by InTrieste
Mayor Roberto Dipiazza of Trieste met with the remarkable Bucci sisters on Friday, March 29th. Andra and Tatiana Bucci, witnesses of the harrowing Shoah and Exodus, were accompanied by city councilor Stefano Bernobich, marking the eightieth anniversary of their deportation.
The day before, on March 28th, in a poignant ceremony at San Giovanni Park in Trieste, Italy, commemorative plaques were unveiled in honor of the 47 Jewish deportees from Trieste hospitals.
These individuals, including some elderly patients, were residents of various hospitals in the city, notably the Maggiore Hospital, as well as the chronic patients’ facility and the psychiatric hospital. Eighty years prior, on March 28th, 1944, they were forcibly taken by the SS to the Risiera and subsequently deported on freight cars from the Silos of Trieste, bound for Auschwitz and Birkenau. Tragically, none survived the ordeal.
The event provided a rare opportunity to hear the firsthand accounts of two survivors who were children at the time of the deportation: the Bucci sisters, Andra and Tati. Their testimony serves as a poignant reminder of the horrors endured by countless innocents during this dark chapter of history.
The Municipality of Trieste orchestrated the tribute to honor these resilient siblings, who, as mere children, embarked on a tragic journey starting with their arrest in Fiume on March 28, 1944. Their odyssey continued with temporary detainment in Trieste’s Risiera di San Sabba, followed by a fateful departure from the Trieste railway station to the horrors of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where they arrived on April 4, 1944, solely because of their Jewish heritage. Post-war, they returned to Trieste as refugees from Fiume, where they spent their formative years amidst the city’s tumultuous history.
Reflecting on the occasion, Mayor Dipiazza remarked, “For years, the stories of tragedy in our region, deeply scarred by the events of the 20th century, remained untold. It was my personal quest, long before assuming office, to uncover these narratives, listening to the poignant tales of those around me. It’s a privilege to welcome the Bucci sisters to our municipal chambers, whose resilience I’ve admired through their writings and testimonies.”
“We are honored to be here today,” expressed Andra and Tatiana Bucci, reflecting on their deep-rooted affection for Trieste. Born in Fiume in 1937 and 1939, respectively, their lives took a tumultuous turn when they were apprehended in 1944, an event etched in their memories alongside the loss of their cousin, Sergio De Simone, in the Nazi camp.
Following their liberation from Auschwitz in 1945, the sisters found refuge in orphanages before reuniting with their birth family. Their journey led them back to Trieste, a city they affectionately call home despite living abroad, where they continue to cherish their ties.
As they matured, Andra and Tatiana became stalwart advocates for Holocaust remembrance, contributing significantly to historical research through their writings and public engagements.
