New York - Stella Levi, a survivor of Auschwitz, was awarded the honor of Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by Ambassador Mariangela Zappia in a ceremony in New York. The award was granted by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, on December 30th, 2022. Levi's tireless efforts to share her testimony and preserve the memory of the Holocaust make her an example of resilience, generosity, and extraordinary intellectual depth. Levi was born in Rhodes in 1923 and was deported to Auschwitz in 1944. She and her sister were the only surviving members of their family. After the war, they moved to the United States and Levi dedicated herself to preserving the memory and culture of the Jewish community in Rhodes. She played a key role in the restoration of the synagogue and the creation of a museum, as well as the reconstitution of the community itself. Levi's work was a source of inspiration for the Centro Primo Levi in New York, particularly in research on colonial fascism and the political use of memory. She emphasized the importance of ethical choices and solidarity over mere survival. Her conversations with writer Michael Frank resulted in the book "One Hundred Saturdays, Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World."
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