false 3 0 false false Fri Jun 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 12:16:28 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 19 10:33:12 -0700 2009 It Happened in Italy>/i> by Elizabeth Bettina tells the important story of the kind and dignified treatment of the Jews living in Italy during World War II by the Italians. It is a story that needs to be told and archived for history's sake and sheds a glimmer of hope in an era of heinous world wide crime against humanity. The humane treatment of the Jews by the Italians during this time says a lot about Italian culture and values and those of the Church. The stark contrast with Germany and other countries where most of the citizens cooperated with the Nazi regime only serves to heighten our awareness of what most Jews during World War II went through.

Given the emotional nature of the Holocaust story, however, I was surprised that the writing did not make me feel as if I were there. It was more like I was reading an email. For whatever reason, the author was not able to delve deeply into individual emotions of her characters in any great detail.

Also, as the author admits, many of the people's stories are very similar, which tends to cause the individual survivors to blend together in the book. It may have helped if the book's appendixes were moved to the beginning to give the reader an idea of the structure of the story before it is read.

While I am very glad that this story has been so well researched, it could have been better told.]]>