The Righteous of the World. A Story of a Quiet Heroism of World War II

This is a book about a man who remained human – where it seemed impossible.

“I am convinced that it was Lorenzo who I owe my survival,” wrote the Italian poet and prose writer Primo Levi in his memoirs “Is This a Man?”. But who was the one he speaks of with such gratitude?

Lorenzo Perrone – a stonemason, nearly illiterate, hot-tempered, poor. He lived on the other side of the barbed wire of Auschwitz, but every day for six months, he brought a pot of soup to the prisoner Primo Levi. His help was not just an act of compassion; it became proof that even in a death camp during World War II, one could retain a human visage.

This book is an attempt to restore the name of a man who never sought fame and eternal memory but turned out to be worthy of it. It is the biography of Lorenzo – modest and silent, almost inconspicuous on the outside, but truly great. A story of someone who does not need loud words to accomplish great deeds.

From the author:
How many more such Lorenzos were there that we know nothing about? How many stonemasons on the outskirts of “Switzerland” helped the unfortunate – a few, dozens, hundreds? And finally (though there is no end in the search for meaning): if all people were like Lorenzo, could a place like Auschwitz ever exist?

In the first article about Lorenzo, published half a century ago, it says that “it would be very good,” – but I would add: it is useful and necessary to tell the stories of the last among the righteous. The last, who became the first and did not take advantage of it. It is vital to tell about this – and we must do it every day. Because Lorenzo left us something truly great: faith in people.