The My Hero Project - Ivan Beltrami

Celebrate the best of humanity.

LIFESAVER HERO:

IVAN BELTRAMI

by Jonathan from Washington

Ivan Beltrami

Ivan Beltrami was a true hero for humanity during WWII. He was a member of the resistance against the Nazis. He risked his life in many ways just to save others. If he could save someone, he would.

Ivan was born in Marseilles during 1920. He lived in Marseilles throughout his life. Ivan was Catholic but had many Jewish friends. Ivan had a strong sense of justice which led him to defend his friends. Ivan’s father was a physician and his mother was a nurse who healed people during the war. Ivan’s brother spent nearly two years in Buchenwald concentration camp.

Ivan joined the resistance in September 1942. Ivan was both anti-communist and anti-Nazi. Ivan’s brother was chief of another resistance network. Ivan’s job was to warn and round up Jews before they were shipped to camps. Many Jews refused to listen after they were warned. His resistance team was able to get some Jews out of a camp near his home.

Ivan saved many people, including children and babies. Once Ivan managed to get a boy into an infirmary before he was shipped to a camp. Ivan also hid Jews in his apartment, which he found to be very dangerous. Once his apartment was surrounded, so he hid the Jews under an overhang in a courtyard. Later, he became chief of one of the resistance networks.

I chose Ivan Beltrami because his story had many twists and turns that I wanted to figure out. All the ways he saved and cared about Jews were interesting. If you like edge-of-your-seat rescues, you should learn more about him.

Written by Jonathan from Washington

Last changed on: 7/6/2007

United States Holocaust Museum disseminates knowledge about the Holocaust; preserves the memory of those who suffered; and encourages visitors to reflect upon the moral and spiritual questions raised by the Holocaust and their own responsibilities as citizens of a democracy.

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