28.10.1940. Italy declares war on Greece.
1.12.1940. One out of four Jews in Thessaloniki
is officially characterized as destitute by state
agencies.
6.4.1941. Germany declares war on Greece.
9.4.1941. German army enters Thessaloniki. Jewish
store owners do not open their shops and stay locked indoors.
11.4.1941. Jewish Press banned.
12.4.1941. Commandeering of Hirsch Hospital,
Jewish homes and schools.
15.4.1941. Members of the Community Board and
senior personnel of the Jewish Community in Thessaloniki are
arrested.
17.4.1941. The Gestapo searches the offices
of the Community and community organizations. Files are confiscated.
18.4.1941. More eminent Jews of Thessaloniki
are arrested.
20.4.1941. Blatantly anti-Semitic
article in the collaborating newspaper “Nea Evropi”, the first in a long line of
vulgar, anti-Jewish propaganda.
21.4.1941. Gestapo searches the
Synagogues. Signs posted in restaurants and cafes saying “Jews are unwelcome” in Greek and German.
24.4.1941. A group of “Sondercommando
Rosenberg in Griechenland” comes to Thessaloniki; it is headed by
librarians Hans Arnold and Willy Pfeiffer; a
huge number of rare books and heirlooms are recorded and
confiscated from Thessaloniki Synagogues.
28.4.1941. Confiscation of radios and pianos
owned by Jews.
1.5.1941. The German command
orders that all Jewish shops that remained closed are to
open, under threat of confiscation of any that remained closed.
4.5.1941. Confiscation of Jewish-owned
bookshops and imprisonment of their owners.
12.5.1941. The order to
confiscate radios is repeated.
17.5.1941. Head Rabbi Koretz in Athens is
arrested and displaced to Vienna.
22.5.1941. Search of the Synagogue
in 151 District and removal of valuable heirloom.
June 1941. Germans appoint Director of JCT offices Sabbie Saltiel
as Head of all Jewry in Greece.
Members of the disbanded Board
are released. Partial return of confiscated community files.
29.6.1941. Commandeering of all homes in the
major Jewish neighbourhoods of Miaouli and Misrachi Streets.
2.7.1941. Execution of (the first) Jew
charged with fighting with a German soldier.
12.7.1941. Mass arrests of Jews at dawn;
they had been turned in as traitors by German collaborators.
December 1941. Three Jews are
executed without trial, one of whom (David Tiano) was a US Consulate clerk.
October 1941. Appointed President
Sabbie Saltiel is sent by the Germans to Athens to be the leader
of the Jews there as well. Italian authorities do not
facilitate his moving there and the Jews
of Athens do not recognize him.
15.11.1941. “Sondercommando Rosenberg in Griechenland” completes its mission.
December 1941- March 1942.
The Jewish population records a much higher mortality rate due to
starvation and malaria as compared to the Christian population.
January 1942. Matanoth is
founded once again to replace abolished Jewish foundations; it
sees to it that children and other groups facing
imminent risk of death due to starvation are fed. The
task is overseen by a Coordination Committee for Social Welfare Projects,
which was formed by eminent Jews for this reason.
January 1942. Release of Head
Rabbi Koretz; he returned to his religious
duties in Thessaloniki.
April 1942. The appointed by the Germans Prime Minister G.
Tsolakoglou visits Thessaloniki. The Head Rabbi and Sabbie Saltiel visit him
and thank him for his older statements that “there
is no Jewish question in Greece” and that Jews, who had shown their patriotism during
the Greek-Italian war, would have equal treatment with all other Greek citizens.
11.7.1942. A document by the
German Ministry of Security reveals that the
German Plenipotentiary in Athens had
already sounded his Italian counterpart on
whether his country would accept a special sign for the Jews to be
instituted in Greece. Italy had refused.
11.7.1942. All Jewish males aged 18-45 are
called to be present at Eleftherias Square at 8
a.m. A total of 9000 men gathered and
remained under the scorching sun until the afternoon;
they were subjected to degrading and
humiliating treatment. Those gathered were registered so
that they could be sent to forced labour camps (roadworks,
ore mining, etc.) for the German technical companies Muller
and Todd.
