Calogero Marrone (12 May 1889 – 15 February 1945) was an Italian public servant. Marrone was the chief of the Civil Registry office in the municipality of Varese,

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, during the Fascist Era and the Nazi occupation and issued hundreds of fake identity cards in order to save Jews and anti-fascists. He was arrested after an anonymous tip-off and died in the

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

. He has been awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations.

Life

Marrone was born in Favara, Sicily. He served as a sergeant in the First World War and then became local secretary of the Veterans Association in his home town. When

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

took the power, Marrone refused to sign in the National Fascist Party and he spent a few months in jail. In 1931 he found a job in the town hall of Varese, so he moved to North Italy along with his wife Giuseppina and his four children Filippina, Salvatore, Dina and Domenico. Calogero Marrone e famiglia

In Varese he had a quick career and he soon became chief of the Civil Register office, then with 12 employees, and from that position he began providing fake documents to Jews and anti-fascists, allowing them to escape from the Nazi hunt. However, an anonymous informant alerted authorities and he was arrested on 7 January 1944 and accused of collaborating with the

Resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

, helping Jews escape, violation of official duties, and intelligence with the National Liberation Committee. Each of these charges could result in death by firing squad. Calogero Marrone had already been suspended on 1 January and on 4 January he has been warned by Don Luigi Locatelli, a priest connected with the Resistance, that the SS were about to arrest him. Despite this Calogero Marrone did not try to escape either because he promised to the Podestà Domenico Castelletti that he would have collaborated in the investigations concerning him and, above all, to protect his family from retaliations. Detained and tortured in many judicial prisons, he revealed nothing. Sent to the

Bolzano Transit Camp , known for = , location = Bolzano, Operationszone Alpenvorland , coordinates = , built by = , operated by = SS , commandant = Wilhelm Harster Karl Friedrich Titho , original use ...

, he was eventually transferred to Dachau where he died on 15 February 1945, officially by typhus.http://www.deportati.it/static/pdf/TR/2000/aprile/4.pdf

Bibliography

Franco Giannantoni e Ibio Paolucci, ''Calogero Marrone, un eroe dimenticato'' (Calogero Marrone, a forgotten hero), Edizioni Arterigere

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marrone, Calogero 1889 births 1945 deaths Italian Righteous Among the Nations Italian military personnel of World War I Italian anti-fascists Italian resistance movement members Italian people who died in Dachau concentration camp Resistance members who died in Nazi concentration camps Italian civilians killed in World War II Deaths from typhus People from Favara, Sicily