261:), incited by the Germans, invaded the offices of the Community. They stole files and all administrative documents that might be of interest to them. They destroyed everything they could not carry before trying to achieve their ultimate goal of setting the building on fire. Barzilai was able to warn the Italian authorities in time to prevent the fire. Five German soldiers were arrested by the Italians who, under pressure from the Germans, were forced to release them. Barzilai agreed to the liberation of the German soldiers only on the condition that the German police would give him a certificate stating that a group of burglars - this is how it characterized it - had taken the Community archives, as well as all the booklets of the members of the Community. This certificate was given by the German police and was carefully kept in the hands of the rabbi.
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list of all Jews in the city including their addresses and assets. Barzilai recalled: “I was surrounded by five
Gestapo officers, all in black and with pistols in hand. I was ordered to do whatever they said without question or hesitation. I was ordered to prepare, in 12 hours, lists of all Jews, including their names, their home addresses, information on their assets, their job addresses, and the bank accounts of the Jews ". All this information had to be delivered the next day, September 22. The Chief Rabbi promised to provide everything to their satisfaction.
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316:, “to not impose deportation measures on the Jews of Athens and the southern Greek provinces, which had come under German administration as a result of Italy’s surrender”. The ambassador replied that he had no influence whatsoever on Eichmann's troops. Thereupon the Archbishop ordered all priests and monasteries to give help and assistance to persecuted Jews by all means.
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That night, Barzilai burned all new membership cards and he secretly gathered the city's Jews in the synagogue to advise them to disappear, to leave their homes immediately, flee as far as possible, and not tell anyone about their escape plan. Then he called those who had not come. He used metaphors
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The next morning he stood in front of
Wisliceny, without lists, but with the certificate of the German Police from 1942, from which it emerged that all archives had been stolen as a result of a break-in. He added that a new register had not been compiled since then and that the 12-hour deadline had
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On
September 21, 1943, Barzilai succeeded in denying the Germans to access the lists of the Jewish community members. He was ordered to present himself at the Gestapo headquarters at 14 Loukianou Street, Kolonaki. He faced down and outwitted SS Captain Dieter Wisliceny who ordered him to produce a
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Damaskinos offered to enable him to flee to the Middle East which was not accepted by the Chief Rabbi because he would be obliged to leave his family in Greece. Church asylum would be pointless for the Jews hiding there because the
Germans would certainly not allow themselves to be held back. The
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The same night, almost all the Jewish leaders disappeared. Barzilai and his family took refuge in a friendly house in
Kolonaki. The lawyer Elias Kefalidis, a liaison of the Resistance, mediated for the escape of Barzilai to the mountains. His “kidnapping” by EAM was orchestrated on September 23,
247:
On
September 1, 1941, the Italians formally announced the appointment of Barzilai as President of the Community. An earlier order appointing him by the Nazis was completely ignored by the Italians. The opposition between the two allies on Jewish issues, fueled by Barzilai, erupted into apparent
226:
Though the
Germans were present, Athens was under Italian administration until September 1943. In contrast to the Germans and a few local commanders, the Italian army protected the Jews in their zone. The situation changed dramatically in September 1943 when Italy changed sides with the
368:, who issued false identification cards, the losses of the Jews in Athens totalled about 1,000 people. By way of comparison, the Jewish Community of Athens had had around 3,000 members, and approximately 4,000 Jewish refugees had settled in the city from elsewhere in addition.
390:
At a ceremony that took place at the
Synagogue of Athens on February 23, 2020, the role of Barzilai was commemorated by the Director of B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem who presented a Jewish Rescuers Citation in honor of the Rabbi to his descendants.
195:(1934-1936). In January 1936 he was appointed Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Community of Athens because of his broad education and linguistic abilities. He was familiar with many languages: Hebrew, Ladino, Yiddish, French, Turkish, German, and Greek.
