us-005578-irn510536-irn511560
type: RecordSet
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
has beginning date: 1939-01-01
has end date: 1939-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has record set type: Item
history: Serenella Foa’ is the daughter of Aldo-Yasaiiah (Eldad) Foa’ and Paola Foa’. She was the middle of three children. She was born in Naples on 6-19-27. Her brother Eugenio Avishua Foa’ was born in Piacenza on 9-17-25; her sister Amalia on 10-10-35 in Rome. Her father was a chemistry engineer and served as a scientific officer in the Italian Army. He worked in an ammunition factory. Due to his job the family moved from Piacenza to Rome in 1932 and back to Piancenza in 1938. He was an Italian patriot and fought against Germany and Austria in World War I. In 1938 her father wanted to leave Italy to work in South Africa but his passport got annulled – probably because of his military knowledge. After the racial laws she and her siblings had to quit school in Piacenza and the family moved to Milano and went they went to a Jewish school there. In 1942/43 after the air raids became more dangerous the family moved to Parma – her fathers hometown – while he kept working in Milano during the week. After he had to leave the Army he worked as an independent counselor for chemical industries. In 1939 her maternal grandmother came to live with her family; she had gone to Great Britain and returned because the uncle she went with did migrate to the US and she could not live in a foreign country. In September of 1943 Germany occupied the north of Italy after the Allies had signed an armistice with the successors of Mussolini. They restored him and took control over most of Italy. Until then some Jews were arrested but their lives were not in direct danger. Now the SS took over and arrested Jews, deported and killed them. The Foa’s were on the list with Jewish citizens of their town. First they hid in their own house. Her father installed an intercom and Serenella had to answer the door when the SS came to summon her father. She told the officer that her father was in Milano and would not return until the end of the week. Her mother was sick at the time. She needed medical treatment. …
history: The tennis racket was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2002 by Ester Reisel the daughter of Aldo-Yasaiiah (Eldad) Foà.
identifier: irn511560
is or was included in: us-005578-irn510536
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Tennis racket made by hand and given to Aldo-Yasaiiah (Eldad) Foà as a present in 1939 from a co-worker.
title: Handmade tennis racket