University of Washington professor Devin Naar spoke about Greece and Thessaloniki, through the stories of his grandfather, as well as the research he has done. Mr. Naar's lecture on 15.3.2019 had the theme: "Thessaloniki's Jews and the Boundaries of the Greek Nation - The Jews of Thessaloniki and the boundaries of the Greek Nation" and took place in the hall of the city council of Thessaloniki, in the context of memorial events for the victims of the Thessaloniki Holocaust.
Before the professor took the stage, he was addressed by the president of the Israeli Community of Thessaloniki, David Saltiel, saying: "In 2004, we welcomed a young man from the USA, Devin Naar. The then student is now a professor of Sephardic studies at the University of Washington and after 15 years he is back in Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki is the place of origin of his ancestors. His presence honors us."
For his part, Mr. Naar began his speech by speaking in Spanish-Hebrew, the language spoken by the Jews of Thessaloniki, saying that it was an honor for him to speak about the history of the city, and then he spoke in Greek, describing his first impressions from his first visit to Thessaloniki.
"A Greek-American woman asked me if I was Greek. My grandfather was born in Greece. At home we ate Greek food, at school when they asked my origin I drew a Greek flag. When I told this Greek-American woman my name, she told me that I'm not Greek, otherwise they would call me Naropoulos... She asked me if I speak Greek and I said "yes" but she told me that she didn't speak it herself, she said.
His ancestors immigrated in 1924 from Thessaloniki to the USA, while other family members remained here and were exterminated by the Nazis. He mentioned that many stories from his childhood were related to Thessaloniki. He also mentioned that the discovery of old correspondence of his family with members who remained in Thessaloniki written in Latin with Hebrew characters motivated him to study the language and history of the Sephardic Jews. In 2004, he studied the archives of IKTH to write the history of the Jewish community, but also of the city itself where Jews, Christians and Muslims coexisted.
Also, the professor spoke about the transformation of the multicultural Thessaloniki with milestones being the incorporation of the city into the Greek state, the great fire of 1917 and of course the Holocaust. "Did my grandfather feel Greek?" He was a Jew, an Ottoman citizen and then a Greek citizen. His brother spoke Greek and returned from the USA to Thessaloniki. There is a myth that the Jews did not feel Greek, they simply became Greek citizens, but were remnants of the Ottoman Empire. My research showed that those born after 1920 had developed a Greek consciousness alongside the Jewish one. Finally, Mr. Naar recalled that Jews served in the Greek army, used the Greek language and developed the Greek-Jewish identity.
The event was also attended by Yannis Boutaris, who emphasized that the commemorative march of the route for the departure of the first train to Auschwitz has become an institution in the city, noting the participation of French Jews this year, but also of Mr. Dassault and parliamentary representatives from Berlin. In addition, he informed that very soon there will be announcements about the construction of the Holocaust Museum in Thessaloniki.
SOURCE: by clicking here makthes.gr, 15.3.2019