277:, who had already organized the deportations from Thessaloniki, was sent to Athens to capture all Jews of Athens and of parts of Greece who were previously under Italian occupation. The Chief Rabbi was immediately in his focus.
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357:, the People's Liberation Army, the military arm of EAM. Barzilai held out there until the country was liberated. Then he returned to Athens, where he continued his efforts for the reorganization of the Community.
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349:, a difficult-to-access village at 850 meters above sea level where they stayed for six months because his daughter was ill from typhus. After six months they came to Velouchi and then finally to Petrino in
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not been enough for him to recall all the names of the
Community’s members. Barzillai's statement angered Wisliceny, who was eventually forced to extend the deadline for another 48 hours.
239:" throughout the rest of the country. In 1943, the Jewish Community of Athens had 3,000 registered members, while about 4,000 Jewish refugees from other cities also lived in the capital.
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on the Greek-Turkish border, the surroundings of Athens, most of Crete, and the Greek islands in the northern Aegean Sea close to Turkey. Bulgaria occupied the rest of
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controversy. The
Italian authorities took specific measures for the protection of persecuted Jews. In retaliation, the Nazis increased the pressure.
251:
On July 14, 1942, an incident took place that later would prove favorable for the persecuted Jews: a group of extreme right-wingers of the fascist
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and eastern Macedonia. Italy took the rest of mainland Greece, eastern Crete, and the Greek islands in the southern Aegean and the Ionian Sea.
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On September 25, the Germans broke into the Community offices but they found nothing. Most of the Jews of Athens had already disappeared.
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A memorial plaque in the memory of the courageous acts of Barzilai has been placed in the courtyard of the Synagogue of Athens.
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and paraphrases, for example: "The patient is very ill and the doctors recommend he leaves the city for the mountains."
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and ask refugee for the Jews to be hidden in churches and monasteries and with the collaborationist Prime Minister,
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Barzilai and his family moved frequently fearing they could be captured by the Germans. After the first stop in
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Chief Rabbi demanded official intervention from the Prime Minister, but his reaction was more than cautious.
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Barzilai remained officially in the service of the Jewish Community until 1963 when he resigned.
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Although around 800 Jews were arrested by the Germans and deported later on 24 March 1944 to the
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Barzilai immediately gathered at the synagogue the city's Jews. It was decided to meet with the
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501:. Athens: Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece - General Secretariat of Youth. 2007.
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530:(in Greek). Thessaloniki: Jewish Community of Thessaloniki. 1974. pp. 188–189, 199–203.
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in April 1941, Greece had to surrender on 23 April 1941 and the country was divided into
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155:(1941–1944). His actions saved the lives of more than 3.000 Jews during the
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175:) of Thessaloniki. A scholarship enabled the young Elias to study at the
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Memorial plaque in memory of the courageous acts of Rabbi Elias Barzilai
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171:. His father, Pinchas, was rabbi and chairman of the Rabbinical Court (
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327:(EAM) undertook to help those Jews who would flee to the mountains.
467:"Κρυμμένα παιδιά στην Ελλάδα της κατοχής - Εβραϊκό Μουσείο Ελλάδος"
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585:Χρονικά, Όργανο του Κεντρικού Ισραηλιτικού Συμβουλίου της Ελλάδος
499:Το ολοκαύτωμα των Ελλήνων Εβραίων - Μνημεία και Μνήμες (in Greek)
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Damaskinos then proceeded to petition the German ambassador
583:"Για τον Αρχιραββίνο Αθηνών Ηλία Π. Μπαρζιλάι (in Greek)".
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453:"Good Shepherds, Chief Rabbi of Athens Elias Barzilai"
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331:giving the signal to the Jews of Athens to flee.
