by MK
Friuli Venezia Giulia marked Holocaust Remembrance Day on Tuesday, January 27, with its annual ceremony at the Risiera di San Sabba in Trieste, the only Nazi concentration camp on Italian soil to be equipped with a crematorium.
The commemoration, held on the 81st anniversary of the camp’s liberation, drew a noticeably smaller crowd than in previous years, with roughly 300 people in attendance, including local and regional authorities. No school groups were present. Opening the ceremony, Trieste’s mayor, Roberto Dipiazza, noted that “Trieste carries within itself a painful historical past,” a remark delivered to a relatively sparse audience in a place that has long stood as a symbol of Nazi violence in Italy.
Reflecting Trieste’s long tradition of religious coexistence, the ceremony also brought together representatives of multiple faiths, including the Jewish community, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church, Muslim leaders, and the Lutheran Church, underscoring the city’s pluralistic identity even in mourning.
The absence of students was a recurring theme throughout the event. Rabbi Alexander Meloni, addressing those gathered, asked pointedly, “Where are the schools?” He later told InTrieste that Holocaust Remembrance Day should not be seen solely as a Jewish observance. “It is not a day for the Jewish community,” he said, “but for the human community. And the results today are not encouraging.” Education, he added, remains essential to preserving historical memory and preventing indifference.
Regional Governor Massimiliano Fedriga echoed those concerns, stressing that remembrance must be sustained through education, particularly in schools. Teaching the history of the Holocaust, he said, is essential not only in Italy but across the globe, as a way to ensure that collective memory endures and that the lessons of the past are not lost to future generations.
Monica Hrovatin, mayor of the nearby municipality of Sgonico, reinforced that message, quoting Holocaust survivor and Senator-for-life Liliana Segre: “Indifference is the fertile ground for all evil.” Remembering the past, Hrovatin said, is not only an act of commemoration but a civic responsibility. “It is not too late,” she added. “But we must not remain indifferent.”
