On Tuesday, November 12, 2024, in the welcoming space of the Gennadei Library, the presentation of three selected videos took place - part of a series of twelve short films, produced by the Jewish Museum of Greece with themes from its Collections and Archives.
These films were created within the framework of the NSRF 2014-2020 – Call 118 program, through which they were financed, as part of a wider project implemented by the Museum.
The twelve films include topics such as the beginnings of the Greek-Jewish communities, the Jewish neighborhoods of the country, the Occupation and the Resistance, stories from the Communities of Athens, Thessaloniki, Corfu, Chalkida and Zakynthos.
The event, co-presented by EME and Gennadeio, was opened by the Director of Gennadeio Library, Maria Georgopoulou, who welcomed the attendees and invited the President of EME for a short greeting.
Ο Mikis Modiano, pointed out the value of having this material, while mentioning the creation of an interactive VR film, the digitization and documentation of additional objects in the Museum's collection. He did not fail to thank everyone who contributed from their position, organization or service to the realization of the filming, by issuing the necessary permits, contributing to the dissemination of the history of the Jewish communities to the wider public. He noted that these films are available for anyone interested from the EME website in the category of multimedia applications. He also thanked the director Costas Augeris, Annita Mordechai and Natalia Abravanel for their valuable participation in the creation of the films, the director and staff of the Museum, as well as Nikos Vatopoulos and Nikos Vergados for their participation in the event and Mrs. Georgopoulou for hospitality. Concluding his greeting, he invited those present to register with SFEM and enjoy the various monthly events it organizes.
Afterwards, the director of the Museum, Janet Battinou, presented in her introduction the context in which the films were created, as well as their importance and value. He emphasized that the Museum's status as a research center allows it to bring this rare digital material to the attention of scholars and researchers around the world. Equally important is the multi-usability of these films, either directly, from the educational and exhibition activities of the Museum, or as a reinforcing tool during the educational process in the classroom, complementing local history lessons and being a point of contact with the life and history of the Greek Jews communities. At the same time, he pointed out that the interactive use of selected evidence and historical narratives from the Museum's Collections and Archives increases the EME's ability and potential to effectively communicate its current message to the global interested audience. Using as a vehicle and an example of life the diasporic tradition of Greek Jews, it highlights the value of preserving the memory and identity of the parts of a society, as cornerstones, which structure the totality of societies and feed multiculturalism.
After the screening of the first film, the speech was given to the well-known and beloved journalist and author Nikos Vatopoulos who shared with the audience his thoughts, mainly his reflection, as to what would have been saved if films of a similar content could have been created thirty or forty years earlier. He also shared his excitement watching the 12 films and appreciating both the structure and presentation of what he called the archival culture we have in our country. He raised his constant reflection on the way in which the imprint of Jewish culture in Greece is presented in public life, as well as the management of the issue over time. How has each generation's knowledge and contact with the topic, trauma management, reintegration, with the very topic of the Holocaust changed. He unfolded his thought, setting as a starting point the eighties and especially the era after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the need that was expressed to redefine the identity of the Greek, and linked this brief retrospective and course with the films and their themes , and finally with the international promotion of Greece, as a gateway for Jewry in the European Continent. Before concluding, he made reference to the very existence and work of the Museum, to the need to express the message of memory, through testimony, especially oral.
After the screening of the second film, the conversation turned to the philologist Nikos Vergado, who represented the director's team who was out of town due to work commitments. Mr. Vergados, described the experience of the people who worked behind the cameras, who worked on the scripts and illustrated the stories. He spoke of the personal impression he got by coming into contact with pieces of history he already knew as well as others that were unknown to him. He thanked the research and scientific team of the Museum who worked intensively to supply the director's team with the necessary historical evidence, documents, oral testimonies, three-dimensional objects and photographic material from the collections and archival sets, which make up the cultural heritage of the Museum. Before concluding, he read a short message from Mr. Augeri, thus conveying his excitement while working on the films and his belief that the work he undertook, carried it out with empathy and respect for the people and their stories and thanked one by one all his collaborators.
With the completion of the screening of the third film, the director of the Museum thanked Ms Georgopoulou for the cooperation and perfect organization of the event, asking her to close it with her own presentation. Speaking in her capacity as a historian, Ms. Georgopoulou touched on the meaning and importance of the monument, the archival remains that take the role of narrator and finally the contribution of historians and archaeologists to the presentation of the past with clarity, as the 12 these movies. He referred to the old connection and collaboration of Gennadei with the EME and through the work of the founding director of the Museum, the late Nikolas Stavroulakis.
The evening ended with attendees enjoying a light cocktail.
For more information about the exhibition, please contact the Jewish Museum of Greece, Monday – Friday: 09:00-14:30, tel: + 30 210 32 25 582.
