In the fall of 1943, the Strom family, Polish Jews living in Rome, found themselves fleeing for their lives after the Nazis occupied most of northern and central Italy and began hunting Jews and deporting them to their deaths at Auschwitz. One day, while trying to avoid a German checkpoint, Dr. Alfredo Strom encountered a former patient, Donatello De Luigi, who quickly realized his Jewish physician was in imminent danger. De Luigi, a prominent Italian book publisher, immediately took the doctor, his wife and the Jewish couple’s two toddlers to his villa on the west side of Rome. De Luigi and his wife, Zelmira, sheltered the family for nine months until the Allies liberated Rome in June 1944. There were several frightening close calls as the Nazis rounded up more than 2,000 Roman Jews. Only 16 returned after the war. The two families remained close after the war. Many decades later, De Luigi’s nephew, Emilio De Luigi—now living in St. Catharines, Ont.—learned about Yad Vashem’s program honouring non-Jews who risked their lives to save persecuted Jews. Emilio had been a teenager in Rome during the war, regularly visiting his uncle’s home and helping keep the Strom family’s presence a secret. Wanting to share his family’s story, he applied to Yad Vashem in 2010 and even wrote a book about the tale. But for years the application went nowhere, because he had lost touch with the Stroms. Only recently did the surviving son, Roberto Strom, now 87, agree to share details about his family’s rescuers. In late 2025, Yad Vashem officially recognized Emilio De Luigi’s late uncle and aunt as Righteous Among the Nations, joining 28,707 others who have received the designation. Their names will be added to the Wall of Honour at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. On Nov. 10, Yad Vashem’s chairman, the Israeli ambassador to Canada, and the Italian ambassador to Canada will attend a ceremony in the Toronto area honouring the De Luigi family’s extraordinary act of humanity. On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner speaks with Emilio De Luigi in St. Catharines, Ont. The nonagenarian remains haunted by what he calls “the moral failure” of the Italian authorities that enacted anti-Jewish racial laws and later cooperated with the Nazis during the Second World War. Related links Learn more about the De Luigi family rescuing the Stroms at the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem website. Buy “It had to be done”, Emilio de Luigi’s book about his uncle and aunt’s act of humanity in 1943-1944. Read about the two Dutch families who were posthumously given the award at the Israeli Consulate in Toronto in 2025. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzie Helenchilde (producer and video editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to North Star Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Watch our podcasts on YouTube Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
