GSJC Adult Education
June 23, 2024
THE JEWISH HISTORY OF GREECE
NOTES
Last year, when coming up w/topics for our Adult Education classes, a I knew I wanted to do 2 things:
- a food schmooze type event
- learn about the history of Jews in different countries
Why Greece?
A few years ago, there was an episode of “Finding Your Roots” on PBS. On this episode, Leah Michele was tracing her Jewish roots, as her paternal grandmother was Jewish, and her family came from Salonica. More than 60,000 Greek Jews were murdered by the Nazis. Prior to WWII, it’s estimated that the population of Jews in Greece was approximately 72,000. ALMOST THE ENTIRE GREEK JEWISH POPULATION WAS WIPED OUT! By learning about the Jewish history of Greece, we honor their memory.
The history of Jews in Greece dates back to the Babylonian Exile (585-549 BCE). When Cyrus the Great (Persian king) allowed the captive Judeans to return home, some went to Greece instead, However, it wasn’t until Alexander the Great’s conquest of the ancient kingdom of Judea that the Jewish community began to grow there. Many Jews lived a Hellenized lifestyle, including speaking Greek instead of Hebrew. Although they assimilated, they did remain monotheists.
After the Maccabean Revolt (Chanukah), many Hellenized Jews moved to Alexandria and Antoich. These communities were called “Romaniote,” (referring to the Eastern Roman Empire).
Because of the Crusades, many Ashkenazi Jews fled Europe came to Thessaloniki (Saonika). After the Ottomans captured Constantinople, they gave the Jews religious freedom and sometimes legal authority over their own communities. Therefore, Greece became a haven for Jews fleeing the Inquistion. Jews were encouraged to move to there by the government because it improved their economy. Many of these refugees were intellectuals, academics, and scientists. While the Romaniote Jews and the Sephardic Jews did not get along right away, they eventually grew to like each other – so much so that the official Greek Jewish language was Ladino.
Most of the time, the Jews of Greece had no problems. However, during the Greek War of Independence, thousands of Greek Jews were massacred destroying the Jewish communities of Tripoli, Kalamata, and Patras.
Things began to change for the Jewish community when the trade routes shifted, making Thessaloniki less important. Then, in the late 19th century, there was a push for many ethnic groups to Hellenize. When British Mandate of Palestine was established after WWI, many Jews left Greece Yet, there remained a significant Jewish population. In Thessaloniki there were approximately 50 synagogues, and Jews made up more than half the population. Many Jews moved to Athens as it became the center of Greek economics a politics.
In 1936- Léon Recanati represented the Greek Jewish community at the World Jewish Congress’ Sounding plenary in Geneva, as there were more than 70,000 Jews in Greece at the time.
WWII:
Greece was neutral at first. However, they were unable to remain neutral. A number of Jews fought in the Greek army against Italy & Germany, and many died. Once the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria) divided up the country, it was over for the Jews.
- 49,000 Jews were killed from Thessaloniki, almost completely destroying the community in the first few months of German occupation
- by end of 1945, 96.5% of the Jewish community had been murdered.
- less than 2,000 of the 50,000 Jews ai Thessaloniki survived
After Germany took control of Athens, the Italian authorities tried to protect Jews, but that could not last, so the chief Rabbi Elijah Barzilai called upon Archbishop Damaskinos to encourage Archbishop Damaskinos to help protect Jews- they helped them to hide and escape. Here is another story of two people who helped to save another Jewish community in Greece: The Brave Greeks Who Saved the Jews of Zakynthos – GreekReporter.com.
- 11,000 Jews from Macedonia and Thrace were deported to Auschwitz- Birkenau
- In Rhodes, approximately 40 Turkish Jews were saved, thanks to Consul Selahethin Ulkumen
- After the war more than half of the 10,000 remaining Jews left Greece for Israel and other countries
- Greece was the first country in Europe to return property stolen during the Holocaust
- Today, there are a 4,100 Jews in Greece, and relations between the government and the Jews are good. However, the neo-fascist Golden Dawn Party has started to rise. They are extremely antisemitic deny the Holocaust.
- Today, Greece has 10 active synagogues as well as other Jewish organizations like the Jewish Cultural Center in Athens, the Jewish Museum of Greece, and the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki
- Greece has full diplomatic relations with Israel.
Main resource: World Jewish Congress
Videos:
Jewish family repays the Greek family who saved them from the Nazis – CBS News