Centro Primo Levi mourns the death of Roberto Bassi, z’’l, dearly remembered for his charm, human qualities, and for his role in post-war Italian Judaism.
Born in Venice in 1931, Roberto Bassi was Chief Consultant at the Dermatology Department of Venice City Hospital. The author of numerous scientific works, he was President of the Società Italiana di Dermatologia Psicosomatica (SIDEP), as well as a lecturer on psycho-somatic dermatology at the University of Ferrara. He is also a member of the Bio-Ethics Committee of the Venice City Health Authority.
Roberto Bassi founded and was the first director of the CDEC, Centro Documentazione Ebraica Contemporanea (Center for Contemporary Jewish Documentation) in Milan. He was been the President of the Jewish Community of Venice and Vice-President of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities.
In 2004, CPL Edition published Roberto Bassi’s poignant and deeply moving wartime memoir Skirmishes on Lake Ladoga.
Against the backdrop of war-torn Italy, he recounted one of the many stories of daily terror, uncertainty, and loss of those who survived the systematic attempt to wipe out European Jewry. At once personal and finely nuanced, Bassi’s story is emblematic of the experience and need to bear witness of those whose life was forever shattered by the Nazi-Fascist persecution.
“Every morning in the kitchen, I used to read – and comment upon – war bulletins for my grandmother. When everything was quiet, it said that there had been “skirmishes on Lake Ladoga.” The word ‘skirmish’ and the name of that far-distant lake must have made a particular impression upon me. I can still see myself sitting there at our wooden kitchen table as I read them out of the newspaper.” More about Skirmishes on Lake Ladoga
