Ολοκαύτωμα στη Θεσσαλονίκη
The Italian attitude and the Jewish students of Umberto Primo. In Greek
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The first part of the book examines the relationship of the Italians with a part of the Jewish community until the outbreak of war. The chronicle of the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis and their deportation to Auschwitz since March 1943 is presented with reports mainly from the Italian archives, while the ambiguous actions of the Italian diplomats to rescue some of them are dissolved. The process of transferring to Athens and temporarily rescuing about 350 Jews, some of whom acquired Italian citizenship at the last minute, is being examined in the light of new evidence. Are there "heroes" in this story, such as Consul Zamboni, or are there shadows in their actions? Can some "good" deeds erase twenty years of fascism and targeting of Jews?
The second part of the book tells the stories of ten Jewish students from Thessaloniki and a lawyer, Dimitris Spiliakos, who became "Righteous of the Nations". During the Occupation, the attendance of Jews in Italian schools, such as the Uberto Primo High School, was banned by the Italians. Only a handful managed to participate as "privately trained" in the final examinations of 1941 and 1942. Some of the children followed the common fate of the Jews and were lost in the Auschwitz-Birkenau crematoria. One of them managed to survive and his testimony is shocking. Some were saved thanks to the help of Greek Christian friends. All together, the stories give name and form to people who were persecuted and in many cases murdered. They are not just part of a macabre statistic or a multitude of numbers. They are people with flesh and blood, at a young age, and they have names: they are Esther, the three young Alberto, Laelita, Daniel, Lydia, Claudius, Giovanni and little Bianca. All of them were children of Thessaloniki, this was their city, this and their homeland.
