In Rome, thousands of people take part in the march to commemorate the deportation of Jews that took place October 16, 1943
October 16, 2010

Thousands of people took part in the march in memory of the deportation of Roman Jews - occurred October 16, 1943 - along the route of the deportees who were brought from the ghetto to the Military College in Trastevere before being trapped in trains with destination Auschwitz.

On October 16, 1943 during the Nazi occupation of Rome, more than 1,000 Roman Jews were seized and deported to the concentration camp at Auschwitz. Only a small number, 16 people, including one woman, returned to their homes.

67 years after the deportation of Roman Jews, the Community of Sant'Egidio and the Jewish Community of Rome, like every year since 1994, have remembered this tragic moment in the life of the city, organizing a "pilgrimage of memory", not to forget the deportation that took place during the Nazi occupation.
Thousands of people have joined in this memory. Among them many young people and immigrants. So large a participation, at a time when the city of Rome has been shaken by episodes of severe violence, is - as has been highlighted by some addresses - a sign of hope for the city.

During the event, took the floor: Don Matteo Zuppi, the Community of Sant'Egidio, Riccardo Di Segni, Chief Rabbi of Rome, Riccardo Pacifici, president of the Jewish Community of Rome, Monsignor Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promotion of Christian Unity, the deputy mayor of Rome, Mauro Cutrufo, Nicola Zingaretti, President of the Province of Rome, Renata Polverini, President of the Lazio Region, Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Sant'Egidio Community.

Also present was the President of the Parliament of Niger, which in these days, with the Community of Sant'Egidio has been participating for a peaceful resolution of the transition in his country.

Address by Andrea Riccardi (ITA)