Hotel Meina (2): The massacres around it and their consequences
Meina is a charming resort town in the Novara Region of Piedmonte, Italy. 100 km from Turin. It is located in the northeast on the shores of Lake Major. The north of Lake Major belongs to Switzerland and the south belongs to Italy. The distance between the two sides of the lake is a few hundred meters.
Hotel Meina, or Hotel Victoria as it was known after the war, was one of the most popular hotels in this lakeside resort town. It was a perfect recreation center, right on the shores of the lake, with a view of the snow-covered Swiss mountains.
However, due to modernization works in the town, a decision was made to demolish this hotel about 3 years ago, and this demolition took place last year.
When you encounter such a title followed by a similar introduction, you are naturally expecting a holiday destination promotion.
At the beginning of the summer, I read Corry Guttstdat's book "Türkiye, Jews and the Holocaust". A sentence in the section on Turkish Jews in Italy (pp. 463-480) caught my attention: "Consul General Nebil Ertok has attempted many times to release the Jews of Turkey and has been successful."
Even though I was very interested in the Shoa issue, this was the first time I heard the name Nebil Ertok. I re-read this section once again, paying more attention to between the lines. In the memories conveyed, I saw that Nebil Ertok tried to help the Jews of Turkish origin as much as he could, and when necessary, even threatened the Nazis and ensured the release of most of the Jews of Turkish origin.
Was I encountering a person worthy of Yad Vashem's title of "Righteous Among the Nations"? The information I found in my research on the internet was as follows: "Nebil Fuat Ertok served as Consul General of Milan between 1941-44. He saved many Jews of Turkish origin from the hands of the Nazis. In Italian sources, his name is generally used as Niebil Hertok or Hertog. Of course, what I found was not enough information. Among the references in the book, I thought of referring to the CDEC (Centro di Documantazione Ebraica Contempoarana) in Milan, where the Shoa archives are located.
The answer I received from Ms. Liliana Picciotto, the manager of CDEC and referenced in the book, was as follows:
“Mr. Delevi,
The name of Milan Turkish Consul Ertok was given to us by Becky Behar, the daughter of Alberto Behar, a Turkish citizen and the owner of the Meina Hotel on the shores of Lake Major. The Behars were close friends of Ertok and hosted him in their villa on the shores of Lake Major in 1943, during the difficult war days. (perhaps since 1942, when Milan was bombed). We do not have clear information about whether Ertok was a guest or a tenant.
Ertok was especially close to the Behars during the period when German troops massacred many Jews on the lakeshore. Hotel Meina was used as a prison for many Jews with Italian passports coming from Thessaloniki. In mid-September 1943, these poor families were taken out of the hotel and brutally murdered. The Behars survived this incident, especially because they had Turkish passports. Since Türkiye was a neutral country at that time, its citizens in Europe were under protection against the Nazis. Apparently, Ertok came into contact with the Germans during these events, but I believe that the survival of the Behars was thanks to the foreign policies of the Germans at that time.
I hope this information will contribute to your research.
Kind regards
Liliana Picciotto
Even though this explanation seemed to explain everything, it didn't answer my question. When I received more negative answers from a few places I asked, I decided to change the direction of my research. My goal now was to understand what was going on at the frequently mentioned Hotel Meina.
Now let's go back a little in history.
Jews had been living in various parts of Italy for about 2000 years. Over time, Jews who were expelled from different countries also joined this society. Although Jews were forced to live in Ghettos from time to time, there were generally no major problems. In 1848, long before many European countries, Jews were officially granted equal rights and freedoms. The Fascist movement, which started in the 1920s, continued this practice. Mussolini openly forbade any action against Jews. He established rapport with the Jews. In fact, one of Mussolini's mistresses, Margherita Sarfatti, was the daughter of a respectable Venetian Jewish family. Many Jews also became sympathizers of the Fascist movement. In 1923, there were 700 Jews registered with the Fascist party. About 200 Jews who participated in Mussolini's famous March on Rome were honored by Mussolini himself. In 1933, the Mayor of Trieste was a Sephardic Jew named Enrico Salem, a member of the Fascist Party. During the same period, one of the high-ranking commanders of the Fascist Army was a Jew named Signor Levy. As can be seen, the Jews appeared to be fully integrated and integrated into Italian society.
