This week's hero is...
Gino Bartali
Gino Bartali was born on July 18, 1914 in Florence, Italy. As a boy he developed a passion for the sport of cycling. By the time he turned 17, he won his first race. By the 1930s, he had become a champion and was well-known throughout Europe. He won the tour de France in 1938 and the Giro d'Tialia three times. He is still regarded today as one of the best cyclists in history. However, nobody knew until recently that Gino Bartali was carrying a major secret. It was a secret part of his life that he seldom spoke of to anyone.
In 1943, the people of Italy overthrew their fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini. The latter's ousting caused Adolf Hitler to order an invasion of Italy and military occupation of the country. Almost immediately, the Nazis began to hunt down the country's Jewish population. Having no love for fascism of any kind, Gino Bartali immediately joined the Italian resistance where he worked as a courier.
Bartali's skills as a cyclist made him an invaluable asset. He would carry photographs and counterfeit documents within the hollow frame of his bicycle. He would deliver them while using his training routes. This also helped to hide his involvement in the resistance. If Bartali was ever stopped at a checkpoint, he would engage the guards in conversation and convince them that he was simply training for future competitions (which gave him a perfect alibi). Although some guards did get very suspicious of Bartali's activities (he was nearly arrested at least one time) he was never caught nor did he ever blow his cover.
Another thing that Gino Bartali did was act as messenger for people who were helping Jewish refugees. He got in contact with an underground network called the, "Assisi Underground". This network was organized by a small group of Church people in order to smuggle Jews to hiding locations and forge their documents. As with the resistance, Bartali was tasked with delivering forged documents to refugees. These documents enabled many of them to escape to Switzerland (which had closed its borders) or to safe locations in the Alps. Bartali also personally hid a Jewish family in a cellar for an entire year before Italy was liberated by Allied forces.
It is estimated that Gino Bartali took part in rescuing more than 800 Jews during World War II. In the aftermath of the war, he immediately returned to cycling. In the year 1948, Gino Bartali once again competed in the tour de France. And for a second time, he won. He continued to race until an injury forced him to retire.
However, he never spoke of his role in saving people during World War II (not even to his family). His heroism would have largely been forgotten had he not been contacted by a daughter of one of the refugees that he had saved who wanted to meet him. Although Bartali was more than happy to meet with her, he asked that she not reveal nor document his underground activities. When asked why, his replied that his motivations for his actions were purely made by conscience. He was quoted as saying that, "The good is done, but it is not said. And certain medals hang on the soul, not the jacket".
Gino Bartali passed away on May 5, 2000 at the age of 85. Twelve years later, his son Andrea got in contact with many of the people that Gino had helped save decades earlier. Only then, was the latter's heroism revealed to rest of the world. In 2013, Gino Bartali was posthumously named, Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem. As of today he is widely remembered as one of Italy's greatest heroes of World War II.
https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/righteous-sportsmen/bartali.asp
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/gino-bartali
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/05/25/gino-bartali-world-war-ii
http://www.sinistraineuropa.it/storie/quando-i-fascisti-convocarono-gino-bartali-a-villa-triste/
