Message of remembrance, peace at Thessaloniki’s Holocaust Museum groundbrealing

“The Holocaust Museum of Thessaloniki will be a perpetual reminder, a continual SOS for current and future generations,” said Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras at today’s groundbreaking ceremony for the new museum, which was attended by visiting Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.

In his remarks, the Israeli president thanked the Greek government and all those who made donations for the construction of the museum. He stressed that Thessaloniki was full of life, and an integral part of the Greek state [Kingdom of Greece at the time].

“Seventy-five years ago, the first transport of Jews to Auschwitz took place. Within five months, the Jews from the Jerusalem of the Balkans were taken to Auschwitz. In total, 90 percent of Greek Jews were annihilated,” Rivlin said, noting that the museum will keep the memory and the witness, alive.

At the site of the museum, which is scheduled to be completed in 2020, Rivlin and Tsipras symbolically planted two olive trees.

“The presence of the Jews in Thessaloniki adorned the history and culture of the city,” said Tsipras.

“The contributions of Greek Jews were decisive for the progress of the city in the areas of economy, commerce, and culture. The Jews co-existed with two other communities, the Christians and the Muslims, which all together created a multi-cultural mosaic,” the PM said.

He noted that Thessaloniki for many years was referred to as the Jerusalem of the Balkans.
Another appellation was La Madre de Israel, as Thessaloniki once had the largest Jewish population in all of Europe. As late as 1912, the Jewish community was larger than the Greek Christian and Muslims population in Thessaloniki.

“Bigotry, usually motivated by self-interest, seeks ways to divide people…In the tumultuous inter-war period, fascism attempted to establish itself by fueling hatred against the Jewish community of Thessaloniki. There were tragic moments against the Jews. Yet there was the great majority of Thessaloniki residents who opposed these practices,” Tsipras said.

“We are at an historic location, the city’s old railway. From here over 50,000 Jews who were forced to abandon their city began their journey. Auschwitz, Dachau, and Mathausen were the sites of the martyrdom of Greek Jews. Only 1,950 Jews returned,” the PM underlined.

“The Greek people, who fought fascism and Nazism with all their might, keep alive in their memory the living page of the history of the Jews.

in.gr