NAta in Milan on 10 September 1930, a living bridge between the past and the present, Between the horror of the Shoah and the contemporary commitment against all forms of discriminationLiliana Segre today reaches an extraordinary goal, for a woman who has gone through some of the darkest moments in modern history and came out of it turning into one of the most authoritative voices of Italian memory. The life senator turns 95an age that, in his case, is not only personal figure, but a symbol of a moral resistance that has crossed the century.
Liliana Segre, 95 years of life against oblivion
Survived the horrors of the Auschwitz extermination camp, Liliana Segre is not just tireless witness of memory, But it is a lively and active presence In the contemporary public debate, a moral guide against indifference and every form of hatred and a clear and necessary voice, capable of speaking to young people, institutions, the whole country. For his choice, however, there will be no official celebrations. The day will be dedicated to affections, in the city of Pesaro that is dear to her. But his birthday remains a collective momentan opportunity to reflect on what this lady represents above all in a time marked by new wars and old ghosts.
The years of childhood and the tragedy of racial laws
Liliana Segre soon knows the suffering: it grows in a Milanese family of Jewish ancestry, but substantially secular and, for the first years of her life, is not fully aware of its Jewish identityas she herself has told in numerous testimonies. Everything changeshowever,, In 1938, when fascist racial laws brutally burst in its existence. At the age of eight, Little Segre is suddenly excluded from the public school and is catapulted into A reality in which its simple existence is considered a problem to be solved in the most extreme ways.
Life senator Liliana Segre turns, on September 10, 95 years old (Getty Images)
Deportation: the journey to hell
The most dramatic moment comes in 1944. Liliana Segre, now thirteen-year-old, is deported to the extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The journey to the catfish wagon lasts seven days in inhuman conditions. Upon arrival in Auschwitz, the girl is immediately separated by her father Alberto, who will be killed a few weeks later. Segre becomes the serial number 75190a number tattooed on the arm that will bring life as an indelible brand of that experience throughout life. For over a year, it survives the horror of the concentration camp. And, when in January 1945 the Soviets approach, he was forced to the terrible “march of death” towards the Ravensbrück camp, near Berlin. He is just 14 when May 1, 1945 is finally freed.
The return and silence
The return to Italy is another devastating test. Liliana discovers that she has lost all the dearest affections, all killed in the extermination camps. He finds himself completely alone, With the weight of an experience that nobody seems to want to hear or understand. Like many survivors at the Shoah, Liliana also initially chooses silence. A life is reconstructed: he marries, he has children, he tries to forget. For almost fifty years, he does not speak publicly about his experience in Auschwitz.
The choice of testimony
The turning point came in the early 90s, When the life senator decides to break the silence. He is almost sixty years old when he begins to tell his story in schools and public meetings. The motivation is clear: Survivors are agingsoon there will be no one who can tell what really happened. “Listen to me as a grandmother,” he often tells students that, in these decades, he has met thousands, always conquering them.
Institutional recognition
In 2018 the highest recognition arrives: iOn January 19, the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella the nomination Senator for life “For illustrating the homeland with very high merits in the social field”. It is a moment of great emotion for Segre, which officially sees the value of his civil commitment officially recognized. And not even as a senator, he limits himself to the ceremonial role. In 2019, he proposed the establishment of a Extraordinary commission for the contrast of the phenomena of intolerance, racism, anti -Semitism and instigation to hatred and violence. The motion is approved in the Senate with 151 votes in favor, but significantly without unanimity: the center -right abstains, creating many controversies.
The commitment against contemporary hatred
Since 2021 Liliana Segre presides over this commission, an assignment that considers it to be fundamental, so much so as to make it a victim of anti -Semitic threats and to have to accept the escort. Even today, however, at 95, Liliana Segre continues to launch alarms on “increasingly disturbing discrimination phenomena”, as he said in January 2025. His concern focuses in particular on social mediawhere “frustrations and grudges find easy echo online” by feeding “forms of racism, anti -Semitism, homophobia, physical and verbal violence against women”.
The inheritance of a lifetime
Looking at these 95 years of life of Liliana Segre, the portrait of a woman emerges who He has been able to transform the most terrible of human experiences into a life mission. His contribution to the memory of the Shoah goes far beyond the simple memory of the past. Among its most significant initiatives there is The foundation of the Shoah Memorial in Milanat the central station, just where the train that led her to Auschwitz started from. A place of memory that also becomes an educational tool for the new generations.
Liliana Segre, a voice for the future
At 95, Liliana Segre continues to be an active presence in the Italian public debate. His voice, although weakened from age, maintains an extraordinary moral forcein an era in which historical memory risks fading. This white -haired lady, moreover, represents an invaluable heritage for our country and, on the day of her 95th birthday, reminds us once again that, as she herself loves to repeat: “Indifference is more guilty than violence itself». A lesson that, today more than ever, should be listened to and put into practice.