Obj. ID: 44770 Holocaust Memorial in the site of the Jewish Cemetery in Veroia, Greece, 2019
Who is Commemorated?
460 Jews deported from Veroia and six million Jews killed in the Holocaust
Description:
A modest cube-shaped structure was erected at the top of the slope, either to serve as a collection point for human remains that were uncovered, to store tools, or both, and to remind visitors that the area is a cemetery. Steps on each side of the building lead down the slope to the area of the cemetery – now sports fields. Spreading out from the building on the slope and visible and accessible from the stairs are rows of large gravestones.
Inscribed plaques in Greek, Hebrew, and English are on the front of the building – facing the street. These identify the cemetery and thank the Central Board of Jewish Communities of Greece for allowing the Municipality to use the place for recreation and sports.
The Holocaust memorial includes a large metal abstract menorah placed as a relief on the rear of the small structure. Three inscribed marble commemorative plaques in Greek, Hebrew, and English – are placed around the menorah. There is one on each side, and one set on the ground below.
Inscriptions
The inscriptions in Greek, Hebrew, and English are almost identical.
Side facing road:
Hebrew:
אתר זה
והמצבות שנותרו בו
הם חלק מבית הקברות
היהודי הישן של העיר
ארגון הגג של הקהילות
היהודיות של יוון
לעיריית ווריה
לזכר חברי הקהילה
היהודית של העיר
שנרצחו במחנות ההשמדה הנאצים
Greek:
Ο ΧΩΡΟΣ ΑΥΤΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΟΙ ΤΑΦΟΠΛΑΚΕΣ ΑΠΟΤΕΛΟΥΝ ΜΕΡΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΠΑΛΑΙΟΥ ΕΒΡΑΪΚΟΥ ΝΕΚΡΟΤΑΦΕΙΟΥ ΒΕΡΟΙΑΣ ΤΟ ΟΠΟΙΟ ΕΥΓΕΝΩΣ
ΠΑΡΑΧΩΡΗΘΗΚΕ ΑΠΟ ΑΠΟ ΤΟ ΚΕΝΤΡΙΚΟ ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ ΣΤΟΝ ΔΗΜΟ ΒΕΡΟΙΑΣ ΓΙΑ ΝΑ ΘΥΜΙΖΕΙ ΤΗΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΚΗ ΕΒΡΑΪΚΗ
ΚΟΙΝΟΤΗΤΑ ΤΗΣ ΠΟΛΗΣ ΠΟΥ ΕΞΟΣΛΟΘΡΕΥΤΗΚΕ ΚΑΤΑ ΤΠ ΓΕΡΜΑΝΙΚΗ ΚΑΤΟΧΗ ΑΠΟ ΤΟΥΣ ΝΑΖΙ
English:
THIS PLACE AND THE
TOMBSTONES ARE PART OF
THE OLD JEWISH
CEMETERY IN VERIA
WHICH WAS KINDLY GRANTED
BY THE CENTRAL BOARD OF
JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN GREECE
TO THE MUNICIPALITY OF VERIA
IN ORDER TO COMMEMORATE
THE LOCAL HISTORIC
JEWISH COMMUNITY
WHICH WAS EXTERMINATED
BY THE NAZIS
DURING THE GERMAN OCCUPATION
Side facing the sports fields:
Hebrew:
ב-1 במאי 1943 גורשו 460 מיהודי העיר ווריה
למחנות ההשמדה אושוויץ-בירקנאו. שם נרצחו על ידי הנאצים
באנדרטה זו מכבדים וזוכרים
תושבי העיר ווריה את הקהילה היהודית של העיר
כמו גם את ששת מיליון היהודים שנספו בשואה
Greek:
460 ΕΒΡΑΙΟΙ ΤΙΣ ΒΕΡΟΙΑΣ ΕΚΤΟΠΙΣΤΗΚΝ ΑΠΟ ΤΗ ΓΕΝΝΤΕΙΡΑ ΤΟΥΣ ΤΗΝ 1η ΜΑΪΟΥ 1943 ΚΑΙ ΕΞΟΝΤΩΘΗΚΗΑΝ ΑΠΟ ΤΟΥΣ ΝΑΖΙ
ΣΤΑ ΣΤΡΑΤΟΠΕΔΑ ΘΑΝΑΤΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΑΟΥΣΒΙΤΣ – ΜΠΙΡΚΕΝΑΟΥ Η ΠΟΛΗ ΤΗΣ ΒΕΡΟΙΑΣ ΘΥΜΕΤΑΙ ΤΟ ΟΛΟΚΑΥΤΩΜΑ ΤΩΝ 6.000.000
ΕΒΡΑΙΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΑΦΙΕΡΩΝΕΙ ΤΟ ΜΝΗΜΕΙΟ ΑΥΤΟ ΣΤΗΝ ΙΕΡΗ ΜΝΗΜΗ ΤΩΝ ΘΥΜΑΤΩΝ ΒΕΡΟΙΑ, ΣΕΠΤΕΜΒΡΙΟΣ 2019
English:
460 JEWS OF VERIA
WERE DEPORTED
FROM THEIR BIRTHPLACE
ON 1ST MAY 1943
AND EXTERMINATED
BY THE NAZIS
IN THE DEATH CAMPS
OF AUSCHWITZ – BIRKENAU
THE CITY OF VERIA
REMEMBERS THE HOLOCAUST
OF THE 6.000.000 JEWS
AND DEDICATES
THIS MONUMENT TO THE HOLY MEMORY
OF THE VICTIMS
