DAILY 19.8.2019, by Stavros Tsima: One of the most emblematic buildings in the center of Thessaloniki, with reference to the German Occupation, was bought by a group of Israeli businessmen to become a luxury hotel. It is about the historical hotel "Vienna", on 2-4 Egnatia Street, in the area of Vardari (today's Democracy Square), which was ordered by the German authorities, who installed parts of their services on its premises. Its owner reported to "K" that interrogations were being carried out by the Germans in the basement of the building and on his roof he found an anti-aircraft machine gun and German sirens warning of attacks by allied planes. The deal for "Vienna", which currently houses a private college, has already been signed while Israeli interest in the purchase of another building, also with a heavy Holocaust-related historical charge, the neoclassical of the former Ionian Bank (now Alpha ) in Eleftheria Square, which during the Occupation housed the "heart" of German power in Thessaloniki, the Wehrmacht garrison.
In this building, on Eleftheria Square, the first mass measure against the Jewish community was taken by the Germans, which was the registration of its members who were sent to the forced labor and crematoria of Auschwitz.
"In front of the Guardhouse, in the open Freedom Square, the forced gathering of Jews took place on July 11, 1942, for the selection of men for forced labor, which due to the cruelty and torture they suffered was called "Black Saturday". This martyrdom gathering inside the July capsule foreshadowed the annihilation of the Jewish community of Thessaloniki by the Nazis", says the writer and historian Mr. Christos Zafeiris to "K".
Built at the end of the 20s in Vienna, in the interwar period, as a hotel, it was a pole of attraction and gathering for political, business, artistic and spiritual personalities and with the occupation of the city in 1941 by the Germans, it was ordered, together with other buildings, to house the mechanisms of administration and repression and with the liberation hosted the ELAS headquarters in Thessaloniki for a few months. Mr. Thanasis Mantas, who after the war bought the hotel from the then owners, told "K".
"The hotel had been commandeered and the Germans had installed here the services of the Commandant. In the basement there were maximum security prisons, in which the Germans detained and interrogated Christians as well as Jews. Some of those who survived came and found me at the hotel and talked to me, but now they are no longer alive."
Currently, it does not appear that the Israeli business interest in Thessaloniki is focused on the rescue and promotion of spaces connected to the presence and, above all, the extermination of the Jewishness of the city alone. There is no shortage of symbolism, however, given the city's high place in the collective Jewish consciousness.
The lawyer Mr. Thanos Charistos, who represents groups of Israeli interests, says that in the movements of his clients there is also the logic "to save everything we can" in terms of properties with history, and especially those related to the Jewish presence in the city, but it presides over entrepreneurial motivation. "There is a lot of mobility on the part of Israelis in the real estate sector. They are interested in operating small-scale hotel units that will provide basic services to customers and at economically advantageous prices."
Information indicates that in addition to the "Vienna" hotel, the Israelis have, until now, purchased in Thessaloniki the well-known "Nefeli" hotel in Panorama, which they plan to turn into luxury residences for sale, the large building on Alexandrou Papanastasiou Street that it houses PPC services and they are going to turn it into a private student residence, a historic tobacco warehouse in the Vardari area, while they are also discussing the purchase of the old town hall building (Caravan Sarai), on Eleftheriou Venizelou Street, in the city center.
The president of the Central Jewish Council of Greece and the Israeli Community of Thessaloniki, Mr. David Saltiel, refers to the increased interest of Israeli investors in the Greek real estate market and explains the additional reasons why Thessaloniki is becoming attractive to them.
"The real estate market in Israel is unapproachable, the prices are similar to that of New York. For example, while in Israel you get an apartment for 1.000.000 euros, in Greece you buy an apartment building. Israelis are known to love Greece, which is a magnet for them, and now that real estate prices are affordable here, businessmen are buying.
They invest in hotels, apartments and plots of land in Athens and elsewhere, but Thessaloniki is something more for them. It is a historic destination, due to the age-old Jewish presence, for Israelis and this acts as an additional incentive to place their capital. Israelis are the first in number of foreign visitors to Thessaloniki. Last year alone, 150.000 came, and with the construction of the Holocaust Museum, it is estimated that Jewish visitors from all over the world will exceed 1.500.000. All of them are potential customers in their hotel units. Of course, they expect the continued upgrading of Thessaloniki's role in the wider region, so it will also act as a springboard for their business interests in the Balkans."