in commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On Sunday, January 29, 2023 at 3:30 pm at the Maple Theatre located at 4135 W. Maple Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI. Registration required here.

In honor of the “Giornata della Memoria” – International Holocaust Remembrance Day (observed globally on January 27th) – the Consulate of Italy in Detroit and the Dante Alighieri Society of Michigan wishes to commemorate all of those who suffered persecution as a result of the Racial Laws imposed by the Fascist government and under the Nazi occupation during World War II.

First Film: Twenty Minutes, A short film directed by Daniele Esposito, 20 minutes, In Italian with English Subtitles

October 16, 1943, Rome. It is early morning. Lea, waking from a nightmare, hears a knock at the door. Two German soldiers give her a leaflet: Lea and her husband Enzo have twenty minutes to leave their lives behind and follow them. But the names of their children, Cesare and Fiorella, are not mentioned in the list held by the German soldiers. Lea and Enzo are undecided about what to do: in the heat of the moment, they will be forced to make the most difficult decision of their life.

Second Film: Piazza, A documentary directed by Karen Di Porto, 60 minutes, In Italian with English subtitles

“Piazza” is the vital heart of Roman Judaism. A small area in the centre of a big city with a difficult and ancient history. “Piazza” is what Roman Jews call the ghetto area where they were restricted for three hundred years, and which was the scene of the tragic round-ups by the Nazis in 1943. Interviews with the people of “Piazza” reveal a lively present and a past of pain and pride, reconstructed through the gaze of the daughter of one of its most notable inhabitants. A historical and intimate journey to discover a world that, seen from the inside, appears closer to us, a particular Jewish reality that symbolizes the world diaspora.

A prerecorded conversation with both directors Daniele Esposito and Karen Di Porto will be shown in-between the films. The Consul of Italy in Detroit, Allegra Baistrocchi will be in attendance and highlight the importance of this honored day.

Free and open to the public. Registration is required - www.dantemichigan.org/event/il-giorno-della-memoria-holocaust-remembrance-day-2 

The Maple Theater of Bloomfield Hills 4135 W. Maple Road Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301

Additional Information on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day:

According to data from the American Jewish Congress, 1 in 4 Americans thinks that antisemitism is not a problem in today’s society. 80% of the Jewish community here would differ and rather think that it is a phenomenon on the rise. The facts at the Synagogue in Colleyville are still fresh and we should fight the normalization of such events that is going on globally.

Italy has always been in the forefront in the defense of human rights, in the fight against xenophobia and any form of discrimination. The Italian Parliament proclaimed the 27th of January a “remembrance day” five years before the UN decided to designate it as such internationally in 2005.

Why January 27th? Because that is when the gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, were finally opened. A camp that alone saw the death of 1 million people out of the estimated 6 million Jews that lost their lives during the holocaust. This was the day that the first account of the atrocities came to light and it became an international symbol for genocide.

It has been said that "to remember is to possess". To remember is to protect the memory from oblivion. In a couple of years, there will be no more first-hand recollections. Only the books, the films, the testimonies and the memory will remain to accompany us. And this is why today is so important. To remember. To possess. A day to remember what happened, with the hope that this will preserve future generations from the scourge of war and to help prevent acts of hate, acts of racism and acts of discrimination.