Maximilian Schell was an Austrian-born Swiss actor, who also wrote, directed and produced some of his own films. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1961 American film Judgment at Nuremberg, his second acting role in Hollywood. Born in Austria, his parents were involved in the arts and he grew up surrounded by performance and literature. While he was still a child, his family fled to Switzerland in 1938 when Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany, and they settled in Zurich. After World War II ended, Schell took up acting and directing full-time. He appeared in numerous German films, often anti-war, before moving to Hollywood.
Irene Papas or Irene Pappas was a Greek actress and singer who starred in over 70 films in a career spanning more than 50 years. She gained international recognition through such popular award-winning films as The Guns of Navarone (1961), Zorba the Greek (1964) and Z (1969). She was a powerful protagonist in films including The Trojan Women (1971) and Iphigenia (1977). She played the title roles in Antigone (1961) and Electra (1962). She had a fine singing voice, on display in the 1968 recording Songs of Theodorakis.
During World War II, some individuals and groups helped Jews and others escape the Holocaust conducted by Nazi Germany.
Father Rufino Niccacci, O.F.M. (1911–1976) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest, born in Deruta, who shielded persecuted Jews during the Holocaust.
The Diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Umbria, has existed since 1986. In that year the historic Diocese of Assisi, known as the birthplace of Francis of Assisi, was combined with the Diocese of Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Perugia-Città della Pieve.
Riccardo Cucciolla was an Italian actor and voice actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1953 and 1999. He won the Best Actor Award at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival for the film Sacco & Vanzetti.
Delegation for the Assistance of Jewish Emigrants or DELASEM, was an Italian and Jewish resistance organization that worked in Italy between 1939 and 1947. It is estimated that during World War II, DELASEM was able to distribute more than $1,200,000 in aid, of which nearly $900,000 came from outside Italy.
Monsignor Francesco Repetto was an Italian priest and librarian. He is honored by Jews as a Righteous Among the Nations for his leading role in the clandestine DELASEM organization, which contributed to the saving of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust in Italy during the German occupation.
Raffaele Cantoni (1896–1971) was an anti-fascist Italian Jew who is best known for his efforts, perhaps daring, in saving Italian Jews from the Holocaust.
The Assisi Underground: The Priests Who Rescued Jews is a 1978 novel written by Alexander Ramati based on a true-life account, told by Father Rufino Niccacci, of events surrounding the Assisi Network, an effort to hide 300 Jews in the town of Assisi, Italy during World War II.
Ettore Bassi, full name Ettore Francesco Maria Bassi, is an Italian actor and television presenter.
The Assisi Network was an underground network in Italy established by Catholic clergy to protect Jews during the Nazi Occupation. The churches, monasteries, and convents of Assisi served as a safe haven for several hundred Jews.
Monsignor Giuseppe Placido Maria Nicolini O.S.B. (1877–1973), born Villazzano, Italy, was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Assisi from 1928 until 1973. Prior to serving as Bishop, he was ordained as a Benedictine priest in 1899 and was appointed Abbot of Santissima Trinità di Cava de’ Tirreni, Italy in 1919. During World War II, he established the Assisi Network which provided shelter to hundreds of Jews.
Catholic resistance to Nazi Germany was a component of German resistance to Nazism and of Resistance during World War II. The role of the Catholic Church during the Nazi years remains a matter of much contention. From the outset of Nazi rule in 1933, issues emerged which brought the church into conflict with the regime and persecution of the church led Pope Pius XI to denounce the policies of the Nazi Government in the 1937 papal encyclical Mit brennender Sorge. His successor Pius XII faced the war years and provided intelligence to the Allies. Catholics fought on both sides in World War II and neither the Catholic nor Protestant churches as institutions were prepared to openly oppose the Nazi State.
During the Holocaust, the Catholic Church played a role in the rescue of hundreds of thousands of Jews from being murdered by the Nazis. Members of the Church, through lobbying of Axis officials, provision of false documents, and the hiding of people in monasteries, convents, schools, among families and the institutions of the Vatican itself, saved hundreds of thousands of Jews. The Israeli diplomat and historian Pinchas Lapide estimated the figure at between 700,000 and 860,000, although the figure is contested.
The Holocaust in Italy was the persecution, deportation, and murder of Jews between 1943 and 1945 in the Italian Social Republic, the part of the Kingdom of Italy occupied by Nazi Germany after the Italian surrender on 8 September 1943, during World War II.
The Assisi Diocesan Museum, in the city of Assisi, Italy, was founded in 1941 by bishop Giuseppe Placido Niccolini to preserve the most important works of art of the Assisi Cathedral and of several oratories of Assisi's confraternities. The museum is located underneath the piazza of the cathedral and has a collection consisting of about 300 works of which 100 are on display, exhibited in the museum's nine sections.
People and Religions – Terni Film Festival is an international film festival, which takes place annually in November at the CityPlex Politeama Lucioli in Terni and at many other venues around the town. It deals with interfaith dialogue, spirituality in cinema, immigrant integration, visual education and activities for prisoners. For two consecutive years, the festival was awarded the Medal of the President of the Italian Republic. It has been organized by ISTESS, Institute of Theological and Historical-Social Studies, directed by Stefania Parisi. Honorary president of the festival is Krzysztof Zanussi, Polish film director; the artistic director is Arnaldo Casali. Promoted by the diocese of Terni Narni Amelia and by the Episcopal Conference of Umbria, the festival enjoys the patronage of the Municipality of Terni and the Pontifical Council for Culture, with the support of the Umbria Region, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, as well as the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Terni e Narni.
Don Aldo Brunacci was the pastor of the San Rufino Cathedral.
