Glen Rock Author Seeks To 'Make Sense Of Inexplicable' In New Holocaust History Book

GLEN ROCK, NJ — "Remembering is a noble and necessary act," Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel said in his 1986 Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

Despite what author Patrick Gallo said is the "inadequacy of memory," he sets out to "remember" the 1943 round-up of Roman Jews, through use of archival resources — from diaries to intelligence intercepts —, in his newest book.

In "The Nazis, the Vatican, and the Jews of Rome", the Glen Rock resident examines why — and more importantly, how — this "particular, awful episode" could have been avoided, featuring insight into the Vatican's involvement, a summary said.

"With antisemitism on the rise today and the last remaining witnesses passing away, it is essential to understand what happened in 1943," the summary added.

Political scientist and historian Gallo, who is the father of three and "nonno" (Italian for grandfather) of six, was born in Bronx, New York, to Italian parents, his website said. With the release of his newest work, Gallo is now the author of 10 books, including two about the Italian American experience.

In his new book, the now-retired New York University adjunct professor grapples with the raid on Rome's Jewish ghetto on Oct. 16, 1943, within the "larger, horrifying story of the Holocaust" — all in an attempt to "make sense of the inexplicable," Gallo said.

His motivation for writing the book, he told Patch, is his belief that history is a "persistent dialogue" between past and present.

"Interpretations are subject to change as new evidence emerges, raising questions and challenging previous assumption," he said in a statement.

At the time of the arrest and deportation, Gallo argues in his book, the "overwhelming force" of the German army in Rome precluded direct confrontation.

"Moral condemnations," he said, "would not have worked, nor would direct confrontation by the Italians, Jewish leadership, or even the Vatican."

His 10th book, published by Purdue University Press, also "underscores the necessity" of determining what actions most likely would have spared Italian Jews from the gas chambers of Auschwitz.