ESJF Country Report - Greece

Country Report:

Greece

ESJF surveys, analysis and educational events, 2018-2020

Contents Introduction The Jewish History of Greece The ESJF Survey Results in Greece Restitution and Legal Context Education events in the pilot project Conclusion

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3

Introduction

T

his report summarises the implementation of the pilot project ‘Pilot Project Protecting Jewish Cemeteries: A full mapping process with research and monitoring and individual costed proposals for protection’ in Greece, and offers a detailed analysis of its results.

The pilot project ran for 18 months, between 11 December 2018 and 10 June 2020, co-funded by the European Commission and implemented by the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, with the aim of mapping and surveying every Jewish cemetery in Greece, raising awareness about their value and vulnerability among local stakeholders, and conducting educational events for local high school students and their teachers.

Prior to the surveys conducted by the ESJF, there had been no comprehensive database of Jewish cemeteries in Greece. ESJF worked with lists provided by their main local partner, the Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS), as well as international lists; however, these were all incomplete. In-house research was carried out to ensure that every single Jewish cemetery was visited. 20 of the sites surveyed had not been mentioned in any database prior to this work. As such, the pilot project offers the first full survey of Jewish cemeteries in Greece, adding much to our understanding of the location, condition, and ownership of Jewish burial sites in the country.

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Country Report: Greece. ESJF surveys, analysis and educational events, 2018-2020

The number of Jewish cemeteries in Greece was estimated ca. 50. Our research located a total of 45 sites. Greece contains the highest proportion of demolished cemeteries among the project countries: 23 of the surveyed sites are demolished, and only 22 are preserved. Moreover, the majority of the demolished sites are overbuilt, leaving little room for protection measures. A number of demolished sites were impossible to locate: in 7-9 cases, the existence of a former cemetery is evident from historical sources, but surveys were made impossible by the fact accurate coordinates were impossible to establish.

These striking statistics can be explained by the specificities of working with Jewish heritage in the country. The severe limitations post-war Greek Jewry faced in the struggle to preserve their material heritage, combined with the sensitivities of Greek society, have made Jewish heritage preservation a thorny issue in the country. Restitution was carried out only partially in Greece, thanks to the resistance of the local population, and this legacy has left tensions in the country. Surveyors encountered difficulties when trying to contact local authorities, and often the media was reluctant to report project results. Locals sometimes observed surveys with visible suspicion, and in general it was difficult to engage local stakeholders.

Educational events were especially crucial in this climate. The first event, the teacher training in Thessaloniki, was conducted in partnership with Centropa. Carrying out educational events is subject to permits in Greece, which the ESJF failed to secure after several attempts: the process was bureaucratic, delayed multiple times, and would have required a sustained presence in the country. This being so, Centropa’s existing licence provided a way forward for teacher training. This, combined with the pandemic that erupted in March 2020 meant that the ESJF needed to re-conceptualise educational interventions in Greece: after the success of technical training events in

6

Introduction

higher education settings in Ukraine, we developed a similar programme for Greek university students, focusing on drone surveys, albeit in fully online format. Much like its predecessor in Ukraine, this course was enthusiastically received.

In the course of our work we have collaborated with the Central Board of Jewish Communities of Greece (KIS). Their support helped ground surveys, but their work is also subject to navigating the contested religious and cultural landscape of the country.

The pilot project indicates that heritage-related interventions in Greece would need to be carefully planned, possibly with the involvement of significant local expertise, in order to safely navigate this sensitive terrain, and avoid antagonising the local population. The limited success of the ESJF in securing the support of local authorities in Greece, as well as the reluctance of the media to report on the project are important indicators of a highly troubled landscape. The publication of the first, fully comprehensive list of Greek cemeteries might provide momentum for preservation efforts and awareness raising, but it is likely that significant improvements would hinge on the promotion of inter-religious tolerance and cultural diplomatic work.

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The Jewish History of Greece

T

he first reference to Jews being enslaved and taken to Greece (or the Greek colonies) can be found in the Book of Joel. The earliest estimates for the accounts relayed therein date to around the 9th century BCE. More reliable sources for an early Jewish presence in the territory of modern Greece dates back to the 3rd-4th centuries BCE. By the 2nd century BCE, Jewish communities were already a fixture in the Greek cities.

In the 4th century BCE, Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Persian Empire brought Egypt and Israel into Hellenistic control. The mutual influence between the Greek and “eastern” cultures here, as well as the growth of the Jewish diaspora, led to the translation of the Tanakh into Greek. Around this time, the Romans conquered the region, leading to a period characterised by religious pluralism and harsh measures to ensure civil obedience.

The Jewish-Roman war and the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem led o a period of «scattering.» Jewish refugees fled to cities around the empire. The resultant crisis of faith, splits along religious political lines, and Greek-Jewish syncretism created the environment in which the first Christian communities developed in Greece.

