Eleanora “Mickey” Deutsch was born on Dec. 10, 1942, in Italy to Jewish parents Ernst and Margaret Deutsch, during the later stages of World War II.
She would have anything but a normal childhood, as just two years later, the family would be hiding in the woods outside of Rome in 1944 in an attempt to avoid Nazi soldiers still intent on rounding up Jews even as the allied forces had invaded Italy in 1943.
The Deutsch family would find their safe haven in the small village of Rocca di Papa, Italy, 16 miles southeast of Rome on the Alban Hills. There, a Catholic woman named Chesarina Carnevalle and her family bravely sheltered the family and kept them hidden for the next three years.
The family, which had already suffered through the horrors of the Holocaust earlier in the war, was safe during its concluding moments. Deutsch would move to America in 1948 and settled in Mesa about nine years ago.
In 1986, after her father passed away, Deutsch visited the town of Rocca di Papa once again and reunited with the Carnevalle family. Although she had long forgotten how to speak Italian, her reunion with Chesarina was an emotionally cathartic moment.
“That part of the story is forever in my heart and in my mind,” Deutsch said. “It’s not easy, but the memories are beautiful and that is one I will never forget.”
Deutsch doesn’t remember the specific details of her family’s time in hiding during World War II due to how young she was at the time. Her parents never wanted to talk about their experience during the war or during the Holocaust, and when they passed away, it left Deutsch with a responsibility to ensure her story is carried on to future generations, so the memory of the victims of the Holocaust does not fade away after they are gone.
Deutsch will share her story with the Arizona Jewish Historical Society as part of a virtual event at 10 a.m. Sept. 5 as part of their Holocaust Education Series. The series features a different Holocaust survivor every month giving a firsthand account of their experiences.
For Deutsch, keeping the stories of victims and survivors alike of the Holocaust alive is of the utmost necessity.
“Most people that I knew from Europe who had come to America and survived didn’t want to talk about it. I talked to their children and they know nothing,” Deutsch said. “I have no idea how my father escaped a concentration camp. That part is an empty hole in my heart because I can’t forward this to my grandchildren. I don’t want my parents to be forgotten.”
Deutsch said she wants her family to be remembered as survivors, especially for future generations, once all remaining Holocaust survivors have passed away.
Deutsch also wants to make sure all victims and survivors of the Holocaust, including those who were not Jewish, are recognized and remembered as well.
“All people who have endured and are survivors should be recognized, not just the Jewish people. There are many more Russians, Polish and others during the war who experienced something like this, and their parents and family should all be noticed and acknowledged,” Deutsch said. “I’m very fortunate, but I feel the sadness for the other that have not been acknowledged, have not been talked to and have not been able to share their story of survival.”
Tony Fusco, Holocaust education director at AZJHS, said he met Deutsch and learned about her story when he was a board member of the Phoenix Holocaust Association.
As an Italian Catholic, Fusco could relate to a lot of Deutsch’s story.
“It’s so sad that at her age, the innocence and normalcy was taken from as well as from many of the other local survivors that live in the valley and across the state of Arizona,” Fusco said. “These stories are told through an emotional connection, and it’s the validity and the reliability of their pictures and documents and the images that we share on screen once a month on a Friday, where we welcome students as well as the community at large to take part in hearing an oral history or testimony of a local survivor.”
Fusco said these stories are important because there will soon come a time when there will be no more remaining Holocaust survivors alive on the planet.
“In 10 years, an estimated 70% of the living memory that we have today of Holocaust survivors are going to be gone,” Fusco said. “So through the lens of the guest speaker, the field trip, the artifact, art or humanities, it’s more important now than ever before.”
The most important thing that Deutsch wants to impart on others with her story is simple — kindness.
Deutsch said she hopes people can find purpose in being kind to one another, and love their fellow man rather than be consumed by hatred.
“You have purpose. Look forward to something, Look at happy things. Don’t be bitter about life,” Deutsch said. “The only thing I can say to help this world get better is that the people inside have to get better...Make yourself a new life. Enjoy what you have ahead of you.”
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