Biography
Franco Fubini is the son of Aldo Fubini (b. 1898) and Ida Lattes Fubini (b.1906). He was born on September 1, 1924 in Torino Italy where his father was a sales agent. The family was religiously observant, and Franco's grandfather served as a rabbi in Tripoli. He had one sister Elda born in 1928. Franco attended the Jewish school in Torino for five years and then attended the public school for the following two years. Franco had to return to the Jewish school after the enactment of racial laws. In the fall of 1943, at the age of 19, Franco went to live with friends in Emilia-Romagna and joined local partisans. In December 1943 a policeman from the Cabinieri came to warn them that he had orders for their arrest. His friends had a brother with a house in the mountains accessible only by dirt road. A family member brought Franco there, and he stayed there for several months. Franco led a group responsible for obtaining food for the company. Farmers gave them food in exchange for receipts promising they would be repaid in better times. In October 1944, Franco left the mountainside with three other friends and passed the front, which divided Romania and Tuscany. There they saw a military car of the Jewish Brigade who took them to Rome. Franco remained there until 1948. When he returned to Torino with the Jewish Brigade, Franco learned that his father had been betrayed after he had returned to Torino to get some money. He was arrested and deported to Auschwitz. He perished on October 14, 1944. Franco's grandmother and uncle, Mario, perished there as well. Mario left instructions prior to his deportation leaving his store to Franco in the event of his death. Franco worked there and kept it open until 1960.
