Gino Bartali: update

According to some sources, between 1943 and 1944 he helped save from deportation to extermination camps hundreds of Jews from Umbria and his home Tuscany. He organized false documents for them.

Although this case has been proceeded for a long time, Bartali was not posthumously honored by Yad Vashem with the title “Righteous Among the Nations” for saving Jews during the Second World War, because of the lack of sufficient testimonies of the rescued and other documents that would confirm Bartali’s participation in the process of saving Jews (read about the procedure and criteria adopted by Yad Vashem here). 

Lately some information appeared concerning new evidence in this case. However, they have been disclaimed by Irena Steinfeldt, the director of the “Righteous Among the Nations” department of the Yad Vashem Institute.

Bartali was born in 1914 near Florence. He was a professional cyclist from 1935 to 1953. He won numerous awards and titles, among others he was a four-times Champion of Italy in road cycling.