Rome and Jerusalem "What is a hero"

What does the phrase “authentic hero” mean? And how is Giorgio Perlasca an authentic hero?

What is a hero? According to an online dictionary, “A hero is a male(hero) or female(heroine) who, in the face danger and adversity of from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self sacrifice-that is, heroism-for some greater good of humanity.”

There are many different kinds of heroes in our world today and each and every one of them impact someone’s life significantly. A hero could be a soldier risking their life to fight for their country, a father to his daughter, or a teacher to a student. Whatever it may be they’re sacrificing a part of themselves to do good.

What makes a hero an authentic one? Authentic is defined as, “Not false or copied, genuine, or real.” Giorgio Perlasca fits the definition of an authentic hero because what he did was extremely courageous and no one can copy his heroic actions. After attempting to watch the movie about him, I learned so much about this man whose actions were rarely told of. Perlasca started off as serving in the Italian army and was swept up in Mussolini’s fascist’s movement. Once the conflict was over, he returned to Italy where the start of WWII and the alliance between Mussolini and Adolf Hitler took him by surprise and abandoned his former fascist beliefs. A quote that I found online from Giorgio Perslaca himself states was, “I was neither fascist nor anti-fascist; I was anti-Nazi.”

Over time Perlasca joined ties with the Spanish Embassy and became a Spanish citizen. He then impersonates the Spanish Ambassador and smuggles Jews that were supposed to be taken to Auschwitz. Overall, Perlasca saved about 5,000 Jewish people simply by guts, tenacity, and innate skills. The war later came to an end and he returned home to Italy to his wife and never told anyone about his bravery.

Perlasca fulfills the title of an authentic hero because he risked his life numerous times to save the lives of the Jews. He could have been killed on the spot if would have been caught and that is a scary reality. He rescued thousands of Jews and impacting their lives deeply for his bravery and his still remained humble after everything he had done.

The word hero is used quite freely today. Many people perform good deeds on a daily basis and are automatically called a hero. I believe people sacrifice a lot in their lives to do good for others are heroes, but it takes a brave and courageous person to become an authentic one. That is why Perlsaca should always be remembered for what he did. It takes a genuine person to do all that he did and then not tell anyone and remain humble. Even though what he did was dangerous, he knew from the bottom of his heart that it was his duty to risk his life to save those in desperate need and that is why he is an authentic hero.