Shoah Memorial

The Shoah Memorial commemorates the events of the sixteen foreign Jews captured by the Nazis on April 6, 1944 at the place where they were concentrated and from there deported to the Auschwitz death camp. In the past the square, dedicated to Luigi dei Conti di Laurenzana (Laurenzana Square) and later to the March on Rome (October 28 Square), was used for demonstrations by fascist youth organizations. Today it has been turned into a Memorial, becoming a large stumbling stone and a sacred place for not forgetting.

The square, through various symbologies, narrates: Welcoming, Deception, Abyss, Memory, Hope, Future, and United Europe. The two maple trees (a symbol of strength, loyalty and generosity) are dedicated to Italo and Noemi Levi, the two children who left San Donato and were killed upon their arrival in Auschwitz. The Memorial was opened to visitors on January 27, 2023. Together with the Museum, the Novecento Route and the country's war trails, it forms a circuit included in the European Liberation Route project.

The vector of the European Liberation Route-designed by Polish architect Daniel Libeskind, who is also the author of the Jewish Museum (Berlin), the Portals of Expo 2015 (Milan) and the Ground Zero Memorial (New York)-connects San Donato to the World War II memorial sites through the Liberation Route Europe circuit. Peace, freedom and democracy are in values of this route wanted by the Council of Europe.

The Memorial is the brainchild of Mayor Enrico Pittiglio and the curator of the Museum of the Twentieth Century and the Shoah Luca Leone to pass on the memory and raise awareness among new generations so that such a tragedy will not be repeated. The work, built with funds from the municipal budget, opened to visitors on January 27, 2023. The Shoah Memorial together with the Museum, the Novecento Route and the country's war trails form a circuit included in the European Liberation Route project promoted by the Council of Europe.