Stefanina Moro

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Stefanina Moro
photograph of Stefanina Moro
Born1927
Genoa, Italy
DiedOctober 9, 1944 (aged 16–17)
Asti, Italy
Burial placeGenoa
MonumentsVia Stefanina Moro in Genoa
Occupation(s)Courier, Italian resistance movement

Stefanina Moro (1927 – October 9, 1944) was an Italian partisan during the occupation of her country by the forces of Nazi Germany. Serving as a courier, she was captured by Nazi forces. Tortured by them for information, she died from her injuries.[1][2]

Life[edit]

Born in Genoa, she lived in the Quezzi [it] district. During the war of Italian liberation, she served as a staffetta, a courier,[3][4] responsible for maintaining communications between groups of partisans. In 1944, still a teenager, she was arrested by Nazi forces. She was taken, first to the Casa del Fascio in Cornigliano, and then the Casa dello Studente [it] in Corso Gastaldi. The latter was a former university building occupied by the Nazis and turned into a prison. There, tortures were conducted under the command of SS officer[5] Friedrich Engel, who would come to be known as the "Executioner of Genoa".[6] Moro was tortured in an attempt to force her to reveal the names of her allies, but these attempts were unsuccessful.[7][8][9] Afterwards, she was hospitalized in Asti, where she died on October 9 as a result of her injuries.[citation needed]

Legacy[edit]

Her name was inscribed on a memorial to those from Quezzi who died opposing the Nazi occupation, the dedication of which reads: "Non caddero invano ma per la libertà. Il Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale Liguria agli eroici caduti del rione di Quezzi". ("They did not fall in vain but for freedom. The National Liberation Committee of Liguria to the heroic fallen of the Quezzi district"). Additionally, the city of Genoa named a street, the Via Stefanina Moro, in her honor, with a plaque reading "Via Stefanina Moro – Caduta per la libertà – 1927–9/10/1944".[10][11]

In April 2020, on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of Italy's Liberation, Sandra Zampa, the Undersecretary at the Ministry of Health for the Conte administration, gave an address honoring the women of the Resistance, naming Stefanina Moro alongside other partisans such as Nilde Iotti and Irma Bandiera.[12]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Seneghini, Federica (April 25, 2021). "Nelle celle della Casa dello studente di Genova, dove i nazifascisti torturarono i partigiani". Corriere della Sera. Retrieved May 30, 2021. (in Italian)
  2. ^ Rigliaco, Dario (March 14, 2020). "Casa dello studente: gli orrori del 'boia di Genova' Engel". La voce di Genova. Retrieved May 26, 2021. (in Italian)
  3. ^ McPhee, Jenny (January 2, 2000). "Italy's Women Warriors". The New York Times. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  4. ^ Blumberg, Nick (April 23, 2012). "A courier in the Italian Resistance during WWII, now in Scottsdale: "There is always tomorrow"". KJZZ. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  5. ^ Carroll, Rory (April 15, 2001). "SS officer admits Genoa massacre". The Guardian. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  6. ^ "Quando la Casa dello Studente di corso Gastaldi diventò la base del "boia di Genova"". Genova Today. December 12, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2021. (in Italian)
  7. ^ Franzinelli, Mimmo; Tortura: storie dell'occupazione nazista e della guerra civile (1943–45). Milan, Mondadori, 2018, ISBN 9788804685890 (in Italian)
  8. ^ Sommariva, Rossella (February 13, 2015). "ITALIA – Genova e le sue donne". Impagine. Retrieved May 26, 2021. (in Italian)
  9. ^ Alfonso, Donatella (January 23, 2018). "Lezione di storia sul campo dei partigiani a Staglieno". la Repubblica. Retrieved May 26, 2021. (in Italian)
  10. ^ Schenone, Mariella (April 21, 2015). "Inizia dai bambini il 70° anniversario del 25 aprile di Genova". Genoa. Retrieved May 26, 2021. (in Italian)
  11. ^ Morabito, Giuseppe. "Viaggio nella Memoria" (PDF). giuseppemorabito.it. Retrieved May 26, 2021. (in Italian)
  12. ^ Zampa, Sandra (April 24, 2020). "75 anni dalla Liberazione. Zampa: "Guardiamo alle donne della Resistenza: seppero ricostruire il Paese, il loro esempio ci trasmetta fiducia nel futuro"". Ministero della Salute. Retrieved May 26, 2021. (in Italian)

External links[edit]