However, things started to change when Mussolini became an ally with Hitler. In 1936, anti-Semitic publications began to appear, even in small amounts. In 1938, the first anti-Jewish laws were published and implemented immediately. Jews began to be deprived of many basic rights.
Despite all these Nazi methods, there were no physical attacks against Jews in Italy until September 1943. In fact, many Jews living in the German-occupied Greek regions were smuggled by the Italians, first to Athens under Italian control, and then to Italy, through official or unofficial means. Jews with Italian passports living in Greece were moved to Italy by Italian authorities without any problems. However, the situation changed in July 1943.
After the liberation of Sicily by the Allies in July 1943, the fascist regime collapsed. On July 23, Mussolini was deposed and arrested. The king appointed Marshal Badoglio prime minister. The Germans did not remain indifferent to this fait accompli. Starting from August 1, Germany began to invade Italy from the north. The Government of Independent Italy signed a ceasefire agreement with the Allies on September 8. After this agreement, which was unacceptable for the Germans, the German Army occupied the regions of France, Yugoslavia and Greece under Italian control. Mussolini was rescued by German soldiers, and the "Italian Social Republic" was established, covering Northern and Central Italy. Mussolini was appointed as its head.
There was no longer any obstacle to the Nazi wheels of death for Italian Jews.
Now, let's go back to September 8, 1943 and see the details of this tragedy, especially as told by Becky Behar, the then 14-year-old daughter of the Behar family, the owner of Hotel Meina, and other eyewitnesses.
Italian Jews welcomed the ceasefire agreement signed on September 8 with great enthusiasm. However, the Jews who had fled Thessaloniki and were staying at the Hotel Meina greeted the news with caution, based on their previous experiences. It was not possible for the Germans to remain spectators to this incident. As a matter of fact, what they feared happened to them.
On the morning of September 11, 1943, a commando unit returning from the eastern front under the command of Colonel Kruegel, the SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler (Adolf Hitler special guard unit) unit, arrived in the Lake Major region and settled in the Beaurivage hotel in the village of Baveno. On September 15, this unit raided Hotel Meina. They imprisoned 16 Thessaloniki Jews, who were among the hotel guests, in a room on the 4th floor of the hotel and prohibited all entry and exit to this floor. The owner of the hotel, Alberto Behar, was taken to Baveno for questioning even though he showed his Turkish passport. However, with the initiatives of Milan Consul General Nebil Ertok (according to some sources, the ransom paid also contributed to these initiatives), Alberto Behar was taken back to the hotel on September 17. The Behar family was given permission to move freely inside the hotel, provided that they did not go out. However, those imprisoned in room 420 of the hotel were not allowed to leave the room or meet with others. Even though there were children among them, they were not given food and water for 1-2 days. Finally, on the 3rd day, food and drinks were allowed to be brought to the room.
On the night of September 22, Colonel Krueger came to the hotel and took twelve of the imprisoned people to an unknown place for questioning.
The next morning a terrible rumor began to circulate in the village and the hotel. Many bodies were found in the lake and brought ashore. Some identified these bodies as prisoners of the Hotel Meina. All of them were killed gruesomely with bullets and bayonet blows, and then a stone was tied around their necks and thrown into the lake. 4 prisoners, including 2 children, who stayed in the hotel on the night of September 23, were taken in the same way and shared the same fate with the others.
Milan Consul General Nebil Ertok, who came to the hotel 2-3 days after this incident, advised the Behar family to escape as soon as possible, saying that Turkey might soon enter the war on the side of the Allies and in this case, the Turkish Passport protection might be removed. Shortly after, the Behar family, with the help of the resistance, escaped to the Swiss side of the lake in a boat and thus managed to survive.
Taken from 'Diyalog' magazine.
Hotel Meina’da bu trajedi yaşanırken çevre köylerde, Baveno, Arona, Orta, Mergozzo, Stresa, Pian Nava, Novara köylerinde de benzer katliamlar yaşandı ve feci şekilde öldürüldükten sonra kurbanların çoğu Majör Gölü’ne atıldı.
Bazı köylerde ise katliamı maskelemek için Naziler çeşitli senaryolar ürettiler. Örnek olarak, köyü sakinleştirmek için Baveno’da öldürülen Pirelli’nin Londra temsilcisi Mario Luzatto ve Avusturya kökenli Emil Serman’ın tüm mal varlıklarını fakirlere bağışlayıp huzurevine çekildikleri duyuruldu.
