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© Samuel D. Gruber, Photographer: Gruber, Samuel D., 2022

Who is Commemorated?

235 Jewish victims of the Holocaust from Larissa, and all other Jewish victims of the Holocasut

Description

The monument fills a large part of a city circular plaza (Square of Jewish Martyrs of the Holocaust) that is surrounded by a ring street. This area was the heart of the old Jewish neighborhood. Nearby, across the street, is still the synagogue and offices of the Jewish community and a pharmacy owned by a leader of the Jewish community. Several popular cafes face the square, and one is located on the square facing the monument itself.

The monument consists of a large bronze sculpture set on a low rectangular stone base that is itself set on a higher raised concrete and stone platform, that serves like a stage within the square, most of which is at a lower level reached by step from the street. One step of steps wraps around one side of the monument platform. The face of the concrete platform was intended as a backdrop of a fountain. It is articulated in uneven segments with small half-sphere protrusions with nozzles, and a small producing basis. The water element was difficult to maintain, and the area of the fountain intended for water is now filled with soil and greenery.

The central element of the bronze sculpture is the figure of a seated woman, with her right arm resting on her right thigh, and face supported by her right hand, as she lowers her head and looks downward. Her left hand rests in her lap. Her costume is indistinct, but she has her head covered with a scarf that also covers her neck and shoulders, and she appears to wear a long dress that reaches her ankles and covers her arms with long sleeves. The modeling of the figure recalls ancient Greek sculpture in the pose and the treatment of the dress, which molds itself to the figure's body. The posture of the figure is a traditional one of mourning known in Greek art, and was sometimes adapted after the 18th century in representations of Jewish exile and grief.

The woman sits on a bronze stone or step that as a single sculpted element bends and rises to her right into what appear to be stylized steps that become a pillar over three meters high. To her left is a separate “boulder” of bronze that helps visually anchor the work, but also connects the scene to the natural world. The pillar gives the impression of being constructed of a group of large, finished slabs or tablets set vertically, upon the outermost of which is inscribed the direct and information commemorative inscription. These vertical “slabs” are then topped with a group of flat and wedge-shaped horizontal slabs that cap the entire monument. The bronze sculpture from merges natural and architectural elements; and abstraction and figurative representation.  The “slabs” can be interpreted as gravestones, tablets, or books. The meaning is not clear, but the effect is dramatic.

Inscriptions

In Greek

1944-1945
ΠA ΝA ΜΗ ΞΕΧAΣTEI
TO MAPTUPIO TΩΝ
255 AΘΩΩΝ ΕΒΡAΙΩΝ
TIΣ ΛAPIΣAΣ
KAI ΓΩN 6000000
AΔΕΛΦΩΝ TOUΣ
ΠΟU EΠΕΣAΝ ΘUMATA
ΦPIXTHΣ ΓENOKTONIAΣ
ΣTA NAZIΣTIKA
ΣTPRATOΠEΔA
HEBPAIKH KOINOTHTA
EΣTHΣE
TO MNHMEIO TOUTO
ΣTHN ΠΛATEIA
ΠOU HΠΟΛΗ
TOUΣ AΦIEPΩΣE

Translation1944-1945. The Jewish community erected this monument on the square dedicated by the city of Larissa, to the memory of the 235 innocent Jews of Larissa and their 6,000,000 brethren, who were victims of an atrocious genocide in the Nazi camps.

Commissioned by

Jewish Community of Larissa

Name/Title
Monument of Jewish Martyrs of the Holocaust in Larissa | Unknown
Object Detail
Date
1987
Active dates
Reconstruction dates
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Unknown |
Congregation
Unknown
Location
Greece | Thessaly Region | Larissa (Λάρισα)
| Square of Jewish Martyrs of the Holocaust / Platia Evreon Martiron Katoxis / Πλατεία Εβραίων Μαρτύρων Κατοχής
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Unknown|
Period
Unknown
Period Detail
Collection
Unknown |
Documentation / Research project
Unknown
Category
Material / Technique
Concrete, bronze
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Measurements
Platform 242 cm x 483 cm. Sculpture is approximately 340 cm. high from base.
Height
Length
Width
Depth
Circumference
Thickness
Diameter
Weight
Axis
Panel Measurements
Subject
Condition
Extant
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Significance Rating
Textual Content
Unknown |
Languages of inscription
Unknown
Shape / Form
0
Ornamentation
Custom
Contents
Codicology
Scribes
Script
Number of Lines
Ruling
Pricking
Quires
Catchwords
Hebrew Numeration
Blank Leaves
Direction/Location
Façade (main)
Endivances
Location of Torah Ark
Location of Apse
Location of Niche
Location of Reader's Desk
Location of Platform
Temp: Architecture Axis
Arrangement of Seats
Location of Women's Section
Direction Prayer
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Coin
Coin Series
Coin Ruler
Coin Year
Denomination
Signature
Colophon
Scribal Notes
Watermark
Hallmark
Group
Group
Group
Group
Group
Trade Mark
Binding
Decoration Program
Summary and Remarks
Remarks
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance
Main Surveys & Excavations
Bibliography
Short Name
Full Name
Volume
Page
Type
Documenter
|
Author of description
Samuel D. Gruber | 2022
Architectural Drawings
|
Computer Reconstruction
|
Section Head
|
Language Editor
|
Donor
|
Negative/Photo. No.
A489890