The Times of Israel https://www.timesofisrael.com/topic/thessaloniki/ News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World Tue, 09 Jun 2026 09:48:59 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://static-cdn.toi-media.com/www/uploads/2018/11/toi_icon_512-200x200.png Thessaloniki | The Times of Israel https://www.timesofisrael.com/topic/thessaloniki/ 32 32 Poland, in a first, returns 91 Jewish objects to Greece that were stolen by Nazis https://www.timesofisrael.com/poland-in-a-first-returns-91-jewish-objects-to-greece-that-were-stolen-by-nazis/ Wed, 04 Mar 2026 21:19:34 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3769036 Judaica was plundered from once-thriving Jewish community of Thessaloniki in 1941; found in Poland after the war, it was kept for decades in Warsaw's Jewish Historical Institute

The post Poland, in a first, returns 91 Jewish objects to Greece that were stolen by Nazis appeared first on The Times of Israel.

]]> Thessaloniki’s Armenian minority and Jewish past are bound by a shared history of genocide https://www.timesofisrael.com/thessalonikis-armenian-minority-and-jewish-past-are-bound-by-a-shared-history-of-genocide/ Tue, 30 Sep 2025 04:49:21 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3649528 Greek port city with longstanding Armenian community was mostly Jewish before the Holocaust; Armenians emphasize marking 1915 genocide, which Netanyahu recently recognized

The post Thessaloniki’s Armenian minority and Jewish past are bound by a shared history of genocide appeared first on The Times of Israel.

]]> Ex-Thessaloniki mayor who fought to recognize city’s Holocaust history dies at 82 https://www.timesofisrael.com/ex-thessaloniki-mayor-who-fought-to-recognize-citys-holocaust-history-dies-at-82/ Sun, 10 Nov 2024 11:24:48 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3416139 Yiannis Boutaris, born to a famed Greek winemaking family, led efforts to capitalize on city's rich Jewish history and campaigned to establish Holocaust museum

The post Ex-Thessaloniki mayor who fought to recognize city’s Holocaust history dies at 82 appeared first on The Times of Israel.

]]> German president mourns Greek Jews killed in Holocaust at site of new Thessaloniki museum https://www.timesofisrael.com/german-president-mourns-greek-jews-killed-in-holocaust-at-site-of-new-thessaloniki-museum/ Tue, 29 Oct 2024 15:22:03 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3407775 Construction of museum, funded by German government, Greek municipal authorities and private donors, began earlier this year and is expected to take about two years

The post German president mourns Greek Jews killed in Holocaust at site of new Thessaloniki museum appeared first on The Times of Israel.

]]> Jewish writer Mitch Albom enters new territory with Holocaust novel ‘The Little Liar’ https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-writer-mitch-albom-enters-new-territory-with-holocaust-novel-the-little-liar/ Sat, 18 Nov 2023 14:27:26 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3152258 'Tuesdays With Morrie' author returns with a powerful story about how a Greek Jewish boy, known for his honesty, becomes a pathological liar after unwittingly helping the Nazis

The post Jewish writer Mitch Albom enters new territory with Holocaust novel ‘The Little Liar’ appeared first on The Times of Israel.

]]> Greece marks 80th anniversary of first deportation of Greek Jews to Auschwitz https://www.timesofisrael.com/greece-marks-80th-anniversary-of-first-deportation-of-greek-jews-to-auschwitz/ Sun, 19 Mar 2023 23:23:31 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2978469 Hundreds march to Thessaloniki's old train station, where expulsion began; approximately 46,000 were taken to death camp in 1943, just 1,950 survived

The post Greece marks 80th anniversary of first deportation of Greek Jews to Auschwitz appeared first on The Times of Israel.

]]> 80 years on, Greek film festival will pay tribute to deported Jews https://www.timesofisrael.com/80-years-on-greek-island-film-festival-will-pay-tribute-to-deported-jews/ Thu, 02 Mar 2023 07:48:18 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2964545 Thessaloniki’s documentary movie event to recall once-thriving large community sent to Auschwitz with several screenings about Holocaust, panel discussions

The post 80 years on, Greek film festival will pay tribute to deported Jews appeared first on The Times of Israel.

