Hear the story of an Italian Jewish soldier’s fight to save his family from fascism.

Author Roger Sabbadini shares the compelling true story of his father, Italian Jewish refugee Alessandro (Alex) Sabbadini, who escaped Fascist Italy to America on the eve of WWII only to join the fight in Italy with the U.S. 5th Army. He joined the fight for personal reasons – to liberate Italy and his Jewish family who were being pursued by the Fascists and the Nazis. Alex was one of the first “Ritchie Boys” to have received military intelligence training at the Military Intelligence School at Camp Ritchie, Maryland and was one of a very few Italian-born Jews to fight with the Allies in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. Alex Sabbadini’s personal photographs and other documents have historical value and contribute greatly to the unique character of the story. This untold story will appeal to those with interests in Jewish history, military history (with an emphasis on WWII and the Mediterranean Campaign) and Italian Jewish history.

Roger Sabbadini is an Emeritus Professor at San Diego State University and Co-founder of SDSU’s Institute for International Security and Conflict Resolution. Currently, he is a Senior Research Scholar at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Sabbadini is the eldest son of Alex Sabbadini, the subject of this presentation. Currently, Roger Sabbadini lives in Bend, Oregon.


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