Prompt: In what way is Giorgio Perlasca an “Authentic Italian Hero”? What does “authentic hero” mean?
The label hero is thrown around in the media, but what makes a person able to obtain such a glorious title? Is it somebody who does extraordinary things most people are not capable of, or is it an ordinary person who has the opportunity to show their integrity when they are surrounded by darkness? My friend once told me a story about an older woman who showed up at a stranger’s door. Upon the knock, knock, knock, a younger woman and her child answered, confused when the stranger quickly embraced them, paused, and then burst into tears. She explained that had it not been for the woman’s husband and the young child’s father, she would have been killed in the terrorist attack on 9/11. He was your average worker, who during the attack went beyond himself and saved this older woman at the expense of his future with his family. She wanted to let them know he died for a cause, and she thanked them for his heroism as they wept together. However, does an authentic hero have to risk their life to become one?
One of my favorite songs sung by Jamie O’Neal called “Somebody’s Hero” has lyrics which consider:
She’s never pulled anyone from a burning building…
No, she’s just your everyday average girl (but),
She’s somebody’s hero,
A hero to her baby with a skinned up knee,
A little kiss is all she needs […]
She’s somebody’s hero,
A hero to her daughter in her wedding dress,
She gave her wings to leave the nest
(http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/jamie-o-neal/somebodys-hero-15251.html). The mother was a hero in her daughter’s eyes because of the boundless love and giving throughout the course of her life. The common factor in these hero stories seems to be the giving to another beyond the Freudian “id” of self-survival and self-concern.
Giorgio Perlasca, however, was a heroic man that did risk his life for the lives of many others suffering from unjust persecution. Prior to the Holocaust he was your average man, and afterwards he remained one. During, however, he proved himself extraordinary. While many Germans worked for fascist Hitler through blind, detestable eyes, Perlasca stood up against them through a series of lies and deceit he could have been killed for. Through one slip up or one observable Nazi, Perlasca would have perished along with those he was protecting. Yet he still endured on above all odds, saving over 5,000 victims.
One way to figure out what makes him and others authentic heroes is to decipher what one is not. Those surrounding Perlasca were either subject to immense fear or intense hatred. Place yourself in Europe during the Holocaust. The deafening roar of screams and gunshots pollute the air and the sight of innocent blood, remorseless Nazi faces, and weeping families fill the streets. The people that feared the Nazis would not speak up at the expense of endless lives wasted, until they found their names being called next on the list and it was simply too late. Those who swooned for the words of Hitler were easily persuaded and under his malicious spell. One would think the spell would be broken upon the spilling of blood at their shoes and that the foundations of morality would come back, but instead those individuals just became thirsty for more. Granted Perlasca came to Budapest which remained unoccupied by Nazis until 1944, but he still rose above the fear and the blind hatred when they came his way and he became the authentic hero we now admire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Ghetto).
Even though others in time have lost their lives by standing up against such evil, Perlasca had the advantage of position and being able to fake authority. A website explains that since Perlasca fought in the Spanish War, he was able to remain in Budapest and obtain a position working there through the protection of the embassy, rather than returning to Italy as ordered. Perlasca bravely took on a Spanish name, and when the embassy relocated, he stayed behind and impersonated the ambassador. “In the next 45 days he was working round the clock to organize the protection and feeding of thousands of Hungarian Jews in the protected houses. He saved approximately 5200 Hungarian Jews” (http://jhungary.com/Giorgio_Perlasca).
From the story told, he is obviously a hero, but what makes him authentic? When Perlasca started, he was not looking for a spot on the front page news or his five minutes of fame. He was neither Hungarian or religious, thus not just trying to show loyalty to his people. He did not owe these thousands of people favors, nor did he probably even know any of them prior to the war. He was merely looking for a return to normalcy and freedom from Nazi injustice. When he finished, he did not ask for medals or expect to be praised for his good deeds. He was not looking for people to call him a hero or even acknowledge that he saved countless lives without halting for fear of his own. These are the characteristics that make him an “authentic Italian hero” and would make any other person for that matter an “authentic hero.” As discussed earlier, darkness surrounds when a plane deliberately crashes into a building, when a child cries in need for their mother, and when fascists show their ugly face- but when others cower from loss of sight, heroes like Giorgio Perlasca will strike a match and guide the way to everlasting light. 
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