Obj. ID: 44774
Memorials Holocaust Memorial Plaque in Kal Kadosh Shalom Synagogue in Rhodes, Greece, 1969
To the main object: Kal Kadosh Shalom Synagogue in Rhodes, Greece
Who is Commemorated?
Jewish victims of the Holocaust from Rhodes and Kos
Description
A rectangular marble plaque is affixed to the wall on the right of the west entrance of the synagogue. A dedicatory in French in followed by the family names of the murdered Jewish of Rhodes and Kos.
Inscriptions
EN MEMOIRE
DES DEUX MILLE MARTYRS DE LA COMMUNAUTE
JUIVE DE RHODES ET COS
BRUTALEMENT ANEANTIS PAR LES MEURTRIERS
NAZIS DANS LES CAMPS DE
CONCENTRATION EN ALLEMAGNE 1944-1945
QUE LEUR AME REPOSE EN PAIX.
Translation: Of the two thousand martyrs of the Jewish community of Rhodes and Cos brutally annihilated by the murderous Nazis in the Concentration Camps in Germany 1944-1945 May their soul(s) rest in peace. // [Names follow here]
A LA MEMOIRE DE MON PERE ASCHER MA MERE
SAROTA, MON FRERE JACQUES ET MA SOEUR FLORE
AVEC SON MARI M. LEVI TOUS DEUX DEPORTES
YEDID CHARHON 1969.
Translation: To the memory of my father Ascher my mother Sarota, my brother Jacques (James, Jacob) and my sister Flore (Flora) with her husband Mr. Levi both deported Yedid Charmon 1969
Commissioned by
Yedid Charhon family
5 image(s)
sub-set tree:
The Kahal Shalom is the oldest intact and functioning synagogue in Greece and the only remaining synagogue on the Island of Rhodes where there were once six synagogues and prayer halls in the Jewish Quarter (called “La Juderia”). The Kahal Shalom is believed to have been built in 1577. It is still used occasionally for prayer services when visitors or former residents and their families visit the Island for Friday night prayer services, High Holiday services and for special occasions, and is open to the public most day as a historic monument.
The Jews of Rhodes and Kos were deported to Auschwitz in late July 1944. Many died along the way during a long and harrowing journey. The rest met their deaths immediately by gas, or over a longer period as slave laborers.
This memorial was the first to be erected at the synagogue. A larger memorial was built at that Jewish cemetery in 1949. A more public monument in the old Jewish quarter was dedicated in 2002.
For a detailed report on the German occupation, see
”German Occupation – Holocaust,” The Jewish Community of Rhodes website , https://jewishrhodes.org/german-occupation-holocaust/ (accessed October 18, 2022)
Hasson, Aron, A Guidebook to the Jewish Quarter of Rhodes (Los Angeles, CA: Rhodes Jewish Historical Foundation, 2012)