The Israeli Community is preparing to add a new important mosaic to the complex mosaic of the history of Thessaloniki, which concerns an unknown case of the period of the occupation and extermination of the Jews of the city by the Nazi troops. It is about the heroic action of the then head of the Court of First Instance of Thessaloniki, Angelos Koutsoumaris, who attempted to coordinate a network of illegal adoptions of Jewish children into Christian families in order to save them from Auschwitz and death.
The issue was brought to the public a few months ago by "MtK" with an extensive report, something that further activated the Israeli Community of Thessaloniki. In fact, the report pointed out that Angelos Koutsoumaris had in fact created a list to save children, the "Schindler's list" of Thessaloniki...
The shake-up of the case took place thanks to the persistent actions of the former president of the Thessaloniki Bar Association, Dimitris Garoufas. Based on a reference in the book on the history of the Bar Association, written by the former president of the Bar Association, John Thomas, he requested its further investigation, which was finally done by the PhD candidate in Modern Greek History of the University of Macedonia, Leon Saltiel.
Now the Israelite Community is again attempting to proceed with historical investigation and documentation by asking the Thessaloniki Bar Association for help in historical deepening. "Our Community would not like the example of the former president of Protodiki Thessaloniki, Angelos Koutsoumaris, to remain in obscurity. Therefore, we kindly ask for the assistance of the DST in the search of the court records in order to locate the documents that will document and bring to light exactly the actions that took place during the deportation of the Jews of Thessaloniki, the people involved in this effort, but also the elements of the children that were put at the center of it".
What did Koutsoumaris do?
In his initial research, at the urging of the Israelite Community, Mr. Saltiel notes that “During these tragic times, testimonies and documents indicate some organized efforts to adopt Jewish children from Christian families. […] The plan was coordinated by the president of the first courts, Angelos Koutsoumaris, who appointed emergency judges in two shifts (morning and afternoon), in order to speed up the relevant actions. The proceedings were brief, with the consent of the Jewish parents. The lawyers who helped with the procedural issues often paid the costs themselves. The documents were issued hastily so that they could be filed at the registry office and the children would be exempted from prosecution."
John Thomas in his book mentions: "In this way, about 400 adoptions were carried out within a fortnight, and by hastily issuing copies, the relevant registry acts followed, through which the adopted acquired Greek citizenship and ended the persecutions. There were also well-wishers, and the German military administration was informed of these mass rescue adoptions, which sent an urgent order to the aforementioned late head of the Court of First Instance ordering him to stop the adoptions of Jewish children...".
The case is also documented by newspaper articles of the time such as the dosilogical "New Europe" which hosts a statement from the conquerors: "1. The military administration of Thessaloniki-Aegean has full knowledge of the adoptions taking place. 2. These removals and adoptions are legally invalid, because they contradict the provisions of the Occupation Authorities, as far as the Jews are concerned, issued by an express order. 3. If, despite all this, he attempts to adopt Jewish children or participates as an Authority, as a lawyer or as a notary in such an adoption, he will not be punished, but will be sent not only for a certain period of time, but for an unlimited time to the camp of Pavlos Melas".
"Let his story stand out"
The tribute to the memory of Angelos Koutsoumaris for his heroic effort was requested on November 4, 2015 in a new letter to the president of the ICTH, David Staltiel, by the lawyer Dimitris Garoufas, who was the first to highlight this aspect of the story. "It is necessary to honor the memory of this heroic judge for his action, unknown to the general public, to save the children of the Jews of Thessaloniki for reasons of moral order, but also so that the impression is not cultivated internationally that no effort was made in Thessaloniki to save of the Jews of Thessaloniki", he says.
In fact, he has already contacted his relatives who live in Athens. "He never referred to his act, a sign of his modesty and morals. He did not consider that he had done anything important, but simply his duty to save innocent children", his nephew Kostas Koutsoumaris, associate doctor of the National Technical University of Athens, told "MtK".
(Report of the newspaper "Macedonia")
Source: website Neapolitika, 19.1.2016