At the Shoah Memorial, an exhibition on the economic persecution of Jews
23 January 2026
On the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day, observed on 27 January, the Shoah Memorial in Milan is hosting the documentary exhibition The Economic Persecution of Jews. Life Stories from the Intesa Sanpaolo Historical Archive, a new stage in a multi-year research and enhancement project promoted by the Intesa Sanpaolo Historical Archive.
The Exhibition presents a selection of documents from the EGELI Fund of the Intesa Sanpaolo Historical Archive – more than 300 archival boxes containing over 1,400 personal files – alongside materials from the Archive of the Monte di Credito su Pegno and the Intesa Sanpaolo Publifoto Archive. The documents shed light on a lesser-known aspect of the 1938 racial laws: economic persecution, which affected the right to private property alongside the progressive civil and social exclusion of Jews.
After 1943, with the German occupation and the Italian Social Republic, the persecution of individuals was accompanied by the systematic seizure and confiscation of movable and immovable assets, managed by EGELI through appointed banking institutions, including in Lombardy the Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde.
The exhibition path weaves together historical and human dimensions through the stories of three families – Colorni, Levis and Dana – reflecting the fate of those who suffered the spoliation of their assets and the complex post-war period, often marked by partial restitution and incomplete justice.
“Thanks to the inventory of the EGELI Fund carried out by Intesa Sanpaolo in 2018, eighty years after the racial laws, and following the exhibition Storie restituite held in 2020 at our Gallerie d’Italia museum in Piazza Scala, a new chapter now opens at the Memorial on a topic that for many years was considered secondary compared to the persecution of lives: economic persecution, which took the form of the confiscation of all Jewish property, from real estate to everyday objects. The Intesa Sanpaolo Historical Archive thus makes available documentation of great historical relevance, not only for scholars but above all for younger generations, to whom this exhibition is especially addressed”
Barbara Costa, Head of the Intesa Sanpaolo Historical Archive
The exhibition is curated by the Intesa Sanpaolo Historical Archive and produced by the Fondazione Memoriale della Shoah di Milano. Open to the public until 15 February 2026.
By appointment (archivio.storico@intesasanpaolo.com), the Intesa Sanpaolo Historical Archive makes the documents relating to economic persecution available to family members, scholars and researchers, offering interested citizens the opportunity to further explore a historical and economic issue that is still little addressed.
Foto credits for the main image: Wirestock - stock.adobe.com
Last updated 23 January 2026 at 18:00:52