While this tragedy occurred in Hotel Meina, similar massacres took place in the surrounding villages, Baveno, Arona, Orta, Mergozzo, Stresa, Pian Nava, Novara villages, and after being brutally murdered, most of the victims were thrown into Lake Major.
In some villages, the Nazis created various scenarios to mask the massacre. For example, to calm the village it was announced that Pirelli's London representative Mario Luzatto and Austrian origin Emil Serman, who were killed in Baveno, donated all their assets to the poor and retired to a retirement home.
The last tragedy in the region occurred in the village of Intra on October 8. Young Riccardo Ovazza, from the famous Italian Jewish banker family, was caught while fleeing to Switzerland. He was brutally murdered after hours of torture in the village school. His body was burned in the school cauldron. The next day, father Ettore Ovazza and his family were captured in a surrounding village. Despite being staunch sympathizers of Mussolini and members of the Fascist Party, the entire family was killed and their bodies burned. In many villages, some of the villagers collaborated with the Nazis and contributed to the end of many lives.
On the other hand, many Jewish families in the region managed to escape by being informed about the events in advance or with the help of humane village residents.
Finally, on October 11, the German commando unit left the region, leaving behind 57 identified Jewish victims.
The genocide of Italian Jews, initiated by the Nazis on September 15, 1943, on the shores of Lake Major, would reach 7,500 victims by the end of the war.
Names of the victims of the beginning of the Italian Genocide, which took place in Italy between September 15 and October 11, 1943, by region: (in parentheses are their ages on the date of their murder)
Mergozzo (3 victims): Mario Abramo Covo,(66); Alberto Abramo Arditi,(55); Matilde David, (50)
Stresa (4 victims): Tullio Massarani, (64); Olga Massarani,(65); Giuseppe Ottolenghi,(71); Lina Ottolenghi,(38).
Pian Nava (2 victims): Humbert Scialom,(55); Berthe Bensussan,(50).
Novara (3 victims): Giacomo Diena,(56); Amadio Jona,(79); Sara Berta Kaatz,(31).
Verbania Intra (4 victims):
Ettore Ovazza,(51); Nella Sacerdote,(41); Riccardo Ovazza,(20); Elena Ovazza,(14).
Baveno (14 victims): Mario Luzzatto, (53); Bice Ginesi,(45); Olga Ginesi,(48); Silvia Luzzatto, (20); Maria Grazia Luzzatto,(18); Emil Serman,(62); Maria Müller,(43); Stefania Müller,(41); Giulia Werner, (77); Sofia Czolosinska,(39); Joseph Wofsi,(70); Emma Baron,(61); Carla Caroglio,(25); Fanny Jette Engel, (70).
Arona (9 victims): Irma Finzi Cantoni,(70); Vittorio Angelo Cantoni Mamiani Della Rovere,(43); Giacomo Elia Modiano,(34); Mary Bardavid,(22); Carlo Elia Modiano, (32); Grazia Modiano,(26); Carla Kleinberger Rakosi, (45); Tiberio Alexander Rakosi,(22);Margherita Coen Penco, (56).
Meina (16 victims): Marco Mosseri,(55); Ester Botton,(52); Giacomo Renato Mosseri,(22); Odette Uziel,(19); Dino Fernandez Diaz,(76); Pierre Fernandez Diaz,(46); Liliana Scialom,(36); Jean Fernandez Diaz,(17);Robert Fernandez Diaz,(13); Blanchette Fernandez Diaz,(12); Raoul Torres, (48); Valerie Nahoum,(49);Vittorio Haim Pompas,(31);Vitale Cori, (26); Lotte Froehlich Mazzucchelli,( 38); Daniele Modiano,(51).
Orta (2 victims): Mario Levi,(62) (Yazar Primo Levi’nin amcası); Roberto Levi,(23)( Yazar Primo Levi’nin kuzeni).
Mergozzo (3 victims): Mario Abramo Covo,(66); Alberto Abramo Arditi,(55); Matilde David, (50)
Stresa (4 victims): Tullio Massarani, (64); Olga Massarani,(65); Giuseppe Ottolenghi,(71); Lina Ottolenghi,(38).
Pian Nava (2 victims): Humbert Scialom,(55); Berthe Bensussan,(50).
