This might be a photo that repells at first glance — the hospital ward has long rows of undifferentiated beds, and they are surrounded by brick dehumanizing walls. In the final years of the Second World War, this ward in the hospital of Fatebenefratelli contained men, women, and children who were diagnosed with a disease called “Syndrome K.” The horrifying symptoms included a tuberculosis- like cough, convulsions and paralysis, and dementia, and was considered fatal. However, anyone officially diagnosed with Syndrome K would have considered themselves extremely lucky. It turns out, the disease was a fake.
Instead of being an actual illness, Syndrome K was an invention of the anti-fascist Italian doctor Giovanni Borromeo, who ran the hospital and made a point of sheltering Jewish people from the Nazis. In 1943, Borromeo gave pretend medical files to a number of Jewish people fleeing from certain death, and placed them in a hospital ward with the Syndrome K diagnosis. Borromeo correctly assumed that the Nazis would not want to enter such a contaminated area, and many lives were saved. Fatebenefratelli Hospital continues to treat patients to this day. In 2016, the Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, which recognizes heroic acts undertaken during the Holocaust, bestowed the honorary title “House of Life” upon the building.
Source(s): _Quartz_, “An Italian Doctor Explains ‘Syndrome K,’ the Fake Disease He Invented to Save Jews from the Nazis,” Caitlin Hu, July 8, 2016. The Italian doctor Adriano Ossicini also participated in the Syndrome K scheme. Image from “syndromek.com”. Wikipedia “Fatebenefratelli Hospital”.
