A Children`s Paradise? The JDC and Selvino, Italy, 1945-1948

In a May 1947 memo, JDC worker Theodore Sanejberg described Italian children’s home, Selvino, as a “children’s paradise.” Less than a month later, however, he wrote that his original assessment had been “idealistic” and described the children’s behavior as “very unpleasant.” Located in the foothills of the Alps, Selvino became the rehabilitation center for hundreds of Jewish children, primarily foreign orphans, in Northern Italy from 1945 to 1948. Heralded as a rousing success in the years that followed its closure, Selvino nevertheless struggled during its existence to please all the parties involved in its operation. This paper examines the role of the JDC as a major funder backing the children’s center and its work in conjunction with other agencies to provide for and eventually resettle the children. It posits that much of the tension between these agencies came down to two factors: finances and rehabilitation styles. Jointly funded by UNRRA and the JDC, the home suffered from a lack of materials during its opening, but this absence was eventually resolved as communication between the agencies and the home improved. Rehabilitation, on the other hand, continued to be a struggle as many JDC workers believed in an individualistic approach, while Selvino home leaders practiced communal or collective methods of trauma recovery. By considering Selvino’s history within the broader context of other Italian displaced children’s centers, this paper contends that the operating procedures of these non-governmental agencies become clearer through comparison, as does the remarkable legacy of this small home.