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For the second year, it was organized "NO day” in Washington, USA, on October 24 and 25, 2012. The initiative for the celebration belongs to Mr. Andriou Manatos and Greek-American organizations in the USA who, through a series of events, historical lectures and cultural activities, wanted to highlight the bravery of the Greeks in World War II War. Among the events, the "Metropolitan Chrysostom" award was presented to Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel for his "long-standing contribution, as a writer, professor, activist and Holocaust survivor, to the fight against anti-Semitism and discrimination". 
Ms. Mimika Cezana-Hyman, who comes from Zakynthos, spoke at the event about the heroic attitude of Metropolitan Chrysostomos during the occupation, (with references to her family) stressing that the rescue of the entire Jewish community of Zakynthos is a unique example of self-sacrifice in the chronicles of the persecution of the Jews in World War II. A year after his release by Hamas after five years in captivity, ex-Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit has become sports editor of the newspaper "Jediot Achronot" and has been invited by Barcelona to watch the match against Real on October 7 at the Camp Nou - following a protest from Hamas, the Catalan team was quick to assure that it is not partial to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He also gave his first television interview, in which he spoke about the 1.492 days he spent in the hands of the Islamists and about life after his release.
Shalit was 19 when he was captured in June 2006 by Hamas men. He was kept in basements in the Gaza Strip and for the next five years he hardly saw the sun. He was freed last year on October 18 after Israel agreed with Hamas in exchange for the release of 1.027 Palestinian prisoners. No one knew him when he was captured, but when he was released he was famous in Israel and abroad.
During his captivity, he recounted in his television interview, he spoke only to his captors, in English and a little Arabic. He did not increase the hours of sleep so as not to lead to depression. He endured psychologically mainly thanks to sports, which had always been his passion. "I would make a ball out of a shirt or a sock and put baskets in the trash can," he recounted. He also drew maps of Israel with the city where he was born, Mitzpe Hilla, and his favorite places. "At first I did it often enough to remember, not to forget," he said. "I wrote, made lists and watched the sports meetings," sometimes with his jailers, he added. The latter let him watch Arabic channels, but in the last year of his captivity, he was given a radio and listened to Israeli news. Sometimes he played chess or dominoes with them. "I only saw the sun on TV. I imagined him too…”.
During the last year of his captivity, his jailers gave him a watch. “The week I was told I would be released was endless. I couldn't sleep, I slept maybe an hour a night,” he said. "I was afraid people would have forgotten me." But he found that on the contrary he had become famous, although he did not want to take advantage of this celebrity. "It's hard to go back to normal life, it's hard socially, people have changed, they've grown, you feel left behind... But finally the state of Israel freed me, paid the price. I believe I will send my children to the Army. I hope they don't have to go, but at the moment that doesn't seem like an option."
(TA NEA, 23.10.12)
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Shlomo Venezia, one of the last Holocaust survivors living in Italy, died on 1η October 2012 in Rome, aged 88. Venetsia was born in Thessaloniki and was deported with his family in 1944 to Auschwitz, where he was chosen - because of his good physical condition - to "work" in the Zonderkommando, a group tasked with transporting corpses from the gas chambers to the crematoria. His mother and two sisters were killed in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Venice for many years with lectures in schools and with interviews in the media he kept the memory of the Holocaust alive. On the death of Shlomo Venetsia, the president of K.I.S. Italy said: "We will never forget his words, his clear and brave testimony of what he lived and we will be forever grateful for the very enlightening book-document written by the 'Zonderkommando'...". His book is also available in Greek under the title "Sonderkommando: Through the hell of the gas chambers" (translated by Kyriakis Chra, Pataki publications, 2008). - Details
In August, a commemoration event was held at the Yad Vashem Synagogue in Jerusalem for the Jews of Rhodes and Kos who perished during the Holocaust.
The event was attended by Holocaust survivors and their families.
In September 1943, after the invasion of Italy, the Nazis occupied Rhodes. The bombing of Rhodes by the Allies resulted in the destruction of the Jewish quarter and the killing of many Jews.
In July 1944, the island's remaining 1.600 Jews were ordered to be concentrated in ghettos. They were then taken to Athens, together with the 100 Jews arrested in Kos and the only Jew living in Leros. In Athens they were detained in the Haidari camp and then deported to Auschwitz. Of those arrested, only 180 people survived.
The director of the "Title of the Law of Nations" Department of Yad Vashem, Mrs. Irina Steinfeld, said: "Personally, I think that the history of Rhodes and Kos presents the history and uniqueness of the Holocaust. Despite the fact that it was now clear to everyone that the Germans were beginning to lose the War, they were still taking measures to exterminate the Jews, even the sole inhabitant of the remote Greek island" and asked those present to give their testimonies in memory of those who were exterminated so that Yad Vashem would create a living record of these communities.
(EJP, 9.8.12)
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FRANCE
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From June 26 to October 27, 2012, an exhibition entitled "They were children" will be held at the Paris City Hall. The exhibition narrates, through a multitude of exhibits, personal items and documents, the journeys and personal stories of the hidden children of Parisian Jewish families who escaped the displacement and survived the Second World War. The Occupy, the raids and the informative personal stories are brought to life through the objects given to the organizers especially for this purpose. The exhibition is open to all and admission is free. Read on here more information.(CRIF, 25.6.2012)
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POLAND - Euro 2012
Upon their arrival in Poland, and shortly before the start of EURO 2012, the national football teams of Italy, Germany, Holland and England visited Auschwitz. The famous footballers briefly left training and celebrations and toured the grounds of the former Nazi extermination camp, wanting to give their own anti-racist message.
It takes two...