In the darkest days of World War 2 Italy, record-breaking Italian cyclist Gino Bartali used his bicycle frame to smuggle forged documents, saving 800 Jews from death. His act of defiance against Nazi antisemitism made him a WW2 hero and inspired the Giro d’Italia 2018 to begin in Israel, the first time the race has opened outside Europe.

The story - one that screams “made-for-netflix” - begins in 1938, when life under the Mussolini dictatorship though hard, was a relative refuge from Nazi-occupied Europe. All this changed in 1943 when the Nazis invaded and started transporting Jews to concentration camps.

At the time Bartali was a celebrity and sports hero, two-time winner of the Tour de France and three-time winner of the Giro d’Italia. He used his status to support an underground group of fellow Catholics and partisans in WW2, including document-forging priests and nuns. Instead of using his fame to help himself, Bartali risked his life, stepping up to save as many Jews as possible.

Incredibly, Bartali kept his wartime activities secret. Only after this WW2 hero’s death was he recognized by Yad Vashem as “Righteous Among the Nations;” the highest accolade awarded to individuals who risked their lives to save Jews from the Nazis during the Shoah (holocaust).

As the Giro d’Italia 2018 begins in Jerusalem, Israel, we remember Bartali’s awesome legacy and share his mantra that “good is something you do, not something you talk about.”

Chapters
00:00 Who was Gino Bartali?
00:35 Giro d'Italia international bike race
00:47 Bartali's cycling successes and records
01:08 Late 1930s Fascist Italy
01:51 Bartali insults Mussolini
02:08 Restrictions on Jews in Italy
02:36 Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany form an alliance
02:49 State of Italian Jews after WWII breaks out
03:06 European Jews flee to Italy
03:31 The end of the Italian fascist police state
03:51 Nazi Germany occupies Northern Italy
04:03 Nazis hunt for Italian Jews
04:15 Bartali is recruited to save Jews
04:52 Bartali hides Jewish refugees
05:03 Bartali's first mission: Smuggle forged documents
06:42 Keeping the secret a secret until 2010
07:25 Recognition as "Righteous among the nations" by Yad V'Shem
07:51 Using his power for the good
08:22 What is greatness?
09:14 Outro

Director - Rebecca Shore
Executive Producer - Raphael Shore
Writer - Baruch Goldberg, Rebecca Shore
Editor - Ryan Lifchitz
Art and Animator - Alex Meyler
Original Score - Jack Shore
Listen to more of his music:
[ Ссылка ]

"HaShoshan Song"
Composed by Irena Avila
Instrumentals - Liran Kehat

Narrator - Giuseppe Platania
Production Manager - Gabriela Mischel

Special Thanks:
Gioia Bartali and the Bartali family for their help with making this film.
Ran Margaliot and the Israel Cycling Academy.
Ari Feldman
Jonathan Freedman
Naomi and Zalman Goldman
Aili McConnon
Marina Rosati
Adam Smulevich
The Stauber Family
The Bloomfield Science Museum

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