Figli del Destino is an Italian docudrama which premiered on Italian television (RAI) in 2019.
It is about the Jews in Italy and what happened to them before and during World War Two, when they were persecuted by Mussolini (1938-1943) and by Hitler (1943-1945).
Here is some basic information about this docudrama:
** English title: Children of Destiny
** Directors: Francesco Micchichè and Marco Spagnoli
** Writers: Marco
Spagnoli, Luca Rossi, Leonardo Marini and Lorenzo Righi
** Narrator: Neri Marcorè
** Language: Italian
** Run time: 92 minutes
Benito Mussolini and the Fascist Party came to power in Italy in 1922.
Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power in Germany in 1933.
After 1933, Hitler and Mussolini began to have contact with each other and to work together, because the Nazi ideology and the Fascist ideology are similar, although not identical.
Antisemitism was an important element in Nazism. Persecution of German Jews began as soon as Hitler and the Nazi party came to power in 1933. This policy was accepted by many Germans, because antisemitism was nothing new; it had a long tradition in Germany.
Hitler urged Mussolini to introduce racial laws in Italy, just like he had done in Germany.
At first, Mussolini refused. Antisemitism was not common in Italy. During the early years of Mussolini’s rule, Italian Jews were safe.
But Hitler kept urging Mussolini to introduce some racial laws, and in 1938 - sixteen years after the Fascist revolution - Mussolini did what Hitler wanted:
Racial laws were introduced in Italy.
Antisemitism became government policy in Italy. From one day to next, Italian Jews were no longer safe.
At first, the persecution was merely unpleasant: Jewish children were expelled from their schools, while Jewish adults who worked for the government were fired from their jobs.
But before long, the persecution became much more serious: Jews were arrested. Just because they were Jews. Some were placed in camps in Italy, while others were handed over to the Germans who transported them to labour camps in Germany or death camps in Poland.
In this docudrama, the story of the Italian Jews is told by focusing on four persons who were young children in 1938 when the first racial laws were introduced.
These four children lived in four different cities. While they had different backgrounds, they had one thing in common: they all survived the war.
They lived to tell the world what happened to them and the people around them.
There are four story-lines in this docudrama. One for each of the four children.
I am not going to offer any details about their lives. I do not wish to spoil the viewing for anyone. If you want to know what happened to them during the difficult years, you must watch the docudrama all the way to the end.
The docudrama is composed of four different elements:
The first element
Historical moments are reconstructed by actors. Key moments during the time from 1938 to 1945 are reconstructed.
The second element
Interviews in which the four survivors explain what happened to them and the people around them. They explain how and why they survived.
The third element
Interviews with three experts who have studied this topic (two historians and a journalist).
The fourth element
Archive footage is used to support and supplement the statements made by the seven participants (the four survivors and the three experts). Archive footage is used when the narrator is talking.
Who are the four survivors?
** Liliana Segre (born 1930)
She lived in Milan (Milano)
** Tullio Foà (born 1933)
He lived in Naples (Napoli)
** Lia Levi (born 1931)
She lived in Rome (Roma)
** Guido Cava (born 1930)
He lived in Pisa
In 1938, when the first racial laws were introduced, two of the four children were 8, one was 7, and one was 5.
In 1945, when the war ended, two of the four children were 15, one was 14, and one was 12.
Who are the four actors?
** Chiara Bono plays Liliana Segre
** Catello Di Vuolo plays Tullio Foà
** Giulia Roberto plays Lia Levi
** Lorenzo Ciamei plays Guido Cava
Who are the three experts?
** Giacomo Kahn – journalist
** Sara Valentina di Palma - historian
** Michele Sarfatti – historian
What do reviewers say about this docudrama? On IMDb it has a rating of 68 percent, which corresponds to a rating of 3.4 stars on Amazon.
The Italian website Amazing Cinema has one review posted by Mario Sala on 13 January 2019. His review is positive. But no exact rating is given.
The Italian website Coming Soon offers 4.2 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 84 percent.
The Italian website IBS has one review which offers five stars (100 percent).
As you can see, there are not many reviews of this product. This is odd, because it deserves to be known.
In my opinion, the review on IMDb is too low, while the positive reviews posted on the Italian websites are much more appropriate.
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).
REFERENCES
# 1. Books
** Jews in Italy under Fascist and Nazi Rule, 1922-1945 by Joshua D. Zimmermann (2005) (2009)
** The Jews in Mussolini’s Italy: From Equality to Persecution by Michele Sarfatti (2006)
** The Fascists and the Jews of Italy: Mussolini’s Race Laws, 1938-1943 by Michael A. Livingston (2014)
# 2. An article available online
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, “We are evidently Aryans! Why Italian fascists embraced Hitler’s antisemitism,” Slate, 20 January 2017
# 3. A documentary film
My Italian Secret: Forgotten Heroes (2014)
*****
The Jews in Mussolini's Italy:
From Equality to Persecution
by Michele Sarfatti
(2006)
*****
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