Novara (3 victims): Giacomo Diena,(56); Amadio Jona,(79); Sara Berta Kaatz,(31).
Verbania Intra (4 victims): Ettore Ovazza,(51); Nella Sacerdote,(41); Riccardo Ovazza,(20); Elena Ovazza,(14).
The first news about the massacre at Lake Major appeared in the Swiss-Italian press from October 1943. The Italian press waited until June-July 1945 to announce this news. A few months later, it appeared in the international press. However, it did not receive much attention and was lost among the news about the end of the war.
This massacre was brought to justice for the first time in 1953, long after the Nuremberg Trials ended. The Turin military prosecutor launched an investigation against SS Officer Gottfried Maier, who is considered responsible for the murder of the Ovazza family in Intra. The trial started to be held in Turin in 1955. The defendant Gottfried Maier, who was a primary school principal in Austria at the time, was sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia in July 1955. However, when the Austrian authorities did not agree to deport the defendant, this conviction could not be executed and the case was closed.
Thanks to CDEC's persistent research and the cooperation of the German Courts, the Baveno, Arona, Meina, Stresa and Mergozzo massacres were brought to justice in Osnabrück in 1964 as a single file. The case started in 1968. Nearly 180 witnesses were heard in the case. Eloisa Ravenna from CDEC presented documents related to the events. The case was decided on July 5, 1968. Among the defendants, SS officers Hans Krüger, Herbert Schnelle, Hans Roehwer were sentenced to life imprisonment, and SS petty officers Oskar Schulz and Ludwig Leither were sentenced to three years in prison each. After the defendants appealed, the case was moved to a higher court. The Berlin Supreme Court overturned the decision in April 1970 and all defendants were released. There was no further legal action after this. Thus, those who carried out the Lake Major massacre remained unpunished, and the events began to be forgotten.
In 1978, Guiseppe Mayda brought the issue to the agenda again in his book "Antisemitic persecution: 1943-45". However, the first serious study on the subject was carried out by Marco Nozza in 1993 with the book "The Forgotten Massacre: Meina 1943".
In 1994, Fabio Calvi and Enrico Lombardi created the television documentary “1943: Days of Massacre” for Swiss Italian television. The documentary was presented by author Marco Nozza and CDEC's Michele Sarfatti
In 2007, filmmaker Carlo Lizanni made the movie "Hotel Meina", inspired by Marco Nozza's book. The movie I watched to prepare this article appeared to be an ordinary, even bad movie that lacked cinematographic features, distorted the facts, tried to include romance in order to soften the subject, and as a result, did not give anything to the audience. As a matter of fact, it was condemned by many people, institutions and academics, especially by Becky Behar, for being far from the truth and distorting the facts. In many scenes of the film, SS officers were shown to be kind and close to the Jews, and in one scene, German soldiers were even shown serving food to the Jews.
Becky Behar, one of the last witnesses of the Meina massacre, devoted her life to publicizing these events and ensuring they are not forgotten. She recounted the events over and over again in schools and other public settings for many years.
Becky Behar passed away in 2009 at the age of 80. Hotel Meina was demolished in 2011. Modern buildings began to be built in their place...
There was a song by Mort Schuman in the 60s and 70s that I loved very much. I started listening again but I feel a little sad...
Mort SCHUMAN - Le Lac Majeur
Il neige sur le lac Majeur
It's snowing on Lake Major
Les oiseaux-lyre sont en pleurs The lyre birds are crying
Et le pauvre vin italien
And poor Italian wine
S'est habillé de paille pour rien... In vain he wrapped himself in a straw mantle...
Des enfants crient de bonheur Children shout with joy
Et ils répandent la terreur
And they spread terror around
En glissades et bombardements Sliding in the snow
C'est de leur âge et de leur temps These are their ages and times
J'ai tout oublié du bonheur
I forgot happiness
Il neige sur le lac Majeur
Snow is falling on Lake Major
J'ai tout oublié du bonheur
I forgot happiness
Il neige sur le lac Majeur
Snow is falling on Lake Major…
Sources:
• Corry GUTTSTADT, Türkiye, Jews and the Holocaust
• Fulvio D. PAPOUCHADI, Le Lac Majeur, Tombe des Sefarades (Los Muestros No. 62)
Francesco GRIGNETTI, Meina 1943: La Strage Insabiatta Condividi
Taken from 'Diyalog' magazine.