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Country Report: Greece. ESJF surveys, analysis and educational events, 2018-2020

Reforms instituted by Emperor Diocletian in the 3rd century CE divided the empire into 4 administrative units, separating the Eastern Empire into its own entity, the basis of which was Greece, where the Romaniote Jewish community would later go on to be formed. At this point, imperial universalism and the religious pluralism of antiquity had been replaced by divine law, religious unrest, and confrontation. The ancient schools of philosophy were closed and the Easter Roman Empire became Byzantium - a stronghold of Christianity. Upon the split of the church, the Byzantine church was characterised by the idea of the sanctity of the Emperor’s power, closely tying the figure to Christian doctrine. For the Jews in Greece, this meant increased pressure towards religious conversion, as well as a gradual restriction of their rights.

The religious ground on which military confrontations played out in the region turned religious groups into the political parties of the era. The Jews of Byzantium, particularly those based in Greece, were suspected of influencing the iconoclasts (despite their having suffered during the iconoclastic of the 8th-9th centuries), or collaborating with enemy powers.

The 14th-15th centuries were marked by a gradual conquest of the territories of modern Greece by the Ottoman Empire, incorporating the region into the sphere of Muslim influence with its relatively tolerant approach to religious pluralism. Jews and Christians were required to pay a special tax when inhabiting Muslim land. The largest group of Jews in the Empire were the Sephardic Jews. At the same time, Jews expelled from other regions of Europe during the plague found refuge in Greece, particularly those from the Catholic kingdoms of the Balkan Peninsula, Spain, and England. Thus, medieval Greece again became a place of meeting and exchange between cultures.

With the 1821 uprising, Greece gained its independence. During the war, anarchy, political violence, and religious and nationalist intolerance spiked. This, along with the sense of fierce loyalty to the national government, led to a series of anti-Jewish riots.

10

The Jewish History of Greece

Unfortunately, in the wake of patriotism and the desire to protect the Christian Greek population of the region, Greek irredentism also rose. Following the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, a number of northern territories were passed to Greece, which increased the number of Greek Jews several times over. Portions of the political elite regarded the Greek enclaves in Asia Minor and Eastern Thrace as objects to be included in the state. However, Turkish nationalists saw these enclaves as a threat, responding with genocide at the outbreak of World War I. This was one of the motives for Greece to side with the Entente during World War I, as Turkey and Bulgaria were both among the Central Powers. As a result, Greece received western Thrace from Bulgaria. It was also assumed that Greece would include eastern Thrace, as well as part of Asia Minor and the islands of the Aegean. The collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the threat of separation stoked Turkish nationalism and led to a war of independence, as a result of which these plans were never realised. In addition, under the 1923 agreement, a “population exchange� was conducted between Greece and Turkey. In that era, it was considered a civilised way to resolve issues with borders, mutual claims, and national enclaves. However, it took the form of forced deportations.

Among both groups of deportees were Jews: Sephardim expelled from Greece and Romaniotes from Turkey.

With the outbreak of World War II, the Allies and the Axis powers vied for control of Greece. The Greek army repelled the Italian invasion. According to sources, 10-15 thousand Jews fought in this conflict; however, with the arrival of German troops and their Balkan allies, Greece was captured and divided. At that point, around 80 thousand Jews inhabited Greece, including refugees from other regions of Europe. In addition to the annexed territories, three primary zones of occupation can be distinguished, divided between Bulgarian, Italian, and German influence. Cities with significant Jewish populations, such as Thessaloniki and Athens, both fell under the German-controlled

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Country Report: Greece. ESJF surveys, analysis and educational events, 2018-2020

zone. At that time, Thessaloniki was the largest Jewish community in Greece, with an estimated 50 thousand Jews living in the city.

Jews in the Italian-occupied zone faced relatively softer policies than those in the German regions, and efforts were even made to rescue Jews with Italian citizenship from Nazi persecution. The Bulgarian zone, however, fell under de-facto German rule.

The first executions in the German and Bulgarian zones began immediately after the occupation. Deportations to death camps began in February 1942. No more than 10 thousand Jews survived by the end of the occupation. The List of the Righteous Among the Nations includes 355 Greek names. The clergy played an important role in saving the Jews here. Moreover, the resistance movement included around 2-3 thousand Jews in their ranks.

The resistance movement in Greece was active, but became distracted by various political projects and external forces, which ultimately led to infighting even before the expulsion of the invaders. The old political and national contradictions, as well as mutual distrust, precluded the resistance fighters uniting against a common enemy. However, significant areas of the country had been liberated prior to the Allied forces landing.

Soon after the liberation of Greece, the confrontation between the communist and proWestern underground grew into a civil war between the partisan army and government troops supported by Western allies. The conflict continued until 1949 and left deep wounds in the collective memory of the Greeks. During the conflict, up to 5 thousand Jews fled Greece - half of all of the Holocaust survivors in the country. In 1967, a military coup took place in Greece and an authoritarian regime was established, which lasted until 1975. During this period, repressions against opponents of the regime were

12

The Jewish History of Greece

carried out, and the national ideology became dominated by a mixture of clericalism and right-wing nationalism.

