The Tragic Story of the Thessaloniki Jews During the Holocaust

Hitler invaded Thessaloniki, Greece in 1941, and began stripping Jews of their rights. In 1942, the torture, destruction and systematic attempt to annihilate the thriving Jewish community was well underway.

Liberty Square

Click above to view the short YouTube clip.

---

Liberty Square, (Eleftherias Square), now a parking lot, was the first major turning point in the Holocaust for the Jewish community. On July 11, 1942, on Shabbat, the Nazis demanded that all Jewish men, ages 18-45 report to Liberty Square, tour guide Alana Ditsolas explained. Known as "Black Saturday," 9,000 men were beaten and humiliated as they were ordered to perform strenuous exercises for hours in the hot sun. Two thousand of them were sent into forced labor.

Liberty Square, (Eleftherias Square) 9,000 men were beaten and forced to perform strenuous exercises for hours in the hot sun. Part of the exhibit from the Moshe Carasso Holocaust Hall, Salonika and Greek Jewry Heritage Center in Memory of Leon Recanati (1890 - 1945), Petah Tikva, Israel.

---

The large Magen David (Star of David) in the parking lot of Liberty Square where 9,000 Jewish men were beaten and forced to perform strenuous exercises for hours in the hot sun. July 11, 1942. (Photo: © Israel Sites and Sights / © Janis Raisen)

---

Ditsolas explained that the large Magen David was drawn during a protest about five years ago when the square was turned into a parking lot.

The Old Jewish Cemetery

 Click above to view the short YouTube clip.

---

The Nazis tried to wipe out the entire Jewish community of Thessaloniki during the Holocaust, and as many traces of Jewish life as possible.

In 1942, the Nazis destroyed the Old Jewish Cemetery, one that existed for centuries. More than 300,000 graves were demolished.

"The Nazis not only wanted to wipe out the Jews, but to erase all signs of Jewish presence, which is why they also destroyed so many synagogues," Ditsolas explained.

In 2014, a monument was built on the site of the Old Jewish Cemetery, the current grounds of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Monument at the site of the Old Jewish Cemetery. (Photo: © Israel Sites and Sights / © Janis Raisen)

---

There is another sinister side to the story. The Nazis not only destroyed the cemetery, but also used headstone fragments for building material across the city.

Headstone fragments from the Old Jewish Cemetery used for building material, Navarinou Square, Thessaloniki. (Photo: © Israel Sites and Sights / © Janis Raisen)

---

Ditsolas pointed out a few examples at Navarinou Square in the city center.

.

The city did manage to recover a number of tombstones. A few are on display at the Jewish Museum, and others have been placed inside the new Jewish Cemetery.

The Old Train Station

 Click above to view the short YouTube clip.

---

The first passenger rail station in Thessaloniki operated between 1873 and 1951, and currently functions as a cargo train station.

The Baron Hirsch Quarter was in close proximity to the Old Train Station. It was a Jewish neighborhood built in 1892 by the Jewish community to provide housing for homeless Jews, according to the plaque outside the station. During the Holocaust it was blocked off by the Nazis and turned into a ghetto.

According to Ditsolas, there were three Jewish ghettos formed by the Nazis and Baron Hirsch was closest to the Old Train Station. It was the final stop for Jews before they were transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

In March 1943, devastation ripped through the community. Over the course of five months, the Nazis transported an approximate 50,000 Thessaloniki Jews to Auschwitz — almost the city's entire Jewish population at the time. They were shoved and crammed into cattle cars at the Old Train Station and endured a long, torturous seven-day journey under inhumane conditions.

The Nazis tried to wipe out the entire Jewish community of Thessaloniki. They almost succeeded. According to the plaque at the OId Train Station, 50,000 were taken to Auschwitz - Birkenau from The Old Train Station, and less than 2,000 survived.

In the next few years, a Holocaust museum in Thessaloniki will be built next to the Old Train Station.

.