Calogero Marrone (12 May 1889 – 15 February 1945) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

public servant. Marrone was the chief of the Civil Registry office in the municipality of

Varese Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

, during the

Fascist Era Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...

and the Nazi occupation and issued hundreds of fake identity cards in order to save

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and

anti-fascists Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

. He was arrested after an anonymous tip-off and died in the

Dachau concentration camp Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

. He has been awarded the title of

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

Life

Marrone was born in Favara,

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. He served as a sergeant in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and then became local secretary of the Veterans Association in his home town. When

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

took the power, Marrone refused to sign in the

National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party (, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian fascism and as a reorganisation of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The party ruled the Kingdom of It ...

and he spent a few months in jail. In 1931 he found a job in the town hall of Varese, so he moved to

North Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four northwestern regions of Piedmont, Aosta Valley, Liguria and Lomb ...

along with his wife Giuseppina and his four children Filippina, Salvatore, Dina and Domenico. Calogero Marrone e famiglia

In Varese he had a quick career and he soon became chief of the Civil Register office, then with 12 employees, and from that position he began providing fake documents to Jews and anti-fascists, allowing them to escape from the Nazi hunt. However, an anonymous informant alerted authorities and he was arrested on 7 January 1944 and accused of collaborating with the Resistance, helping Jews escape, violation of official duties, and intelligence with the

National Liberation Committee The National Liberation Committee (, CLN) was a political umbrella organization and the main representative of the Italian resistance movement fighting against the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationist forces of the ...

. Each of these charges could result in death by firing squad. Calogero Marrone had already been suspended on 1 January and on 4 January he has been warned by Don Luigi Locatelli, a priest connected with the Resistance, that the SS were about to arrest him. Despite this Calogero Marrone did not try to escape either because he promised to the

Podestà (), also potestate or podesta in English, was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of central and northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a c ...

Domenico Castelletti that he would have collaborated in the investigations concerning him and, above all, to protect his family from retaliations. Detained and tortured in many judicial prisons, he revealed nothing. Sent to the

Bolzano Transit Camp Bolzano was a transit camp operated by Nazi Germany in Bolzano from 1944 to 3 May 1945 during World War II. It was one of the largest Nazi ''Lager'' on Italian soil, along with those of Fossoli, Borgo San Dalmazzo and Trieste. History After ...

, he was eventually transferred to Dachau where he died on 15 February 1945, officially by

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

Bibliography

Franco Giannantoni e Ibio Paolucci, ''Calogero Marrone, un eroe dimenticato'' (Calogero Marrone, a forgotten hero), Edizioni Arterigere

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marrone, Calogero 1889 births 1945 deaths Italian Righteous Among the Nations Italian military personnel of World War I Italian anti-fascists Italian resistance movement members Italian people who died in Dachau concentration camp Resistance members who died in Nazi concentration camps Italian civilians killed in World War II Deaths from typhus in Germany People from Favara, Sicily