This difficult historical heritage had economic as well as humanitarian impacts. Political and economic crises exacerbated the contradictions in Greek society. Right-wing political groups are suspicious of Jews for historical and religious reasons, while leftwing groups are suspicious of them for geopolitical reasons. Together, this results in a high-rate of anti-Jewish vandalism in the country.

Despite this, Greece and Israel have close trade and economic ties. The Jewish community of Greece amounted to about 4.5 thousand people at the beginning of the 21st century; synagogues and other community institutions continue to function. With the support of the Minister of Culture of Greece, a Jewish Museum was opened in Thessaloniki in 2001.

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The ESJF Survey Results in Greece

D

uring the ESJF surveys, 45 sites in Greece were visited and surveyed. This amounts to all Jewish cemeteries in the country, providing a full, comprehensive and up-to-date overview of their ownership and conditions.

Lists There is no National register of Jewish cemeteries in Greece. The list of the cemetery sites for ESJF survey was compiled based on the register of Jewish cemeteries, provided by the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS), the umbrella organisation of Greek Jews. In addition to this, lists were based on the register published by the International Survey of Jewish Monuments, as well as international databases such as the JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry (JOWBR) and the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS).

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Country Report: Greece. ESJF surveys, analysis and educational events, 2018-2020

However, these lists appeared to be incomplete. Additional research was carried out and more cemeteries were identified and located, based on the existing studies of Jewish history and epigraphy in Greece (including the in-depth Pinkas Kehilot Yavan Encyclopedia

by Yad Vashem, as well as research by M.Schwab, S. Bowman, M. Gover, and others).

ESJF were unable to locate the cemeteries in Thebes, Ypati, Mystras, and Naxos; nor could the location of the Oldest Jewish cemetery at Kos on Cape Sable be determined.

There is also evidence pointing to the existence of Jewish cemeteries in Tripoli and Livadi, along with two more demolished Jewish cemeteries in Kastoria. These are yet to be located and will require additional research.

The survey also omitted numerous Jewish communities which ceased to exist during Ottoman and Byzantine rule, or even late Antiquity in some cases, due to the scarcity of evidence for their existence. Some of these communities may have had their own cemeteries. These include but are not limited to: Crissa (home to 200 Jewish families in 12th cent. according to accounts from Benjamin of Tudela, with no evidence later); Sidirokastro (had a Jewish community in the 16 cent, which most probably disappeared in 17th cent.), Lefkada (large Jewish community in 16th cent., according to the accounts of voyagers at the time); Methoni (home to a Jewish community which was destroyed in the 17th cent.); and Corinth (one of the largest Jewish communities in the Antiquity, it most likely ceased to exist in the 14 cent.).

Today there is no information on the cemeteries in these communities: without being able to ascertain whether they existed, it is impossible to determine their location. In each case, in-depth archaeological and archival research is required.

20 cemeteries surveyed by ESJF were not mentioned in the existing databases (44% of all cemeteries surveyed): Ioannina Old, Arta; Preveza; Paramythia; Corfu Sefardic

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The ESJF Survey Results in Greece

Old Cemetery; Corfu Romaniote Old Cemetery; Rhodes Old; Volos Old; Larissa Old; Patras Old; Florina; Kastoria New; Chania Jewish Cemetery; Chania Jewish Cemetery at Etz Chayim synagogue; Rethymno; Kavala Old; Komotini; Orestiada; Argostoli (Cephalonia); and Kos Old. 18 of these 20 have been demolished and overbuilt, accounting for 86% of all registered cemeteries to be demolished and overbuilt in Greece.

One of the reasons for the high rate of “newly found” cemeteries is the fact that the existing databases (including the JOWBR and KIS registers) did not focus on the demolished cemeteries. Some of the above-mentioned cemeteries were known to at least the Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS) but were not included in the community cemetery register.

Only two of these 20 were categorised as preserved and protected: Chania Jewish Cemetery at the Etz Chayim synagogue (consisting of four rabbinical graves from the 18th-19th century at the synagogue’s yard) and Kos Old (an older part of the preserved Kos cemetery, separated from the new section by an old wall, which the databases did not distinguish from the Kos New Cemetery).

Main results Surveys reveal a highly contradictory situation in Greece. The country shows the highest rate of demolished cemeteries among all the countries surveyed, with 23 demolished cemeteries and 22 preserved, meaning 51% of the cemeteries are no longer there. The vast majority of demolished cemeteries have been overbuilt (21) and only two are likely to contain preserved graves.

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Country Report: Greece. ESJF surveys, analysis and educational events, 2018-2020

At the same time, most of the preserved cemeteries are protected, and only two are under threat. This being the case, there is comparatively little room to plan preservation projects in Greece: unprotected but so far intact sites, and the few demolished but not overbuilt sites are the only locations where interventions could still help. This highlights the dangers of acting too late: without legal and/or physical protection measures, demolishing and overbuilding threaten every single Jewish burial site.

