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Their unanimous and unequivocal condemnation of the crimes of Nazism, as well as the vandalism of Jewish Monuments in the city, such as the recent one at the AUTH monument, were expressed by representatives of the state during the event held on Sunday, January 27, 2019 at the XNUMXrd Warehouse of the Port, in Thessaloniki, on the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day. The event began with a memorial service to the victims of the Holocaust to the sounds of the Choir of the Israelite Community of Thessaloniki.
This was followed by greetings from representatives of politics, self-government and the Israeli Community of the country, but also of Thessaloniki, while the main speaker was the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Jens Plotner.
His keynote address Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, it contained an emotional tone and personal references. "It is not easy to stand here before you. The country I represent has recognized the crimes of its forefathers. The killing of all these people is the result of Hitler's sick thinking. But the plan was carried out by many. And many did not want to know or they didn't care. Pain, shame and responsibility, these are all part of our German identity.", said the German Ambassador. "As long as in our country and in other European countries synagogues continue to be guarded by police, we cannot be satisfied," he added.
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The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki invited citizens via the internet and Facebook to a silent protest at the Jewish monument, which was vandalized by unknown persons on the University grounds.
In the event they created on Facebook, they specifically state: "We protest the unprecedented violence of the destruction of our monument. The desecration and unprecedented destruction of the monument affects the asylum, our academic dignity and democracy itself."
At noon on Monday 28.1.19, the protest at the monument began, with people gradually gathering at the site. Gregory Flegger, American Consul, also made statements regarding vandalism, stating among other things that it should be made clear that such behaviors are not acceptable. Mayor Yiannis Boutaris also made statements. See here video from the statements.
Source: Website parallax, 28.1.2019
More: SILENT PROTEST AT THE JEWISH MEMORIAL OF AUTH - THESSALONIKI'S REACTION TO VANDALISM
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A working meeting for the restoration of memory and the removal of the stigma of erasing our dead Jewish fellow citizens from the registers of the city's bodies, during the Occupation, was held at the Ministry of Macedonia-Thrace.
The Deputy Minister of the Interior (Macedonia-Thrace sector) Katerina Notopoulou, underlined that "as YMATH we took the initiative and held a working meeting, with the desire that this meeting be a beginning for the restoration of the memory of our Jewish fellow citizens" and added that "the their deletion is even today a thorn in the collective memory, but also an open wound in the souls of their descendants".
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The Israelite Community of Thessaloniki unequivocally condemns the new desecration of the Holocaust Memorial, which according to current data, was done by an unknown group, which participated in a march that took place on 14.12.2018 in Thessaloniki.
This is yet another act of insulting and discrediting the symbol, erected by the Greek Government, to commemorate the 50.000 citizens of Thessaloniki of the Jewish Religion, who were exterminated by the Nazis, victims of the most massive and organized crime that humanity has experienced.
At a time when some are carrying out an action that is shameful for the History and the city of Thessaloniki, the Israeli Community of Thessaloniki invests in education, in passing on the lessons that the Holocaust bequeathed to humanity in an extremely painful way, so that they can act as a shield for the new generation.
Unfortunately the repeated desecrations of the Holocaust Memorial (December 2017, January 2018, June 2018 and December 2018) highlight many things, but above all the lack of respect and knowledge. The image of a swastika on the Holocaust Memorial clearly demonstrates that there are not a few who nowadays are ready to walk again on dangerous paths by embracing anti-Semitic stereotypes and conspiracy theories.
All of the above should, at the very least, seriously concern our society.
December 17 2018
Israeli Community of Thessaloniki
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Hanukkah was celebrated in Thessaloniki with an event organized, on 6.12.2018, at the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki by the Greek Israel Friendship Association.
The event was attended by the Deputy Minister of the Interior of Macedonia - Thrace Katerina Notopoulou, the director of the Prime Minister's Office in Thessaloniki Giorgos Angelopoulos, the president of the Greece-Israel Friendship Association Gianna Panagopoulou, the president of the Central Jewish Council of Greece and the I .K. Thessaloniki David Saltiel, the managing director of GAIOSE and member of the board of the Holocaust Museum Athanasios Schoizas and the president of the Committee of the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki Isaac Saltiel.