Stocco Oddo

Stocco, Oddo Monsignor Oddo Stocco was a Catholic priest born in Caerano, San Marco, slightly north of Venice. During the war Don Stocco was very active, writing to soldiers on the front, helping members of his community, finding them food and shelter, and performing many other acts of kindness. Jewish people who asked for his help received hiding places, false identity papers, food and money. He even hid several Jews in his own home. Renzo Franco, a converted Jew, was hiding with his son Giorgio in the Cavanis convent in nearby San Zenone. Franco asked the priests at the convent if they could help them find a safer refuge. The priests advised him to ask for Don Stocco’s help. Renzo did not know him, but through the doctor of the village made contact with him. In his testimony, Franco mentions the compassion of Don Stocco, who persistently helped all in need. He describes him as "a brave, altruistic priest." Esther Bem, another survivor, testified that Don Stocco transferred Jews from one hiding place to another, kept in touch with them, and warned them of approaching danger. He also provided Bem with false identity documents and food ration cards. During the time they spent in hiding, Bem and other Jews participated in Mass to help conceal their true identity, but they were never asked to convert. After the German occupation of Italy in September 1943, Annelise Geschmay (née Hecht), her husband Hans and three daughters, Silvia, Dorothea and Hannelore (Anna Laura), changed hiding places several times, until they found a more permanent refuge with the help of Don Stucco. Hans took shelter at the home of Ida Colbertaldo*. Anne Laura remembers several German raids in the area because of intensive partisan activity there. During the raids, Hans turned to Don Stocco, whom he trusted implicitly, to help them find a safer hiding place. Although Hans turned down the priest's efforts to convert him, his rescuer continued to help and support him. Thepriest Giovanni Tasinazzo, who worked with Don Stocco during the war, later recalled Don Stocco's dedicated work and motivation to help all in need, which stemmed from his deep humility and compassion. Don Stocco had unusual organizing skills, Tasinazzo explained, and this, together with his noble heart, enabled him to help many persecuted Jews. None of the families hiding Jews in the village knew about other families performing the same activity; everything was kept highly secret. Pierina Gazzola* was asked by Don Stocco to hide three Jews in their home. After a brief consultation with her husband, she acceded to Don Stocco’s request, despite her fear of being punished by the authorities if they were discovered. The three refugees, who originated from the village of Possagno, stayed in the priest’s own home for some time before coming to the Gazzolas. One day during a German raid, one of the refugees, Stefano (Shlomo) Rakower, was caught and arrested. Pierina and her husband immediately alerted Don Stocco. Thanks to good relations with a German officer, the priest was able to have Rakower released. A letter from the three survivors written in July 1945, relates how "one word of Don Stocco opened the doors of the villagers to help refugees and Jews in distress. And the fact that Stefano has signed this letter, the fact that he is still alive, is thanks to you, to your kindness and courageous intervention, to the spontaneous help you gave us during those terrible times." The entire village helped Don Stucco feed the dozens of Jews and many other refugees and political fugitives, despite the heavy burden this entailed, because they respected his leadership and good deeds. In a report to the Bishop in 1945, the priest of the village San Zenone, Ceccon, mentions the vast rescue and aid activities of Don Oddo Stocco. At one point, he said, there were 34 Jews hiding in the village, to whom Don Stocco provided money, food, supplies and clothing, as well asspiritual support. "Many a time he saved them from the claws of the murderer," the report relates. It is clear that the priest made all of his own decisions, without any direction or permission from the Bishop. With the help of the township concierge, Gaspare Zonta, Don Stocco would enter the municipal building late at night to forge identity papers for his protégés, aided by the township clerk, Italo Laghi. Laghi's daughter, Maria Zonta Martinello, was aware of the events at the time, but only later learned what their real purpose was. Her brother, a church apprentice, also aided the priest in his rescue operations. He helped him visit the Jews in hiding, and brought them food and other supplies. The Jewish painter Boris Huberman first hid in Don Stocco's home, and then moved to a safer place with the priest's help. He stayed with Pietro Epifano Guido and his wife Romilda*. The priest also produced false identity papers for the painter. One day, German soldiers came to the village and arrested Huberman. His papers helped him escape detention, but Don Stocco decided to move Huberman to another hiding place. The Tajtacakovic family found refuge in the home of the Forner family*, thanks to Don Stocco. Francesco Forner remembers his mother telling him of the priest’s request to hide Jews in her empty home, and she complied by making room for eight refugees. So did the two Colbertaldo* family members, Ida and Giuseppe. At the priest's request, other village residents also opened their homes to Jewish people. Some of the Jews hidden in Don Stocco's own home were "hired" as "maids," one as a "sewing teacher" for the women of the village, and so on. One day, one of the Jewish women hiding in the house opened the door to a visiting Fascist officer. An ecclesiastical student who witnessed the delicate situation immediately introduced her as the priest’s sister, and she was saved. In later years, Don Oddo Stocco rose in the ranks of the Vatican and theChurch, and became the Bishop Monsignor Oddo Stocco. On December 1, 2010, Yad Vashem recognized Monsignor Oddo Stocco as Righteous Among the Nations.