Demolished and overbuilt Jewish cemetery 21 (47%) Fenced and protected Jewish cemetery 18 (40%)

Demolished Jewish cemetery that has not been built over 2 (4%) Jewish section within the municipal cemetery 2 (4%)

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Unfenced Jewish cemetery 2 (4%)

The ESJF Survey Results in Greece

Demolished cemeteries The most characteristic features of the demolished cemeteries in Greece are: 1) a high rate of demolished cemeteries compared to preserved ones (51%, 23 cemeteries). For comparison, in Ukraine this rate is 35%, in Moldova - 24%, and in Slovakia - 7%.

2) an extremely high rate of overbuilt cemeteries among those demolished: 21 out of 23, which makes 91%. In other surveyed countries the highest rate is in Ukraine (49%), while in Slovakia it is only 7%.

This poor preservation rate can be explained by the following factors: â—?

the demolition of Jewish cemeteries during German occupation

â—?

t he plight of the Jewish communities in Greece after WWII. The few surviving Jews preferred to settled in large cities under the protection of strong communities (Athens, Thessaloniki etc). Many local communities fell into decay and one after another ceased to exist, while their property was taken by municipal authorities.

Of the demolished cemeteries, 5 were demolished before 1940 (including two in 1938), 8 were destroyed during the Nazi occupation, and 5 in the post-war period. It was not possible to determine when the other five were demolished, but this presumably took place in the post-WWII period.

The second distinctive feature is the high percentage of overbuilt sites: 91%.

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Country Report: Greece. ESJF surveys, analysis and educational events, 2018-2020

Demolition and later development of Jewish cemetery sites remains a sensitive topic in Greece. The post-WWII Greek Jewry chose (or were forced) to limit their protective efforts predominantly to the better preserved or more significant sites. At the same time, the local population and local authorities did not seek to preserve the memory of the Jewish communities, and in some cases intended to get rid of it entirely. Upon losing the protection of their communities, cemetery sites quickly went to ruin, and upon ruination were used for construction, leaving no traces of the former cemeteries at the sites. Even today, only three demolished and overbuilt cemeteries are accompanied by any sort of memorial or plaque.

During their surveys, the ESJF team encountered some reluctance from both the local population and the Jewish community members to discuss the location or territory of overbuilt cemeteries, whether located on private or municipal property, perhaps from fear of anti-Semitism.

The documents on the demolished cemeteries appeared to be mostly unavailable. Only in Rhodes did the community share the topographic plan of the demolished cemetery with us. Of the 23 cemeteries, 14 were delineated and in some cases even located approximately, based on oral testimony or preserved descriptions of the sites.

The main types of development found on the cemetery sites are: residential buildings (11 cases), educational institutions (8 cases), transport facilities and parking lots (8 cases), municipal and administrative buildings (6 cases), sports and entertainment centres (6 cases), commercial outlets (2 cases), public parks (2 cases), and industrial sites (1 cases), as well as one church and one Christian cemetery.

On two of the sites which were demolished but not overbuilt, the graves themselves are likely to be preserved: Nafpaktos (which is now a private olive garden) and Serres (now

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The ESJF Survey Results in Greece

a wasteland; there is a legal action between the Jewish community and the municipality over this cemetery site). These sites are under high threat of demolition.

Preserved cemeteries Among the preserved Jewish cemeteries in Greece, 20 are protected and fenced (of which 2 are Jewish sections on municipal cemeteries) and 2 are unprotected and unfenced.

Another interesting facet of the situation in Greece is that almost all of the surviving cemeteries are protected and fenced (20 out of 22 – 91%). This is the highest percentage of all the countries surveyed (compared to 66% in Moldova and 61% in Slovakia).

Given the visible preservation efforts of the Jewish community here, it appears the high percentage of demolished cemeteries can be explained by the fact there was simply no community to protect many of the cemeteries.

As in other countries, the preservation status of the cemeteries depends on whether the cemetery is used.

12 cemeteries have been used in the last 15 years and can be considered operational.

All of these are well maintained, fenced, and protected. 2 of the cemeteries continued to be used after World War 2, but not in the past 15 years. Of these, one cemetery is protected and well-maintained, while the other is fenced but abandoned. 8 of the cemeteries were out of use by WWII, of which 3 closed in the 19th century. Of these 8, 2 are unprotected and unfenced, while 1 is abandoned.

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Country Report: Greece. ESJF surveys, analysis and educational events, 2018-2020

Two unprotected and unfenced cemeteries, which thus are under threat of destruction, are: Alexandroupoli (20 tombstones, dating 1868-1937) The old cemetery in Didymoteicho.

The latter is of particular interest since, according to the IAJGS and Pinkasei Kehilot Yavan, it contains a tombstone from 1454 (although the ESJF team could not find it).

