MEETING PRESIDED BY PANAGIOTIS PIKRAMMENOU ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM

By Nikos Roubos

The optimism that some technical problems will be solved and the construction project of the Holocaust Museum will finally proceed at a very fast pace, expressed the Deputy Prime Minister, Panagiotis Pikramenos, who, by the decision of the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, undertook to "run" the specific project project.

Mr. Pikramenos presided over a meeting at the Governor's Office, with the participation of all the agencies and services involved, and after its completion he emphasized that for the first time all those involved in the project had gathered and a record was made of the problems, which, as he said, are mainly issues relating to the use, ownership, concessions and financing of the Museum, which will be erected on the site near the old railway station.

The meeting will be repeated on Tuesday 3rd March (again at the Command Hall) to ascertain any progress and the aim is to find a common component which will allow the building to be erected and placed in the most suitable place within the site, but and at the same time to surround the building with a large metropolitan park, pointed out the deputy prime minister, saying that the mayor undertook to clarify some things regarding the property of the Municipality.

When asked by a journalist when construction work on the Museum will begin, he refused to answer and characteristically said: "No, I don't want to do it like the Helliniko. I don't want to say a specific date, it is at risk." 

"After five years, when nothing had been done for this specific project, the train is getting back on its tracks, there is good will, there is the coordinator of the whole effort, Mr. Pikrammenos, and I believe that soon we will be able to announce dates and timelines. Until then, we will have as many meetings as necessary to address whatever issues are open," said Deputy Minister of Macedonia-Thrace, Theodoros Karaoglou.

"It was a wise choice of the prime minister to appoint the vice-president Mr. Pikrammeno as the head of this project", stressed the mayor, Konstantinos Zervas and added: "The issue is to build the Holocaust Museum as soon as possible, in the best possible location and have these accesses so that it functions in the best possible way. There are many issues that need to be resolved. I do not share the optimism that it can start immediately, but that is why we are all here today and we will meet many times to provide solutions to these issues". For himself, Mr. Zervas stated that he will obviously help, he will participate with all the forces he has, with land concessions, with his services, so that there are immediate solutions for all the issues which to a large extent had not been dealt with until today.

Ο president of the Central Jewish Council of Greece and the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki, David Saltiel he welcomed the attitude and position of the government and its vice-president, who, as he said, "with his presence, finally, some actions were launched, which can lead to the beginning of the developments of the Jewish Holocaust Museum".

"We have to start at some point," said Mr. Saltiel and noted: "To solve the issues that exist and not just stay with words. The issues are simple, but they are for me. We have a contract that we signed for 15 acres for 30 years. What we asked from the first moment was that the contract should be extended for 99 years. This is a ministerial act, it could have been done. Then the 15 acres became three. Today we found again that the 15 acres are needed, because we went to the place where the Museum will be built and we saw that we made a Museum in a corner inside, as if the Museum was ashamed to exist. It is not possible to make this Museum and not be right". He also said that the Holocaust Museum is a project that will honor Thessaloniki and Thessaloniki will honor its dead, because the 50.000 Jews who were exterminated by the Nazi troops were Greek citizens and he himself is proud that this will happen 75 years later .

"From the beginning we knew there were complex situations, but these are issues that can be resolved," pointed out president of the Holocaust Museum Foundation, Yiannis Boutaris, who described as "very nice" the initiative of Mr. Mitsotakis to entrust Mr. Pikrammenos with monitoring the project. He estimated that it would take at least a year to address all of these issues.

The meeting was attended by the head of the Prime Minister's Office Maria Antoniou, Konstantinos Tsamadias from the Ministry of Finance, the mayor of Thessaloniki, Konstantinos Zervas, the president of the Municipal Council, Drosos Tsavlis, the president of the Holocaust Museum Foundation, Yiannis Boutaris, the president of Israelite of the Community, David Saltiel, the consul general of Germany, Syvila Bendik, the consul of Germany, Karsten Miller, the advisor of the board of directors of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Vassilis Kaskarelis and the managing director of GAIA OSE, Periklis Nikolaou.

Source: RES-ME, 11.2.2020

SEE HERE VIDEO WITH STATEMENTS BY THE VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE GOVERNMENT PANAGIOTIS PIKRAMMENOUS 

READ ABOUT: 

AUTOPSY OF BITTER IN SPACE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM, VORIA.gr website, 11.2.2020