The journalist and author Nikos Davvetas speaks on the program “Remarkable Personalities”, hosted by Stavroula Karali, about the Jewish community of Greece—from the era of the Apostle Paul to the dark days of persecution and the Holocaust.
On the occasion of 27 January, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Davvetas—author of the book “The Jewish Bride,” which was awarded the Academy of Athens Novel Prize in 2010—offers a well-documented and substantial retrospective on the persecution of the Jews, shedding light on lesser-known and less publicized aspects of history.
The radio discussion traces the chronicle of the persecution and extermination of the Jews of Thessaloniki during World War II. In this dark period, as Davvetas notes, two faces of society coexist: on the one hand, Greek families who risk everything to protect their Jewish fellow citizens—hiding them in their homes, “adopting” their children to save them from concentration camps; and on the other hand, informants who, in exchange for money, did not hesitate to lead entire families to their deaths.
Special emphasis is placed on the examples of Zakynthos and Volos, which stand out as luminous exceptions amid the darkness of the era, proving that solidarity and courage can stand up to fear and barbarity. Reference is also made to the Orthodox Church, which stood by Greek Jews, with emblematic figures such as Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens and the Metropolitans of Zakynthos and Volos.
Davvetas also speaks about the postwar period, when the few Jews who managed to survive the concentration camps returned to Greece only to discover that the properties they had left behind were gone.
Presentation – Journalistic research: Stavroula Karali
Sound Recording & Editing: Giannis Gialinis