Dating The history of Jewish cemeteries and tombstones in GreeŃ e stretches back for 20 centuries. It is complicated by the destruction of cemeteries, the relocation of tombstones to other sites and to museums, and the lack of systematic study.

At the same time there is a considerable amount of research focused on the specific cemetery or period, both professional and amateur.

As a result, the dating of cemeteries and gravestones by professional expeditions is superimposed on the legends about the ancient origin of cemeteries, as well as on the dating of tombstones which were recorded at the beginning of the 20th century, but later lost.

The ESJF survey format does not allow for substantial epigraphic field research.

However, an attempt was made to order and verify the available data, relying on the dating that can be obtained within the framework of a short survey.

Thus, the date of the oldest gravestone recorded during the ESJF survey is the terminus ante quem (upper limit) of the period of the cemetery emergence, and not the exact date

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The ESJF Survey Results in Greece

of the oldest preserved gravestone. In all cases, the older tombstones can potentially be found through serious epigraphic survey work. Of course, it should be taken into account that many tombstones found on the new cemeteries were relocated from elder ones, and that these figures cannot always be accurately established.

Nevertheless, in the face of the existing confusion surrounding dating, this approach may bear some fruit.

The Jewish necropoli in Greece existed, apparently, in the first centuries C.E. Unfortunately, the Jewish necropoli of late Antiquity in Greece have not been preserved.

Presumably, they were not cemeteries, but rather catacombs or other forms of cave burial. Most likely, they existed in Rhodes, Delos, Corinth, and other large ancient Jewish communities.

The earliest preserved Jewish tombstones and sarcophagi of 2nd-5th cent. are now located in Greek archaeological museums. In particular, the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki contains 4 Jewish tombstones from the old Thessaloniki cemetery, dating from 150 to 400 CE; and several other museums have tombstones from the Byzantine period. All of these bear Greek epitaphs.

The first documented tombstones in Hebrew date from the end of the Byzantine period (14th century). In 1907, M. Schwab published the text and photograph of a Jewish tombstone from Chalkis from 1326 (not preserved today), and in 1933, the tombstone from Patras, dating back to 1330 (not preserved). S. Bowman published two tombstones from the 14th century from Thebes in 1982.

The oldest known tombstones still in the cemetery include the tombstone of 1426 on Ioannina New Cemetery (discovered by the Students expedition of Bar-Ilan University.

The stone is believed to have been brought from an Old Jewish cemetery in Ioannina).

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Country Report: Greece. ESJF surveys, analysis and educational events, 2018-2020

A tombstone dating from 1453, which is presumably located on the old cemetery of Didymoteicho (which the ESJF team were unable to find) belongs to the same period.

Tombstones from the 16th century exist in Chalkis (dated 1539, in a small museum at the cemetery), as well as at the New Cemetery of Rhodes (dated 1593, transferred from the Rhodes Old cemetery). 17th century tombstones are recorded in the New cemetery of Thessaloniki (1665, transferred from the Old Thessaloniki cemetery).

The oldest tombstone in situ recorded by the ESJF expedition is in Zakynthos, dated 1671. The International Survey of Jewish Monuments database mentions the presence of 15th century tombstones on this cemetery, but ESJF could not confirm this during the expedition.

Tombstones from the 18th century have been recorded in Chania Cemetery at Etz Chayim Synagogue (1710, in situ), Kos Old (1741, in situ, while Pinkasei Kehilot Yavan mentions the tombstone from 1715), Corfu New 1702 (presumably relocated from the Old Sephardic Jewish cemetery in Corfu), Kos New (1772, most likely relocated from the Old or Oldest Kos Cemeteries), Trikala (1765, in situ. Viktor Sol. Venouziou of Jewishgen, mentions a tombstone dated to 1550, but ESJF could not find evidence to support this).

There are more cemeteries containing 19th cent. tombstones. These include: Larissa New (1866, in situ, while the International Survey of Jewish Monuments reports the date of the oldest one as 1898), Alexandroupoli (1868, in situ), Didymoteicho New (1879, in situ), Drama Old (1885, in situ), the Athens 1st cemetery Jewish section (1892, in situ), Kavala New (1894, transferred in 1938 from the Old Kavala cemetery), and Volos New (1866, brought from Volos Old)

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The ESJF Survey Results in Greece

Tombstones of the 20th century were recorded as the oldest in Drama New (1912), Xanthi (1910), Patras New (1915), and the Athens 3rd municipal cemetery Jewish section (1941).

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Restitution and Legal Context

T

he process of restitution of Jewish property in Greece began in 1946 and took place only partially.

According to Greek government decree No. 846 of June 22, 1946, Jewish property was to be restituted. Any Jew who lived in Greece in 1940 was entitled to compensation for the value of this property. The law, however, was not enacted due to the resistance of the people who seized Jewish property during WWII, as well as due to disputes with the newly emerged State of Israel about the purpose of spending these funds. The controversy over the restitution generated a surge of anti-Semitism that has made the topic sensitive to this day. The controversy was resolved by an agreement between the Greek and Israeli governments in 1952.

