Ordan Cesare & Linda (Piron)

Ordan, Cesare Ordan, Linda Cesare and Linda Ordan were an ordinary Italian couple who lived with their children in the countryside outside of Venice. But as war was raging around them, they did something extraordinary: they rescued a Jewish family. In September 1943 Italy signed the armistice agreement with the Allies and was immediately occupied by Germany, and the situation for Jews changed overnight. They were now being hunted down and arrested, and by the end of October of that year, several transports had already left for Auschwitz. It was clear to Bruno Montanari (originally Berger) and his wife, Carola (née Goldstein), that they should seek shelter for themselves, their young son, Alberto (b. 1935), and their baby, Maura (b. 1943). They were living in Trieste with their extended family—Bruno’s father, Giacobbe-Eugenio Berger, and his wife, Adele (née Rumpler), as well as Carola’s mother, Regina Goldstein (née Herzfeld). So the family split up: Bruno moved with his son, his father, and his father’s wife to Venice, where they found accommodation, and Bruno managed to procure false documentation for them as well as food stamps. Carola, who was caring for the new-born Maura, stayed behind with her mother, Regina. This arrangement did not last long. One day Bruno’s Jewish identity was exposed, and he was arrested; the rest of the family living in Venice were informed on as well. While Bruno was held in a prison in Venice, Adele and Giacobbe-Eugenio were taken away, along with little Alberto; they were transported to Auschwitz, where they perished. Back in Trieste, Carola, unaware of what had happened, grew uneasy. She had had regular contact with her husband, and suddenly communication had stopped. She decided to go to Venice, where she rented a room for herself, her mother, and the baby. Carola then learned from a family member that her husband had been taken to prison, so she began making inquiries, looking for Bruno. Soon, however, the woman who rented them the room—who was aware of her tenants’ Jewish identity—became fearful and asked her them to leave. Nevertheless, she was kind enough not to throw them out on the street, and she tried to find them a place to stay. She approached one of the farmers in the market, asking her to take the women in. Linda Ordan had been selling the produce from her farm—eggs and cheese—in the Venice market. When she was approached and asked to take in the destitute women, she consulted her husband, Cesare, who readily agreed, and so Carola and baby Maura came to live with the Ordans. A different hiding place was found for Carola’s mother, Regina. The Ordans owned a farm just outside of Venice, in Campolongo Maggiore (Piove di Sacco). They had four children: Redentore, Arduino, Mario, and Agnese. Their house was very modest, with only two rooms and a loft above the kitchen, where Carola and Maura lived. Cesare had also built a tunnel leading to the stable outside, to which the hiding Jews could escape in times of danger. Shortly after Carola and the baby moved in with the Ordan family, Bruno managed to escape from prison and joined them. There were now three additional mouths to feed, and with the rationing of food, this was not easy. But Cesare managed to come up with various explanations for this excessive need, and the neighbors helped as well. The Montanaris stayed with the Ordans until the liberation. Throughout this period they had no knowledge of the fate of their son, Alberto, and of Bruno’s father and his wife; it was only after they were liberated and had returned to Trieste that they learned of their deaths. On September 17, 2013, Yad Vashem recognized Cesare and Linda Ordan as Righteous Among the Nations.