Rome, Italy, Oct 17, 2023 / 12:37 pm
Hundreds of people took to the streets of Rome on Monday evening to mark the 80th anniversary of the Nazi roundup and deportation of more than 1,200 Jews from Rome to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
The March of Remembrance commenced at the Piazza del Campidoglio, home to Rome’s city hall, and concluded in front of the ancient Portico d’Ottavia in the heart of the Jewish ghetto. This annual event has been held for the past 30 years and is jointly organized by the Catholic community of Sant’Egidio and the Jewish Community of Rome.
Established in 1555, the Jewish ghetto of Rome is one of the oldest in Europe. It is located in the city center, bordered by the Tiber River and the Trastevere neighborhood on the south and Piazza Venezia on the north.
On Sept. 10, 1943, two days after Italy’s surrender, the German Wehrmacht occupied Rome. The city remained under Nazi control until its liberation by Allied forces a year later, on June 4, 1944.