The question arose about the body of legal representation of Jewry in Greece, which could take over the management of the restituted communal property as well as property without heirs.

In 1944, the community of Athens declared its leadership of the surviving Jews of Greece, which numbered around 10,000, and elected a council for that purpose. In June 1945 by Law 367, the state recognized this council as the legal representative

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Country Report: Greece. ESJF surveys, analysis and educational events, 2018-2020

of the interests of Greek Jewry both before the government and international Jewish organizations. The name of the organization was changed to KIS - Kentrikon Israelitikon Symvoulion.

In 1949, under KIS, a special body, the Organisation for the Aid and Restoration of Greek Jewry (OPAIE), was created to manage Jewish property left without heirs. The functions of this organisation included the management of synagogues, as well as cemeteries, from communities which no longer existed.

The Greek government confirmed the legal status of independent full-right Jewish communities in seven communities, in which more than half of their pre-war members survived: Athens, Volos, Larissa, Trikala, Patras, Zakynthos, and Chalkis. These communities were given the right to own and dispose of their property, including cemeteries.

Another 12 communities, in which less than half of their pre-war population survived, but more than 20 families, received partial rights. They could manage their movable and immovable property, including cemeteries, but could not transfer or sell them without the consent of the Ministry of Religious Affairs. These are Thessaloniki, Ioannina, Corfu, Rhodes, Veria, Florina, Arta, Kavala, Drama, Kastoria, Didymoteicho, ​​and Preveza.

Seven communities, in which fewer than 20 families survived, lost community status .

Their property, including cemeteries, was transferred to KIS. These are Alexandropouli, Nea-Orestiada, Sofokleon, Komotini, Xanthi, Serres, and Chania.

18 communities were represented in KIS initially: Athens, Thessaloniki, Larissa, Volos, Trikala, Karditsa, Chalkis, Patras, Corfu, Arta, Ioannina, Veria, Florina, Rhodes, Kavala, Kastoria, Didymoteicho, and Drama. As communities disappeared due to the decline of Jewish population, their property, including cemeteries, was transferred to KIS.

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Restitution and Legal Context

Today, the Jewish population of Greece is about 5,000. Jewish communities exist in Athens, Thessaloniki, Larissa, Volos, Corfu, Ioannina, Khalkis, Rhodes, and Trikala.

These active communities own their cemeteries. Cemeteries of the communities which no longer exist are at the disposal of KIS. Some were preserved, while others were transferred to municipal or pirate ownership.

The table below shows the ownership of individual, non-demolished cemeteries:

Cemetery name

Legal status of community at the end of 1940’s

Property status, 2019

Athens 3rd cemetery Jewish section

+ independent community represented at KIS

Municipal

Athens 1st cemetery Jewish section

+ independent community represented at KIS

Municipal since 1837

Chalkis

+ independent community represented at KIS

Local community

Patras New

+ independent community represented at KIS

KIS

Volos New

+ independent community represented at KIS

Local community, the New JC was established in 1970 after the destruction of Old JC for the road construction

Larissa New

+ independent community represented at KIS

Local community

Trikala

+ independent community represented at KIS

Local community

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Country Report: Greece. ESJF surveys, analysis and educational events, 2018-2020

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Cemetery name

Legal status of community at the end of 1940’s

Property status, 2019

Didymoteicho Old

+ partial legal rights (local Jewish council elections, not eligible to change property status without Ministry of religions resolution) with representation at KIS

KIS

Didymoteicho New

+ partial legal rights (local Jewish council elections, not eligible to change property status without Ministry of religions resolution) with representation at KIS

KIS

Drama Old

+ partial legal rights (local Jewish council elections, not eligible to change property status without Ministry of religions resolution) with representation at KIS

KIS

Drama New

+ partial legal rights (local Jewish council elections, not eligible to change property status without Ministry of religions resolution) with representation at KIS

KIS

Thessaloniki New

+ partial legal rights (local Jewish council elections, not eligible to change property status without Ministry of religions resolution) with representation at KIS

Local community

Rhodes New

+ partial legal rights (local Jewish council elections, not eligible to change property status without Ministry of religions resolution) with representation at KIS

Local community

Ioannina New

+ partial legal rights (local Jewish council elections, not eligible to change property status without Ministry of religions resolution) with representation at KIS

Local community

Restitution and Legal Context

Cemetery name

Legal status of community at the end of 1940’s

Property status, 2019

Corfu New

+ partial legal rights (local Jewish council elections, not eligible to change property status without Ministry of religions resolution) with representation at KIS

Local community

Kavala New

+ partial legal rights (local Jewish council elections, not eligible to change property status without Ministry of religions resolution) with representation at KIS

KIS

Zakynthos

+ independent community

KIS

without representation at KIS Xanthi

+ the status of community was not granted after WW2, the property issues are under KIS and OPAIE

