Athens

In 1940 the community numbered 3,500 and was

dispersed throughout the city. With the occupation of Greece in 1941, control of the city was given to the Italians, and the Jews enjoyed three years of relative security. As in other regions under Italian control, Jews fleeing persecution in Thessaloniki sought safe haven in Athens.

The Head Rabbi, Barzelai, had strong
connections with the municipal government
a nd the EAM. These connections and the
support of the Archbishop of Athens,
Damaskenos, contributed to the rescue
of 66 percent of Athen’s Jews. Athens’ police chief, Angelos Evert, issued false identification cards
and Archbishop Damaskenos ordered the church to issue false baptismal certificates to those
threatened with deportation. In Athens and the port city of Piraeus, Jews were hidden in Christian
homes. Both Police Chief Evert and Archbishop Damaskenos are honored at Yad Vashem, along with the Mayor of Piraeus.

Jews have lived in Athens since the 3rd century B.C.E., and the remains of an ancient synagogue can be found in the Agora, at the foot of the Acropolis. The Jewish community in Athens is Romaniote, who speak Greek and have assimilated into the city’s culture over time.

On March 25, 1944, German officials rounded up 1,690 Jews in Athens (many of them refugees from Thessaloniki) for deportation to Auschwitz-Birkenau. After the war, Athens became

the main center of resettlement for Jews returning to Greece, and the Jewish population increased to 4,940. Today Athens is still the center of Jewish life in Greece, with a total population of 3,000 Jews.