“With a memorial march, we honor the victims of Nazism, fascism, anti-Semitism, participate in the mourning of their descendants, listen to the exposing speech of the few survivors, join our voice with thousands of citizens who follow the same route, from the ghetto to the station, putting into practice the universal slogan never more,” said the President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulouwho participated in the commemorative procession, from Eleftherias Square to the old railway station Thessaloniki80 years after the departure of the first train with Jews to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

“We are gathered here after the tragedy of Tempe, which the entire Greek society is experiencing with a sense of deep destruction, in order to preserve the memory of one of the most shameful and painful events of the 20th century,” said Ms. Sakellaropoulou in her speech and continued:

“Starting from Eleftheria Square, a place of humiliation and inhuman treatment of Greek Jews, we silently walked to the old railway station, from where the first train to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp left on March 15, 1943. It was just one of many trains that gradually and under terrible conditions, in animal wagons, transported some 46,000 of our Jewish fellow citizens to the Nazi horror camps. Of these, less than 2,000 returned to the beloved “Balkan Jerusalem” where their Sephardic ancestors found a hospitable refuge in the 15th century. Commemorative events like today’s are needed to show, however belatedly, the real events of the arrest, displacement and finally extermination of our Jewish brothers. Violent events that cemented the life of the city and brutally changed its rich multicultural identity. And it is especially important that, especially in recent years, Thessaloniki realized their share of responsibility and openly condemned the mistakes of the past, seeking to heal the historical wound.”

Schoinas: Building a network of Holocaust sites is a key goal of the EU.

“Creating a European “Network of Holocaust Sites” is one of the key actions of our Strategy for the near future,” said European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas during a speech at a ceremony at the old railway station after a walk of memory.

“I believe and want places like the one we are in today in Thessaloniki, and like the Holocaust Museum, which will soon dominate here, to become part of this network and rise to the European level. This is our historical debt to those who died in the concentration camps,” Schinas said, speaking about the current situation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he stressed:

“Europe and the European way of life will not allow a repetition of the phenomenon that burdens our history. And those who today relativize the Holocaust, trying or daring to equate Nazism with the proud struggle of the Ukrainian people for freedom and independence, know that they will have to pay many bills. With history, justice, as well as international courts and humanism. As Nuremberg then, so now The Hague is waiting for those who think they can become the executioners of history. This is the greatest legacy we can leave to the next generation.”

“As Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for combating anti-Semitism, as a Greek and as a Thessalonian, I am proud that the European strategy for combating anti-Semitism and preserving Jewish life, which I spoke to you about from this stage a year ago, is already beginning to give results and become a source of inspiration for similar initiatives on the other side of the Atlantic,” said the Vice President of the Commission. This strategy includes about 100 targeted actions, half of which have already been launched.

According to him, April 19 marks the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising, which has become a symbol of Jewish resistance to the brutality of the Nazi regime. “Jewish life has been, is and will be an integral part of European societies and the European way of life. In recent years, many European countries have witnessed the revival of Jewish life and reconnection with their Jewish traditions – a vivid example of this is our city of Thessaloniki, ”he said.

Mr. Shinas welcomed the Greek government’s announcement that the preparation of a national action plan aligned with the European strategy has already begun. He also welcomed the recent progress in the construction of the Holocaust Museum in Thessaloniki, which he says is a symbol whose importance and influence extend far beyond Greece. Regarding the Holocaust and the victims of the Jewish community of Thessaloniki, Mr. Schinas stated the following:

“On January 26, 2023, at a historic special session to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Israeli President Isaac Herzog from the floor of the European Parliament decided to compress the unimaginable horror of the persecution and extermination of six million Jews. before the Greek. From the then only Jewish resident of Leros, Daniel Rahamim. Such was the fury of the Nazis that even for the sake of one person they sent a boat to a desert island. This was preceded by others. From ships they were loaded onto trains. Destination, the hell of Auschwitz. We don’t forget. Our compatriot Leon Saltiel reminds us of him with his shocking book Forget Me Not, with the last letters of three Jewish mothers to their sons shortly before their departure to hell. Sarina Saltiel, Matilda Baruch, Neama Kazes, don’t let us forget them. We don’t rest. We oppose all modern forms of anti-Semitism and intolerance. We remember and are inspired by the Jews throughout Europe who resisted.”

^{Source: RES-IPE}