13-15.7.1942. Registration of those to be sent to
forced labour camps continues. Those registered are
transported to various locations in Macedonia.
Due to squalid conditions and extremely inadequate nutrition, there was a
very high morbidity and mortality rate among
workers.
20.8.1942. The contractor Muller proposes to
the JCT that they take over recruiting and medical care of the workers.
29.8.1942. A protocol is signed between the
German Military Command and the JCT, which provided for the
creation of a liaison bureau to regulate the recruiting of
workers and the possible buyout of
forced labour.
12.10.1942. The German Military Command of
Thessaloniki – the Aegean requests the list of the 144 families
registered as Spanish citizens from the Municipality
of Thessaloniki.
13.10.1942. The representative of the German
Military Command, M. Merten, proposes to the Social Welfare Works
Coordination Committee that they buy out the forced labour for an exorbitant
amount (ransom).
15.10.1942. M.
Merten announces to the Social Welfare Works Coordination Committee that the
Jewish cemeteries are to be rendered useless and used for military
purposes. He proposes that the ransom could be used in exchange for the cemeteries.
17.10.1942. A protocol is signed for buying
out the forced labour at a cost of 2 billion drachmas, which was to be
collected through obligatory contributions.
18.10.1942. The German Military Command of the
Aegean issued an order to abolish and move the old Jewish cemetery.
29.10.1942. The first ransom payment is made.
3.11.1942. At the orders of the German
Military Command of Thessaloniki-the Aegean, a
committee of high ranking civil servants is formed to examine the
issue of Thessaloniki's cemeteries.
3.11.1942. The Municipal Council of
Thessaloniki decides to pay wages to Municipal clerks who
had been summoned for forced labour.
5.11.1942. Confiscation of goods of Jewish
owned stationer's and printing offices starts.
11.11.1942. The German Propaganda Service
commandeers Jewish owned popular cinemas and delivers them to third parties
that the Service trusts.
12.11.1942. Following a
demand by the Occupation Authorities, the Municipal
Council decides to change the names of streets with
Jewish names.
26.11.1942. The second ransom payment is made.
28.11.1942. The German Military Command of
Thessaloniki- theAegean issues an additional
order to abolish the Jewish cemetery.
2.12.1942. A meeting is held between
technicians, representatives of the General Administration/Command of
Macedonia, the Municipality of Thessaloniki and the Jewish Community, in order
to determine the technical details regarding the immediate application of the
“transfer” order for the Jewish cemetery.
5.12.1943. The third payment of the ransom is
made.
6.12.1943. A “meeting” at the Jewish
cemetery, headed by M. Merten, with senior civil servants
and Head Rabbi Koretz. According to eye witnesses, Merten “decides” to
expropriate part of the cemetery, while the rest will remain intact. However,
the destruction of the cemetery was to be
complete.
11.12.1943. An official, representative of the
SD service, Dr. Calmes, charges Head Rabbi Koretz with “the duties of the President
of the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki, from today until things settle” and
appoints a six member Administrative Board.
11.12.1942. With a document from the same
service, Sabbie Saltiel is relieved of his presidential duties and returns to
his clerical duties.
23.12.1943. The Municipal
Council is called to ratify the decision of a meeting
headed by Merten, based on which the Israeli cemetery is abolished and
demolished and replaced by two new, much smaller cemeteries, one in Stavroupolis and
the other in Ano Toumba. An area of 10 km2 was
to remain temporarily intact due to recent burials.
24.12.1943. Exhumation of the dead begins
with the care of their relatives and the general coordination of the Jewish
Community.
15.1.1943. The fourth and final payment of
the ransom is made.
Mid-January 1943. Eichmann's
assistant, SS Major Rolf Günther, is sent to Greece to help coordinate services in order
to implement the plan for the displacement of the Jews in the
German occupied zone to death camps.
29.1.1943. Act by the
Ministry of National Education and Religions for the
appointment of Koretz as President of the Community.
2.2.1943. The factory and branches of the
major Alvo Company are commandeered.