KIS

Kos Old

+ the status of community was not granted after WW2, the property issues are under KIS and OPAIE

KIS

Kos New

+ the status of community was not granted after WW2, the property issues are under KIS and OPAIE

KIS

Chania Cemetery at Synagogue

+ the status of community was not granted after WW2, the property issues are under KIS and OPAIE

KIS and Local Jewish Museum since 1995

Alexandroupoli

+ the status of community was not granted after WW2

KIS

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Education events in the pilot project

I

t is our belief that long-term preservation begins on a local level, by encouraging locals to take an active interest in protecting their own cultural heritage. However, with two world wars, the Holocaust, and the mass migration which took place in its wake, in many of the regions surveyed there is no Jewish community to speak of. Many places are wrought with tensions that have not been dealt with in the public discourse of these societies, and as such, approaching Jewish themes is a highly necessary, but often contested, sensitive issue.

The pilot project uses Jewish cemeteries as starting points to open up discussions about the Jewish heritage we all live with in our respective European countries. Our aim in our educational projects is to show inhabitants that, rather than artefacts from an alien, extinct culture, these cemeteries represent a significant part of their own material heritage. By teaching young people how to engage with their local Jewish cemeteries, as well as preparing educators to integrate the topic into their curriculum, our goal was to cultivate a respect and interest in Jewish heritage in the next generation. In addition, through technical training designed for engineering and architecture students, we took

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Country Report: Greece. ESJF surveys, analysis and educational events, 2018-2020

Jewish cemeteries out of the context of history and culture, showing their importance in digital heritage work.

In Greece, this involved a two-day teacher training event, held in collaboration with our partners at Centropa, in which educators were given the tools necessary to explore Jewish cemeteries and heritage in the classroom. Moreover, an online course was set up to teach engineering and architecture students about the applications of drone technology in heritage preservation. Through educational videos, presentations from our partners at Drone.UA, and a webinar with members of the ESJF team, the students learned how ESJF uses this cutting-edge technology in its preservation work.

The teacher training event took place at the Jewish Community Centre in Thessaloniki and ran from the 15th to the 16th of December 2019. The first day began with opening remarks from David Saltiel of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS), Isidora Prokopiou of the Hellenic Ministry of Education, Fabian Rühle of Centropa, and Katja Grosser-Sommer of ESJF. Veteran Centropa teachers than carried out an icebreaking activity to prepare the participants for the course. A question and answer session was then led by Giorgos Antoniou, followed by a walking tour of Jewish Salonika.

After this, Fabian Rühle introduced the participants to the Centropa education programme: “Stories are universal and connect us all: How Centropa preserves 20th century Jewish history through photos & family stories”, followed by a screening of the Centropa film “A bookstore in six chapters”, and remarks from Nina Molho, narrator of the film and daughter of the family documented in it. Katerina Efraimidou then showed the participants how the film can be used as an educational tool in the classroom.

Finally, a workshop was led by Branka Dimevska, entitled “Using Edmodo & Centropa in cross-cultural projects”, teaching the participants how best to take advantage of the educational software Edmodo.

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Education events in the pilot project

The second day began with a workshop led by Eleni Hodolidou on behalf of the ESJF, entitled “How studying Jewish cemeteries can contribute to education on multicultural heritage”, in which participants were taught how to use the historical and biographical information which can be found on Jewish tombstones to teach secondary school students. Participants were then split into six groups, half of whom worked to develop lesson plans based on the story of the Molho family from Centropa’s film the previous day, while the other half worked with Centropa teachers and Eleni Hodolidou to develop lesson plans to integrate Jewish cemeteries into their teaching of Greece’s multicultural history. Afterwards, the groups were invited to share their lesson plans and receive feedback.

After the screening of another Centropa film “Survival in Sarajevo”, Centropa teachers from Thessaloniki and Skopje shared the methods they use to discuss interreligious tolerance with their students. Daniela Sterjova then introduced “Three promises”, a film about the Holocaust in Belgrade. Next, participants received a presentation on encouraging their students to research their local history through digital storytelling, from Stella Kalle and Dimitris Chatzakis from Thessaloniki, after which they were split into groups to discuss how best to make students create their own projects on local Jewish history. Finally, the teachers received certification to mark the completion of the course.

The second educational outreach programme in Greece was the online course on 3D modelling and drone technology and their applications in preserving Jewish cemeteries, which was made available from the 15th of April through to the end of May. Aimed at architecture and engineering students, the course comprised primarily of a series of educational videos. The first of these introduced students to the ESJF’s mission to preserve Jewish cemeteries, while three others provided historical background on the evolution of Jewish communities in Greece and the material traces of their cemeteries.

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Country Report: Greece. ESJF surveys, analysis and educational events, 2018-2020

The others focused on drone technology, with comprehensive presentations by Tetyana Kondratenko from Drone.UA on the way ESJF uses drone technology.