]]> Fiery head-on train crash in Greece kills at least 32, injures 85 https://www.timesofisrael.com/fiery-head-on-train-crash-in-greece-kills-at-least-32-injures-85/ Wed, 01 Mar 2023 08:31:16 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2963474 Multiple carriages derail and at least 3 burst into flames as locomotive traveling from Athens to Thessaloniki emerges from highway underpass; cause of collision unclear

The post Fiery head-on train crash in Greece kills at least 32, injures 85 appeared first on The Times of Israel.

]]> Thessaloniki Holocaust memorial vandalized for second time in weeks https://www.timesofisrael.com/thessaloniki-holocaust-memorial-vandalized-in-second-such-incident-in-weeks/ Thu, 12 Jan 2023 18:49:06 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2924082 Jewish community laments lack of arrests after mural in Greek city defaced with swastikas and fascist symbols: 'Antisemites roam freely'

The post Thessaloniki Holocaust memorial vandalized for second time in weeks appeared first on The Times of Israel.

]]> Vandals desecrate Holocaust memorial in Thessaloniki for the 4th time https://www.timesofisrael.com/vandals-desecrate-holocaust-memorial-in-thessaloniki-greece-for-the-4th-time/ Sat, 31 Dec 2022 04:45:58 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2913481 Swastika, white supremacist Celtic cross daubed on monument in Greek city that was home to the largest Sephardic community in Europe before the Nazi genocide

The post Vandals desecrate Holocaust memorial in Thessaloniki for the 4th time appeared first on The Times of Israel.

]]> Russia agrees to return pre-WWII Jewish archives to Greece https://www.timesofisrael.com/russia-agrees-to-return-pre-wwii-jewish-archives-to-greece/ Thu, 09 Dec 2021 15:31:21 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2663734 Nazis plundered books and religious items from synagogues and communal institutions in Thessaloniki; they were transferred to Moscow after the Red Army took Berlin in 1945

The post Russia agrees to return pre-WWII Jewish archives to Greece appeared first on The Times of Israel.

]]> Greece to take over presidency of International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance https://www.timesofisrael.com/greece-to-take-over-presidency-of-international-holocaust-remembrance-alliance/ Thu, 18 Mar 2021 17:02:48 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2508871 Foreign Ministry says first term as head of IHRA, beginning next month, has 'particular importance'; development comes as local mural about Jewish victims of Nazis is vandalized

The post Greece to take over presidency of International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance appeared first on The Times of Israel.

]]> Jewish cemeteries, Holocaust memorial desecrated in Greece https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-cemeteries-holocaust-memorial-desecrated-in-greece/ Mon, 19 Oct 2020 19:00:09 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2411576 'With Jews you lose' graffitied at monument In Thessaloniki commemorating Jews from the city killed by the Nazis, 'Death to Israel' found written at graveyard

The post Jewish cemeteries, Holocaust memorial desecrated in Greece appeared first on The Times of Israel.

]]> How Greek Jews solved ‘dilemma’ of Pompeo’s visit to Thessaloniki on Yom Kippur https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-greek-jews-solved-dilemma-of-pompeos-visit-to-thessaloniki-on-yom-kippur/ Sat, 03 Oct 2020 02:45:26 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2400273 On the holiest day of the year, Chief Rabbi Aharon Israel managed a brief visit with the US secretary of state, a strong supporter of his community, without breaking Jewish law

The post How Greek Jews solved ‘dilemma’ of Pompeo’s visit to Thessaloniki on Yom Kippur appeared first on The Times of Israel.

]]> The Jew who worked for the Nazis and hunted down refugees in WWII Greece https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-jew-who-worked-for-the-nazis-and-hunted-down-refugees-in-wwii-greece/ Thu, 23 Jan 2020 03:48:04 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2224933 The story of Vital Hasson, leader of Thessaloniki's Jewish police who sent families -- and his own relatives -- to Auschwitz, shows that identity doesn't always determine destiny

The post The Jew who worked for the Nazis and hunted down refugees in WWII Greece appeared first on The Times of Israel.

]]>