2.2.1943. SS Captains Dieter Wisliceny and
Alois Brunner arrive in Thessaloniki in order to implement the
mass displacement plan.
6.2.1943. The German Military Command of
Thessaloniki-the Aegean is issued on the compulsory use
of the yellow star by every Jew with Greek citizenship.
10.2.1943. Jewish owned hardware stores are
commandeered.
12.2.1943. An order is issued by the German
“Foreign Service of the Security Police” determining the size of the yellow
star and the compulsory use of number Ids (signed by
Wisliceny)
12.2.1943. Another order from the same
service determines the signs to be put up at Jewish shops and residences.
13.2.1943. After an order from the German
Military Command of Thessaloniki-the Aegean,
Koretz's responsibilities extend to all Jews in the jurisdiction of the
authority in question (signed M. Merten).
13.2.1943. An order from the same service
forbids the Jewish population from: moving their
residence, using public transport, being out after sunset and using the
telephone. The order is read at the Beth-Saul synagogue by Koretz,
the Head Rabbi and President.
14.2.1943. Hundreds of young Jewish
volunteers undertake the task of making
a thorough census of all Jews, at
Koretz’orders.
25.2.1943. The deadline placing the
Jewish population in ghettos ends. Order is kept by the militia, consisting of
Jews, either refugees from Central Europe or reserves from the Greek army.
25.2.1943. After an order from the German
Military Command of Thessaloniki-the Aegean (signed
by Merten) all vocational organizations are ordered to
expel any Jewish members.
1.3.1943. All Jews are called to submit a
detailed statement on their property and assets.
3.3.1943. The Haim Benrubi firm is
commandeered, after trading in glass and porcelain for 100 years.
4.3.1943. The Baron Hirsch district,
next to the Railway Station, is
fenced in with wooden boards and barbed wire. Its residents are forbidden to exit.
5.3.1943. The Jewish Community issues a
reassuring announcement recommending that its members should
remain calm and trust their leaders.
7.3.1943. An order is issued to appoint
bailees at all Jewish businesses.
7.3.1943. The 104 “officials” of
the Jewish Community, regardless of their citizenship,
are summoned to be told they are hostages, as a guarantee for the
application of anti-Jewish measures. However, they are not held, as Koretz
volunteered himself as a guarantor. The announcement was possibly made by
Bruner.
10.3.1943. Sale or purchase of any Jewish
property assets is forbidden.
13.3.1943. Order issued by the Command of
Thessaloniki-the Aegean for the Jewish Community to collect all the
belongings of its members, except for those held in pledge.
14.3.1943. Head Rabbi Koretz announces to the
residents of the Baron Hirsch district their
imminent departure for Poland, where they will make a new life for themselves.
They are all required to turn in their money and valuables, receiving in return
cheques in Polish currency.
15.3.1943. The residents of the Baron Hirsch district
are transported to the trains. The
first train for Auschwitz-Birkenau
departs. 80 people are packed into carriages designed to
carry eight horses. Residents of the nearby ghettos are led to the empty rooms
of the district.
17.3.1943. The
second train departs, carrying residents of the Station Chico district. The Baron Hirsch
district was to be used as a transit station where Thessaloniki ghetto
residents were to be kept before being packed onto the trains.
17.3.1943. At a
meeting at Monasteriotes Synagogue (the ghetto of the city centre), Koretz advises
for patience and fortitude.
18.3.1943. Logothetopoulos, the appointed by the
Germans prime minister, asks the German Plenipotentiary in Athens to stop
displacements.
19.3.1943. Third
train to Auschwitz-Birkenau carrying
residents of Agia Paraskevi district.
22.3.1943. Logothetopoulos
repeats his request and asks that displacements should at least take place
within Greek territory.
23.3.1943. Fourth
train to Auschwitz-Birkenau carrying
residents of Rezi Vardar district.
24.3. 1943. Round-up
operations at 151 District; Numerous men arrested and led to forced labour
construction sites.
27.3.1943. Fifth train to Auschwitz-Birkenau
carrying the rest of the residents of Rezi Vardar district.
