On 15.9.2024, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the displacement and extermination of the Jews of Rhodes and Kos, an event was organized in Sydney, Australia, during which a theatrical action was presented on the history of the Alhadeff family from Rhodes. The project "Torn Apart by War", in free rendering "Torn Apart by War" is inspired by true events and concerns the Jewish family Alhadeff's desperate attempt to escape from Rhodes before the Holocaust. The event was held with the cooperation of the Consulate General of Greece in Sydney and the contribution of the Jewish Museum of Rhodes.
The theatrical performance belongs to Mr. Vic Alhadeff, whose parents, when they left Rhodes, went to what was then Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, where the author grew up.
During the event, the Consul General of Greece in Sydney, Yiannis Mallikourtis, spoke, who, among other things, pointed out: "The history of Rhodes is not just a Jewish story, it is also a Greek story, but not exactly that, it crosses borders, and finally becomes a story of universal importance."
More: THEATER PERFORMANCE IN AUSTRALIA ON HISTORY OF JEWS OF RHODES
Following the events at Rose on the 80th anniversary of the deportation of the Jews of Rhodes and Kos by the Nazis, in July 1944, and their annihilation in Auschwitz, Mrs. Rachel Grunbaum, Israeli Advisor of the "Samis Foundation" presented the following to the Jewish Community of Rhodes congratulatory letter from the President of Israel Isaac Herzog:
"Carmen Cohen
Director of the Jewish Community of Rhodes
Salome Carmen,
As it marks 80 years since the extermination and deportation to Auschwitz of the Jews of Rhodes, I highlight the extraordinary efforts being made to preserve the historical memory, as well as to honor the heritage of this unique Jewish community.
Exactly eight decades after men, women and children were herded into the harbor and forced onto ships destined for extermination, this prominent community has proven to be admirably active. The Rhodians who are scattered all over the world remain highly committed to the Sephardic tradition, their dietary and cultural customs, and above all to the unity of the Jewish people.
More: CONGRATULATORY LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT OF ISRAEL TO I.K. RHODES
With a week of top cultural events (July 16 – 21, 2024), the Jewish Community of Rhodes commemorated the 80th anniversary of the deportation of the Jews of Rhodes and Kos by the Nazis in July 1944 and their annihilation in Auschwitz. Rhodes and Kos lost 89% of their Jewish population as of the 1.900 Jews, only 200 survived the Holocaust.
In this year's call of I.K. Rhodes - which is now an institution for the everywhere Rhodians who maintain unbreakable ties with their birthplace - 250 co-religionists responded from every corner of the earth, but also from all over Greece.
The events culminated with the official memorial ceremony, which took place on Sunday 21.7.24, at the Synagogue of Rhodes.
More: EVENTS IN RHODES FOR THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE JEWISH HOLOCAUST
As part of events for Holocaust Remembrance Day 2024, the 1st grade students of the 14st High School of Rhodes watched the dramatized documentary "THE DISCIPLES OF UBERTO PRIMO", on February 2024, XNUMX at the Municipal Theater of Rhodes.
Through the adventures of nine students, the film tells the story of the Holocaust in Greece, and more specifically in Thessaloniki, where 96% of the city's Jews were sent to Auschwitz.
Our School thanks the Jewish Community of Rhodes and Mr. Krikonis for the introduction to the film and for the interesting historical review of the Jews of Rhodes from their settlement on our island until 1944, when they were arrested by the Nazis and with the Jews of Kos were sent to Piraeus and from there to Auschwitz.
During the Holocaust almost all the Jews of Rhodes perished, only 151 people survived.
The program of events began on 18.7.2023, with the screening of the film "Phoenix", at the summer cinema "Rodon", in collaboration with the film library of the Goethe-Institut and with the kind free grant of the rights by the distribution company Rosebud.21 . It is a German production film, directed by Christian Petzold. The case unfolds in post-war Berlin. A Jewish singer, having managed to survive the concentration camps, undergoes a series of plastic surgeries to rejuvenate her face. When they are done, she will look for her husband who she suspects betrayed her to the Nazis.