The 'October 7' of Thessaloniki: A journey in the footsteps of the erased Jewish community

A travelogue following the Jewish community of Thessaloniki, which was almost completely annihilated in the Holocaust. The city tour, accompanied by an Israeli-Greek guide, reveals the rich heritage of the 'Jerusalem of the Balkans' through sites such as the Monastirioton Synagogue, the stumbling stones at the port, and the Holocaust memorial. The article links the date of October 7 to the Jewish revolt in Auschwitz in 1944, and mentions Yehuda Poliker's music as a carrier of memory.

A travelogue by Moti Verses on Walla! Tourism embarks on a walking tour of Thessaloniki, Greece, following the ancient and vibrant Jewish community of the city, which was almost completely annihilated in the Holocaust. The article opens with a parallel between October 7, 2023 in Israel and October 7, 1944, the day of the Jewish prisoner revolt at Auschwitz-Birkenau, in which Greek Jews from Thessaloniki stood out. The tour, guided by Elena Dotsoulas, passes through key sites: the 16th-century Jewish bath (Yehudi Hamam), the renovated Modiano Market, the stumbling stones at the port commemorating five Jewish workers, and the Monastirioton Synagogue, which survived due to its use as a Red Cross warehouse. The article recounts the deportation of over 45,000 of the city's 50,000 Jews to Auschwitz between March and August 1943, and mentions the controversial role of Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Koretz. The visit reaches Eleftherias Square, the site of the humiliation of Jews in July 1942, and the Holocaust memorial. The article concludes with a look at the Holocaust Museum of Greece being built near the old train station, from which the deportation trains departed, expected to open in 2028.