The Zimet family had managed to leave Leipzig, Germany in 1939 thanks to their Romanian passports. They arrived in Italy, hoping to continue on to Eretz Israel (Mandatory Palestine). After much effort, they obtained permits that would allow them to leave Italy. They reached Benghazi, Libya with a group of Jews who planned to board a ship to Eretz Israel, but when Italy joined the war allied with Germany, the group was arrested and sent to a detention camp in Italy. Eventually they were released and allowed to live in northern Italy under supervision of the authorities.
When Nazi Germany took over northern Italy, the Germans began to deport Jews to the death camps in Poland. The Zimet family decided to attempt an escape to Switzerland. For a month in winter, in the freezing cold of the mountains, the family made their way with the help of friends and local partisans. Though Rosalia became ill and young Regina injured her leg, they continued moving from place to place until they reached the village of San Bello. The home of the Della Nave family, originally intended to provide a few days respite, became a shelter for a year-and-a-half until the end of the war.
During the family’s time in Italy, Regina drew pictures and recorded details of the family's travels. One of the pictures depicts a map of the route they took from the village of Serina in Italy until they arrived in San Bello. On the map she indicated which legs of the journey were taken by car, train and by foot.
The diary that Regina wrote expresses the moments of fear, hardship and despair, but also episodes of joy and laughter. In particular, it reveals the warmth and affinity shown by the local Italian villagers towards the family of refugees fleeing for their lives.
The drawings that Regina drew and her writings, as well as the doll she kept with her from her home in Leipzig, were donated to Yad Vashem by her family.
On July 23, 2002, Yad Vashem recognized Giovanni Della Nave and Mariangela Rabbiosi-Della Nave as Righteous Among the Nations.
Yad Vashem Artifacts Collection
Courtesy of Efraim Levy, Ramat Efal, Israel