29.3.1943. After the evacuation of the western and central
ghettos, comes the turn of the eastern districts. The first to be evacuated was
the Jewish 151 District, with a population of 7,500 people.
3.4.1943. Sixth train to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Displacement
of the (largest) district, i.e. 151, starts.
5.4.1943. Seventh train to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
6.4.1943. Jewish district Six is evacuated;
the land belonged to the Municipality of Thessaloniki. The distance to Baron
Hirsch District, where the residents of Six are to be detained, is covered on
foot.
7.4.1943. Eighth train to Auschwitz-Birkenau. It
carries residents of 151 District.
7.4.1943. Agia Triada Jewish quarters are evacuated;
its residents are led on foot to Baron Hirsch district.
9.4.1943. Rallis,
the new appointed prime minister, visits Thessaloniki to meet with the High
German Command (General Lohr) and discuss the terms under which he was going to
undertake his post. Koretz
visits him secretly and asks for his support.
10.4.1943. Koretz
is arrested for his action and is stopped from President. He and his family are
led to the Baron Hirsch district.
10.4.1943. Ninth
train to Auschwitz-Birkenau, carrying
residents of Six District.
11.4.1943. The Military Command of
Thessaloniki – the Aegean appoints Zach Albala as president of the Community to
replace Koretz, who had been stopped.
12.4.1943. The
bricks and marble from the Jewish cemetery are divided among city agencies,
following a request to this effect, by decision of the General Command.
13.4.1943. Tenth train to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
16.4.1943. Eleventh
train to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
17.4.1943. The
Municipality of Thessaloniki decides to demolish Six District for aesthetic
reasons and auction its construction materials. More than 20 contractors bid at
the auction.
20.4.1943. Twelfth train to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
22.4.1943. Thirteenth train to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
28.4.1943. Fourteenth train to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
3.5.1943. Fifteenth train to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
10.5.1943. Sixteenth train to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Jews from the Evros region are added to Thessalonian Jews.
31.5.1943. At the order of the Occupying authorities,
the evacuated Rezi Vardar district, ‘of the demolished Jewish hutments’is flattened.
1.6.1943. Seventeenth
train to Auschwitz-Birkenau. It
carries members of the Community Board and community committees, teachers and
Community clerks.
15.6.1943. Order
by the Military Command of Macedonia – the Aegean asking for the management of
Jewish properties by bailees, under the supervision of the Jewish Property
Management Agency and the Agricultural Bank.
4.7.1943. ‘...regions of
Greece under German occupation, i.e. the area in the jurisdiction of the
General Command of Macedonia, along with the islands of the Aegean and the
neutral Zone of the Evros River, due to their special military location and
their economic interest for Germany, is partitioned from the rest of Greece and
placed under German civil command’. M. Merten is appointed as civil commander. Appointed
Minister, V. Simonidis, Commander of Macedonia, becomes his advisor.
15.7.1943. The
last 350 Jews of Italian nationality are transported to Athens by the Italian
Consulate.
28.7.1943. Conflicts
between interested parties intensify over securing Jewish shops. Merten arbitrates and redistributes the
properties. There is a queue outside his office.
2.8.1943. Following
numerous deferments the Municipal Council approves the expense for producing
new signs for the streets that used to have Jewish names.
2.8.1943. A train to Bergen Belsen. It
carries Koretz, his associates, civil guards, etc, as well as 367 Jews of
Spanish nationality.
10.8.1943. Nineteenth
train to Auschwitz-Birkenau. It
carries labourers who had been transported to different locations and had
survived.
11.8.1943. Dieter
Wisliceny and Alois Brunner completed their work and, having usurped Jewish
valuables stolen they depart from Thessaloniki by plane.
8.9.1943. Italy
signs a treaty. Germans close down the Italian Consulate in
Thessaloniki.
20.9.1943. Conflicts
to secure Jewish shops reach institutional agencies. Merten, as a
civil commander now, appoints new Boards to the Chambers of the city and
advises them to be united and work hard. The
new Boards applaud him.
Dr E.A.Hekimoglou
Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki
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