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258:Ελληνική Σοσιαλιστική Πατριωτική Οργάνωσις, ΕΣΠΟ
855:List of Righteous Among the Nations from Greece
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256:
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734:Greek Jews in the Nazi concentration camps
693:The Holocaust in Bulgarian-occupied Greece
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16:Chief Rabbi of Athens during the Holocaust
323:and as a result of his intervention, the
253:Hellenic Socialist Patriotic Organisation
729:List of Holocaust transports from Greece
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211:. Germany occupied western and central
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895:Bibliography of the Holocaust in Greece
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265:Resistance and escape to the mountains
235:of all of Greece and implemented the "
972:Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni
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319:The Chief Rabbi also appealed to the
568:"Points d' histoire: Athenes 1943".
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183:(1926), as a teacher and rabbi in
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179:. He then worked as a teacher in
345:EAM brought them to Krokylio in
830:Rescue of the Jews of Zakynthos
703:1942 Eleftherias Square roundup
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215:(including Thessaloniki), the
177:Hebrew University in Jerusalem
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911:History of the Jews in Greece
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709:Jewish cemetery of Salonica
353:, near the headquarters of
167:Elias Barzilai was born in
147:of the Jewish community of
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890:Holocaust Museum of Greece
716:Haidari concentration camp
607:B'nai B'rith International
603:"Jewish Rescuers Citation"
982:20th-century Greek rabbis
921:The Holocaust in Bulgaria
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698:The Holocaust in Salonica
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677:Axis occupation of Greece
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451:Jewish Museum of Greece.
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205:German invasion of Greece
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957:Rabbis from Thessaloniki
926:Turkey and the Holocaust
341:, followed by a stop in
163:Education and early life
84:Pinhas Barzilai (father)
977:20th-century Greek Jews
947:The Holocaust in Greece
657:The Holocaust in Greece
87:Tamar Barzilai (mother)
23:Elias (Eliaou) Barzilai
952:Chief rabbis of Greece
916:Antisemitism in Greece
840:Chrysostomos Dimitriou
473:(in Greek). 2020-04-14
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273:, SS-Hauptsturmführer
271:Armistice of Cassibile
233:took exclusive control
229:Armistice of Cassibile
133:Ηλίας Πινχάς Μπαρζιλάι
114:Athens Jewish Cemetery
835:Archbishop Damaskinos
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269:A few days after the
199:Historical background
125:Elias Pinhas Barzilai
34:Chief Rabbi of Athens
546:jewishhistory.org.il
296:Archbishop of Athens
191:(1934), and then in
50:Thessaloniki, Greece
707:Destruction of the
591:: 6. February 1989.
570:La Lettre Sepharade
471:www.jewishmuseum.gr
419:: 6–8. August 1997.
362:extermination camps
351:Karditsa Prefecture
139:– 31 October 1979,
770:Major perpetrators
413:Χρονικά (in Greek)
385:
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883:Menorah in flames
809:
788:Theodor Dannecker
508:978-960-86029-4-6
314:Günther Altenburg
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904:Related articles
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803:Dieter Wisliceny
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572:. December 1996.
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542:"Jewish History"
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243:First skirmishes
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59:October 31, 1979
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231:. The Germans
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967:1979 deaths
962:1891 births
858: [
528:In Memoriam
375:Recognition
189:Didymoticho
145:Chief Rabbi
941:Categories
850:Emil Jäger
814:Assistance
793:Max Merten
760:Zvi Koretz
612:2022-04-10
551:2022-05-01
477:2022-04-11
395:References
299:Damaskinos
143:) was the
878:Memorials
871:Aftermath
723:SS Tanais
255:or ESPO (
213:Macedonia
157:Holocaust
101:Yahrtzeit
343:Lidoriki
339:Xironomi
193:Tel Aviv
185:Belgrade
173:Beth Din
135:, 1891,
68:Religion
39:Personal
686:Aspects
668:Part of
78:Parents
72:Judaism
505:
347:Phocis
149:Athens
141:Athens
111:Buried
862:]
181:Drama
129:Greek
31:Title
825:ELAS
503:ISBN
355:ELAS
56:Died
47:1891
44:Born
821:EAM
589:104
417:150
943::
860:el
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127:(
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