Leone Ginzburg (, , ; 4 April 1909 – 5 February 1944) was an Italian editor, writer, journalist and teacher, as well as an important

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

political activist and a hero of the resistance movement. He was the husband of the renowned author

Natalia Ginzburg Natalia Ginzburg (, ; ; 14 July 1916 – 7 October 1991) was an Italian author whose work explored family relationships, politics during and after the Fascist years and World War II, and philosophy. She wrote novels, short stories and essays, fo ...

and the father of the historian Carlo Ginzburg.

Early life and career

Ginzburg was born in

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

to a Jewish family. World War I began while the family was on vacation in Viareggio, Italy, and while his older brother and sister (then 15 and 18) travelled with their mother back to Russia, Leone remained, with his

governess A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, th ...

, for the duration of the war. He was reunited with his family when his mother and siblings fled to Italy following the October Revolution in Russia.Avalle, M. Clara (2002), ''Da Odessa a Torino: Conversazioni con Marussia Ginzburg'' (Collana Libertà E Giutizia), Claudiana Editrice, , pp. 30–32. He studied at the Liceo Ginnasio Massimo d'Azeglio in Turin.Ward, David. "Primo Levi's Turin." In: Gordon, Robert S.C. (editor). ''The Cambridge Companion to Primo Levi'' (Cambridge Companions to Literature). Cambridge University Press, 30 July 2007. , 9781139827409. CITED: p
11
This school molded a group of intellectuals and political activists who would fight

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 ...

Fascist regime Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

and, eventually, help create the post-war democratic Italy. His classmates included such notable intellectuals as Norberto Bobbio, Piero Gobetti,

Cesare Pavese Cesare Pavese ( , ; 9 September 1908 – 27 August 1950) was an Italian novelist, poet, short story writer, translator, literary critic, and essayist. He is often referred to as one of the most influential Italian writers of his time. Early li ...

, Giulio Einaudi, Massimo Mila, Vittorio Foa,

Giancarlo Pajetta Giancarlo Pajetta (24 June 1911 – 13 September 1990) was an Italian communist politician. Biography Pajetta was born in a working-class district of Turin to Carlo, a bank employee, and Elvira Berrini, an elementary schoolteacher. He attended ...

and

Felice Balbo Felice is a name that can be used as both a given name, masculine or feminine, and a surname. It is a common name in Italian, where it is equivalent to Felix. Notable people with the name include: Given name Arts and literature Film and theater * F ...

. During his time in Turin, he contributed to ''

Il Baretti ''Il Baretti'' was an Italian language monthly literary magazine which was one of the publications launched and edited by Piero Gobetti. The magazine was published in Turin in the period between 1924 and 1928. The title was a reference to Giusepp ...

'', a literary magazine launched by Piero Gobetti in 1924. In the early 1930s, Ginzburg taught Slavic Languages and

Russian Literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia and its émigrés and to Russian language, Russian-language literature. The roots of Russian literature can be traced to the Middle Ages, when epics and chronicles in Old East Slavic were c ...

at the University of Turin, and was credited with helping to introduce Russian authors to the Italian public. In 1933, Ginzburg co-founded, with Giulio Einaudi, the publishing house

Einaudi Einaudi is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Luigi Einaudi (1874–1961), Italian politician *Mario Einaudi (1905–1994), Italian political scientist, son of Luigi *Giulio Einaudi (1912–1999), Italian publisher, son o ...

. He lost his teaching position in 1934, having refused to swear an

oath of allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...

imposed by the Fascist regime.Short biography of Leone Ginzburg
Associazione Nazionale Partigiani d'Italia (ANPI). Retrieved 30 October 2010.

Persecution and internal exile

Soon after this, he and 14 other young Turinese Jews, including Sion Segre Amar, were arrested for complicity in the so-called " Ponte Tresa Affair" (they were carrying anti-fascist literature over the border from

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

), but Ginzburg's sentence was light. He was arrested again in 1935 for his activities as leader (with

Carlo Levi Carlo Levi () (29 November 1902 – 4 January 1975) was an Italian painter, writer, activist, communist, and doctor. He is best known for his book '' Cristo si è fermato a Eboli'' (''Christ Stopped at Eboli''), published in 1945, a memoir of h ...

) of the Italian branch of '' Giustizia e Libertà'', the ''Justice and Freedom Party'', which

Carlo Rosselli Carlo Alberto Rosselli (Rome, 16 November 1899Bagnoles-de-l'Orne, 9 June 1937) was an Italian political leader, journalist, historian, philosopher and anti-fascist activist, first in Italy and then abroad. He developed a theory of reformist, ...

had founded in Paris in 1929. In 1938, he married

(née Levi). The same year he lost his Italian citizenship when the Fascist regime introduced

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

racial laws Anti-Jewish laws have been a common occurrence throughout Jewish history. Examples of such laws include special Jewish quotas, Jewish taxes and Disabilities (Jewish), Jewish "disabilities". Some were adopted in the 1930s and 1940s in Nazi Germany ...

. In 1940, the Ginzburgs received the fascist punishment known as ''confino'', or internal exile, to a remote, impoverished village, in their case

Pizzoli Pizzoli ( Aquilano: ') is a ''comune'' and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is located in the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park The Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park is a natural park locat ...

in the

Abruzzi Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

, where they stayed from 1940 to 1943.Biography of Natalia Ginzburg
, Rai International. Retrieved 30 October 2010. Somehow, Leone was able to continue his work as head of the Einaudi publishing house throughout the period. In 1942, he co-founded the clandestine

Partito d'Azione The Action Party ( it, Partito d'Azione, PdA) was a liberal-socialist political party in Italy. The party was anti-fascist and republican. Its prominent leaders were Carlo Rosselli, Ferruccio Parri, Emilio Lussu and Ugo La Malfa. Other prominen ...

or "Action Party", a party of the democratic resistance. He also edited their newspaper ''

L'Italia Libera ''L'Italia Libera'' (meaning ''Free Italy'' in English) was the newspaper of the Italian anti-fascist organization and political party Partito d'Azione (abbrev: Pd'A) (Action Party). History and profile ''L'Italia Libera'' was founded in July 194 ...

''.

Capture and murder

In 1943, after the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

invasion of Sicily and the fall of Mussolini, Leone went to Rome, leaving his family in the Abruzzi. When Nazi Germany invaded in September, Natalia Ginzburg and their three children fled Pizzoli, simply climbing aboard a German truck and telling the driver that they were war refugees who had lost their papers. They met with Leone and went into hiding in the capital. On 20 November 1943, Leone – who now used the false name Leonida Gianturco – was arrested by the Italian police in a clandestine printshop of the newspaper ''

''. He was taken to the German section of the

Regina Coeli prison Regina Coeli (; it, Carcere di Regina Coeli ) is the best known prison in the city of Rome. Previously a Catholic convent (hence the name), it was built in 1654 in the rione of Trastevere. It started to serve as a prison in 1881. The constructi ...

. They subjected him to severe torture. On 5 February 1944, he died there from the injuries he received; he was 34 years old.Opposition to Fascism
, Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Works

* ''Scrittori russi'' (1948) * ''Scritti'' (1964)

References

External links

Richard Bernstein Richard Bernstein may refer to: *Richard Bernstein (journalist) (born 1944), American columnist for the ''New York Times'' *Richard B. Bernstein (born 1956), American constitutional historian and CCNY lecturer in law and political science * Richard ...