Obj. ID: 44497 Holocaust Memorial plaque in the Etz Chayim Synagogue in Chania, Greece, ca. 2000
Who is Commemorated?
Jews of Hania
Description
A pre-existing small Gothic arch is adapted as a memorial niche. On the back of the niche is painted the Hebrew letter Shin, in front of which is hung a small colored glass memorial lamp. A small metal plaque inscribed in Greek is attached to the back niche wall, under the Shin.
Four separate small, inscribed metal plaques on wood mounts are attached to the wall beneath the niche. To each side is a longer vertical plaque listing the names of the victims alphabetically by family name. In between are two smaller rectangular plaques with Biblical texts.
Inscriptions
On plaque in niche:
ΣTH MNHMH
TΩN EΛΛHNΩN EBPAIΩN
THΣ ΠOΛHΣ TΩN XANIΩN
H KOINOTHA THΣ ΣYNAΓΩΓΗΣ
ETΣ XAΓIM ΠOY XAΘHKE
THN 9n IOYNIOY 1944
Translation:
On plaque below niche:
IN MEMORY OF THE JEWS OF HANIA
THE COMMUNITY OF ETZ HAYYIM SYNAGOGUE
WHO PERISHED 9TH JUNE 1944
***
“But now this saith the Lord that created the O Jacob, and He that
formed the, o Israel, Fear not for I have redeemed thee, I have
called thee by my Name, thou art mine.
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee,
and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee...”
Isaiah 43: 1 – 2
On second plaque beneath niche:
Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God, King of the universe,
who formed you in justice, and gave you life in
justice, and sustained you in justice, and who knows
the number of all of you in justice, and who
will hereafter revive and raise you in justice.
Blessed art thou O Lord, who quickenest the dead.
Commissioned by
Etz Hayyim Synagogue
10 image(s)
The monument commemorates all those killed when the Greek-owned, but German-operated ship Tánaïs was sunk. The entire Jewish community of Chania was on board, on the second leg of their deportation to Auschwitz-Birkenau. They were headed to death but found it sooner than even their German captors expected. Also killed with them were hundreds of Cretan resistance fighters and Italian prisoners of war.
The Etz Hayyim synagogue, built as a church and transformed into a synagogue in the 17th century, fell into ruin after the deportation and drowning of the Jewish community of Chania in June 1944. At that time the community was transported from Heraklion on the ship Tánaïs en route to Auschwitz when the ship was sunk when hit by a British torpedo.
Beginning in the mid-1990s art historian and artist Nicholas Stavroulakis began the restoration of the synagogue as a project of the World Monuments Fund’s Jewish Heritage Program. After the structure was restored, Stavroulakis began to recreate the interior, based on knowledge of Greek Jewish history, religion, and architecture. Today the site is a functioning synagogue and a historic site.
During this period Stavroulakis created a small memorial shrine to the Chania Jews killed when the Tánaïs sank.
Etz Hayyim Synagogue website, https://www.etz-hayyim-hania.org/ (accessed October 2, 2022)
Gruber, Samuel, “European Preservation Projects of the World Monuments Fund’s Jewish Heritage Program: The Tempel Synagogue in Cracow (Poland) and the Etz Hayyim Synagogue in Hania (Crete),” in Max Polonovski, ed., Le Patrimonie Juif Européen: Actes du colloque international ten à Paris, au Mu
Gruber, Samuel D., “In Chania, Crete, a Ship-Shaped Memorial and the Tragic Event it Commemorates,” Samuel Gruber’s Jewish Art & Monuments, July 9, 2022., https://samgrubersjewishartmonuments.blogspot.com/2022/07/in-chania-crete-ship-shaped-memorial.html (accessed August 26, 2022)
Gruber Samuel, “Restoration of Etz Hayyim Synagogue in Hania,” Bulletin of Judaeo-Greek Studies 21, winter 1997/1998.