The first of these technical videos provided an introduction to UAVs, as well as their industrial applications in fields such as ground surveys, agriculture, and mining. The next presentation was devoted to hardware, focusing on the various types of drone and the efficacy of each in different situations, along with an insight into the hardware specifications which must be taken into account during flight planning. The third presentation focused on data processing and presented the students with an overview of photogrammetric modelling. Finally, the course includes a one-hour webinar. The webinar begins with an overview of ESJF’s work and context on the programme from Diána Vonnák (Project Manager, ESJF) and Dr Alexandra Fishel (Educational Projects Officer, ESJF), before the floor is given to Tetyana Kondratenko for a live presentation on drone technology. Overall, 100 individuals registered for the course, 40 viewed the videos we had uploaded on MyiCourse, and around 25 individuals attended the webinar.

Given the limitations imposed by the COVID-19 outbreak, ESJF needed to respond quickly to adjust to the new circumstances, hence the decision to host this event online.

However, doing so added the benefit that students could access the material at any time during the month for which it was available, adding flexibility while removing the financial and logistical impositions of arranging travel and accommodation.

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Education events in the pilot project

Date

Location

15-16/12/2019 Thessaloniki (Jewish Community Centre)

Programme

No. of Attendees

Teacher training: Held in collaboration with Centropa, the first day’s activities included:

~ 30

Ice-breaking activities.

Question and answer sessions.

I ntroduction grammes.

to

Centropa

pro-

creenings and discussions of S Centropa films.

A walking tour of Jewish Salonika. n introduction to the educational A software Edmodo.

The second day consisted of: An ESJF workshop.

A screening of a Centropa film. presentation on developing lesA son plans to introduce Jewish cemeteries to the classroom.

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Country Report: Greece. ESJF surveys, analysis and educational events, 2018-2020

Date 15/0431/05/2020

Location Remote

Programme

University outreach: An online course de- ~25 signed to teach engineering and architecture students about the use of drones in heritage preservation, in collaboration with Tetyana Kondratenko of Drone.UA. Included videos on: ESJF’s mission and work to date.

An introduction to UAV technology and its industrial applications, presented by Kondratenko.

H ardware, including different types of drone, presented by Kondratenko.

Data processing and photogrammetric modelling, presented by Kondratenko.

The Jewish history of Greece.

Finally, there was a 1 hour webinar beginning with an overview of ESJF’s work and context on the grant from Diána Vonnák (Project Manager, ESJF) and Dr Alexandra Fishel (Educational Projects Officer, ESJF), before a live presentation on drone technology from Kondratenko.

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No. of Attendees

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Conclusion

T

he pilot project succeeded in producing a comprehensive survey of the Jewish cemeteries of Greece. We surveyed 45 sites and uploaded aerial photographs and GPS coordinates, as well as detailed information about them to the project database. In addition there are a number of demolished sites that are overbuilt, and it is impossible to accurately establish their locations; these would require additional research. Surveys revealed a stark contrast between the condition of Greek cemeteries: over half of them are demolished and almost all of those are overbuilt, yet, the overwhelming majority of the preserved cemeteries are protected. Jewish cemeteries therefore are either fully demolished or fully protected in the country.

Local authorities were contacted at every location and provided information about the project. We invited them to work towards increased protection measures, but these attempts were generally not well-received. Flyers were distributed, meetings arranged and phone calls made, and in several cases, the project seemed to be well-received, however, neither the efforts made by the ESJF alone, nor through the mediation of KIS was enough to translate into further protection measures. Proposals of commemorative interventions at demolished cemeteries were not taken up either.

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Country Report: Greece. ESJF surveys, analysis and educational events, 2018-2020

The ESJF contributed to raised awareness among educators through a teacher training seminar about bringing Jewish cemeteries to the classroom. Through this, the pilot sought to foster a broader understanding of the Jewish history and heritage of Greece.

These teachers will continue to benefit from the resources produced in the course of the project, including our manual, “Jewish Cemeteries in the Classroom - an ESJF Guide.�

The most obvious success story of the pilot project in Greece were the university level training events. These were designed to explain the usage of UAVs in mapping heritage sites, as well as the details of photogrammetric modelling. Engineering and architecture students came together in webinars, and this format allowed the ESJF to bring together students from diverse locations, even from beyond Greece. Approaching Jewish heritage from this unusual angle offers an entry point to this sensitive topic, and a way to circumvent many of the most contested discussions, and familiarise future professionals with the wealth of these unique heritage sites.

However, the success of these higher education courses does not change the overall findings of the pilot project in Greece: Jewish heritage remains a contested topic with which many stakeholders are reluctant to publicly engage, which has made surveys and media outreach rather difficult to carry out. It would be crucial to direct resources towards the alleviation of these tensions, and to foster tolerance, interest, and cooperation.

The pilot project has been a good first step towards identifying these difficulties, and understanding potential methods of overcoming them, but in and of itself it could not unfortunately amount to tangible societal change.

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www.esjf-surveys.org INFO@ESJF-CEMETERIES.ORG