On Saturday 22.3.2025, the Municipality of Arta held the now established Holocaust remembrance events for the city's Jews who were exterminated during the Holocaust with the participation of Jews from Athens of Arta origin.
On March 24, 1944, the German occupation troops gathered the 324 Jews of Arta in Kilkis Square where they were held for a day before being taken to concentration camps. Very few managed to return.
In recent years, the Municipality of Artaion and the "Skoufas" Non-profit Association, whose spiritual home is a donation from the Jewish community, responding to the initiative of historian and lawyer Theocharis Vasivoulis, who maintains strong ties with the Jewish community and has been closely involved with its history, have been organizing commemorative events.This year's events, which marked the 81st anniversary of the deportation of the Jews, began with a morning walk by the descendants of the Jewish families of Arta to historical sites in the city, while in the afternoon the main event took place in the "Skoufas" hall, in the presence of the General Secretary of the Central Jewish Council, Victor Eliezer.
The keynote speeches at Skoufas were given by Eleni Theodorou, Philologist, member of the "Skoufas" Association, and Benjamin Mizan, member of the "Skoufas" Association.
This was followed by a memorial service and the laying of wreaths at the Holocaust Memorial.
The events concluded with a march to Kilkis Square, following in the footsteps of the 324 Athina Jews who were deported to Auschwitz on the night of March 24, 1944.
SOURCE: Arta2day.gr