Assemblyman Anthony D’Urso got a chance to talk about his experiences growing up in Formia, Italy during WWII at the Yom Ha’Shoah Holocaust Remembrance held at the Nassau County Legislative Building.
He has told his story to many school-aged children so that they get a sense of history from that time by someone who has been there so events will not be forgotten. This time his audience was a room full of adults.
As a small boy, D’Urso was tasked with playing outside and calling out to his mother, in Italian, whenever he saw German soldiers approaching. With his help, his family was able to save the lives of a large extended Jewish family (Sinigallia) in his hometown on the Mediterranean coast. A few months ago Tony made a trip to Italy to reunite with the descendants of the family his family saved.
“This story and stories of other survivors need to be told and retold,” D’Urso said. “We must not forget our history and we must pass our stories on to future generations so that nothing is forgotten.”
