Fisherman from dramatic World War II rescue dies
A fisherman who took part in the dramatic rescue of about
30 Jews during World War II died last week.
Agostino Piazzesi, 87, was the last survivor of 15
fishermen who during the night of June 19-20, 1944 rescued the Jews, who were
held by the Germans in a castle on Isola Maggiore in the middle of Lake
Trasimeno in central Italy. Piazzesi rowed the Jews away from internment.
The dramatic story of the rescue came to light only a few
years ago.
Using five small fishing boats, the fisherman took the
Jews, who came from nearby Perugia, to a point on the lakeshore that was in the
hands of the Allies; the island and the rest of the lake were under German
control.
The local priest, the Rev. Ottavio Posta, organized the
operation and took active part in the rescue. Last year Posta, who died in
1963, was honored as Righteous Among Nations by Yad Vashem and Piazzesi was
knighted by the Italian government.
Men like Piazzesi “remain embedded in our hearts from
generation to generation,” Riccardo Pacifici, the president of the Rome Jewish
community, told JTA.
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