VERIA, SEPTEMBER 2019
Commissioned by
The Jewish community of Thessaloniki.
| between Akropoleos St. and Kimonos St. Kimonos, Verioia (Veria) 591 32
metal
The front plaques to the side of the door are 75 cm x 118 cm
Front central plaque over door is 145 cm wide
A Holocaust memorial was dedicated at the site of the Jewish cemetery in 2019. The cemetery was in terrible condition in the decades following World War II, but it was notable for the many large, inscribed, Sephardic-style gravestones that covered the ground. In 1996 (?), in exchange for the Municipality restoring the former synagogue, the Central Board of Jewish Communities of Greece allowed a complex of sports fields to be built on the cemetery site.
There was little excavation involved, so most of the burials presumably remain intact. The playing areas and running tracks are defined by fencing and paving, not by structures. Few human remains were removed from the site, but gravestones were repositioned to the sloping sides of the complex and laid out there in rows overlooking the playing courts and fields.
In 2019, the Holocaust memorial – in the form of inscribed plaques and the relief of a menorah, which was attached to this building – was placed on the other side of the building, overlooking the playing fields atop the cemetery.
The World Jews Congress reported on the dedication ceremony which was part of a larger three-day holocaust commemoration in Veroia:
“During his speech, at the unveiling ceremony, the Mayor of Veria Konstantinos Voryiazidis spoke about a "historical day" mentioning that the conservation of the Memory is an "historic and moral duty", underlining that if the local Jewish Community hadn't perished, Veria would be a much "richer" city today.
"It is important to remember and to learn this precise chapter of history on the Jewish life here" the new Israeli Ambassador to Greece, Yossi Amrani stated during his speech at the ceremony.
"The Memorial consists an homage and an expectation for the future", the President of the Central Board of Jewish Communities Greece, David Saltiel, said after having unveiled, together with the Mayor of the city the Monument, mentioning the necessity that the monument must be transformed in a "living tool of interaction with history".
Addressing the public during the unveiling ceremony, the Head of the Hellenic delegation at IHRA, Dr. Efstathios Lianos - Liantis, mentioned that remembering is a necessity and underlined the forthcoming assumption of IHRA's Chairmanship by Greece in 2021.”
Green, David B. “The Secret History of One of Greece’s Oldest Jewish Communities,” Haaretz, https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/2018-08-26/ty-article/.premium/the-secret-history-of-one-of-greeces-oldest-jewish-communities/0000017f-f649-d887-a7ff-feed0c0e0000 (accessed February 27, 2023)
Messinas, Elias. The Synagogues of Salonika and Veroia. (Athens: Gavrielides Editions, 1997)
“Tribute to memory of Jews of Veria, Greece unveiled as part of Holocaust remembrance events,”(World Jewish Congress)., https://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/veria-unrolled-the-memory-of-the-thread-three-days-of-ihra-holocaust-remembrance-event-10-3-2019 (accessed February 27, 2023)