Category:Benghasi Group (subject)

Benghasi Group (see Holocaust Children Studies)

Overview

The Benghazi group was made up of 302 foreign Jews (men, women, and around 20 children with their parents), from various countries, who mostly fled to Italy with a tourist visa, but then, in May 1940, fearing being expelled, they left for Libya, where they thought they were illegally embarking for Palestine.

138 of the 302 participants, originating mainly from Austria, Poland and Germany, came from Trieste, the others from Milan, Genoa, Rijeka and Rome. The journalist Benno Marcus, who had lived in Italy since the mid-thirties, led the trip.

In Benghazi they were surprised by Italy's entry into the war, which put an end to civil navigation. While they were still waiting for the ship that had been promised to them, they were able to enjoy the hospitality of the Jews of that city, who welcomed them into their often very modest homes and lovingly assisted them. The Jewish community made available a rather large sum for their assistance and Delasem of Genoa also sent money. Later also in Benghazi the refugees suffered the fate of internment, first in a military barracks, then in a slum on the edge of the city.

The proximity of the front, the movements of troops in the port, and the fear of bombing were probably at the origin of the Ministry of the Interior to order their transfer to Ferramonti-Tarsia. On 29 August they were embarked on a passenger ship still furnished as in peacetime, which, escorted by two torpedo boats, took them to Naples. Upon arrival at the port they were greeted by an imposing array of police and militia who, to their great consternation, led them to the infamous Poggioreale prison. Here they had to wait for three weeks, suffering the usual privations and tormented by constant uncertainty about their future, until they were transferred to Calabria escorted by police officers.

The group of foreign Jews from Benghazi is registered as present in Ferramonti on 29 September 1940. At the end of 1941 it was proposed to the family groups that were part of it to choose between three internment locations in various regions of Italy and so many left the camp (including all families with children).

During the German occupation most of the member of the Benghazi group survived in hiding in Italy; 47 were deported (including four of the children who perished at Auschwitz). One of the children (Walter Grunberg) was among the refugees who sailed to the United States (Fort Ontario) in July 1944; all the other child survivors spent more months in Italy (many in DP camps), before settling in diverse locations.

The Children

We know the names and whereabouts of all the 20 children who from Trieste arrived at Benghazi with their families. After spending several months in Ferramonti, they all left the camp at the end of 1941 to reach new locations in Central and Northern Italy. After the German occupation in Sep 1943, most of them (15) survived in hiding in Italy, one was able to cross the Swiss border to safety, four (the three Frisch siblings and Harry Zenger) were arrested and perished in Auschwitz. After Liberation one (Walter Grunberg) emigrated to the United States (Fort Ontario) already in July 1944, the other 14 remained for some time in Italy (many in DP camps in Southern Italy) before settling in diverse locations.

1. Manfred Degen (1931)
2. Heinrich Degen (1937)
3. Max Frisch (1932) + Efraim Frisch (1926)
4. Lena Frisch (1939)
5. Walter Grunberg (1933) <Fort Ontario>
6. Hindrich Horak (1929)
7. Evi Horawitz (1934)
8. Jolika Kraemer (1939)
9. Walter Heinz Landmann (1927)
10. Gerda Landsberger (1927)
11. Heinz Mundstein (1932)
12. Eva Springer (1936)
13. Paola Stern (1938)
14. Gertrude Vitriol (1929)
15. Renè Weiss (1928)
16. Harry Zeuger (1937)
17. Regina Zimmet (1931)