Liliana Segre was born on 10th September 1930, in Milan, Italy, into a Jewish family. Her early childhood was marked by the growing anti-Semitic sentiment and oppressive fascist regime under Benito Mussolini.
At just eight years old, in 1938, she was expelled from school due to Italy’s racial laws, an introduction to the prejudice that would shape her young life. Little did she know that this was only the beginning of a series of unimaginable horrors.
In 1943, following the Nazi occupation of Italy, Liliana and her father, Alberto Segre, attempted to escape to Switzerland. Their attempt, however, ended when authorities arrested them at the Swiss border. They were imprisoned briefly in Varese and then transferred to San Vittore prison in Milan before being deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in January 1944. Liliana was just 13 years old. Upon arrival, she was separated from her father, whom she never saw again.
At Auschwitz, Liliana faced the brutal realities of the Holocaust. She was tattooed with the number 75190 and endured forced labour, starvation, and violence. Segre was transferred to other camps as the Nazi regime collapsed, including Ravensbrück and Malchow. She narrowly surviving the death marches in the final months of World War II. Liberated by Soviet troops on 1st May 1945, Segre had lost almost her entire family to the Holocaust. Liliana was among the only 25 Italian children to return from Auschwitz.
Rebuilding Life After the Holocaust
After the war, Liliana returned to Italy, where she found herself in a society eager to forget its recent past and unwilling to confront its complicity in the horrors she had endured. For many years, Liliana remained silent about her experiences, dealing with trauma and the challenge of rebuilding her life. In the post-war period, she married, raised three children, and tried to find a sense of normalcy amidst the shadow of her past.
It was not until the 1990s that she began to speak publicly about her experiences. She recognised the critical importance of bearing witness to the atrocities of the Holocaust and began sharing her story in schools, universities, and public forums across Italy. Segre is an indefatigable advocate for memory, tolerance, and human rights. Liliana’s courage in sharing her experiences has helped educate countless young people about the dangers of hatred and intolerance.
A Voice for Memory and Reconciliation
In 2018, at the age of 88, President Sergio Mattarella appointed Liliana Segre a Senator for Life in Italy. This was in recognition of her moral authority and dedication to Holocaust remembrance and education. This role allowed her to continue her work on a national stage, emphasising the importance of historical memory, human rights, and the fight against hate speech and discrimination. As a Senator, she spearheaded the creation of a parliamentary commission against hate, racism, and anti-Semitism in 2019.
In 2022, when the right-wing had come to power, Segre presided over the opening of Parliament. Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) the majority party can trace their roots back to a post-fascist group set up by Mussolini supporters. In her speech, Segre spoke of her exclusion from school.
“It is impossible for me not to feel a kind of vertigo remembering that the same little girl who, on a day like this in 1938, disconsolate and lost, was forced by racist laws to leave her empty desk at primary school, is now, by a strange twist of fate, at the most prestigious desk in the Senate,” Segre said.
In recent years, Segre has also spoken out against rising populism and xenophobia in Italy and Europe. Her speeches are often emotional, recalling the pain of the past but also expressing hope for a future. A hope that such atrocities will never be repeated.
At the age of 94, Liliana remains active in politics.
