Lost Jewish tombstones discovered in Greece

668 fragments found buried in Thessaloniki following 70-year search

Graves of Jewish victims of the Iași pogrom in Romania on July 1, 1941. (Wikimedia commons)
Graves of Jewish victims of the Iași pogrom in Romania on July 1, 1941. (Wikimedia commons)

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Police in northern Greece say they have recovered more than 600 marble headstones and other fragments from Jewish graves destroyed during the Nazi occupation in World War II — a find that local Jewish groups have described as highly significant.

The 668 fragments were found buried in a plot of land in central Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city, following a 70-year search for the remains of graves smashed when the city’s main Jewish cemetery was destroyed.

The head of the city’s Jewish community, David Saltiel, said Thursday most of the gravestones found dated from the mid-1800s up until World War II.

An estimated 60,000 Greek Jews, most of the country’s prewar Jewish population, were killed in the Holocaust.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

Most Popular
read more:
If you’d like to comment, join
The Times of Israel Community.
Join The Times of Israel Community
Commenting is available for paying members of The Times of Israel Community only. Please join our Community to comment and enjoy other Community benefits.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Confirm Mail
Thank you! Now check your email
You are now a member of The Times of Israel Community! We sent you an email with a login link to . Once you're set up, you can start enjoying Community benefits and commenting.