In the Footsteps of the Jews of Greece From Ancient Times to the Present Day

Greek Jewry has a unique history in Europe. Greek Judaism is possibly the oldest faith on the continent. The Hellenized Romaniotes, the Sephardim from the western Mediterranean and the Ashkenazim from central Europe created a mosaic of communities across the country, each one with its own fascinating history and tradition. Thessaloniki, the ‘ Jerusalem of the Balkans’ , Ioannina, the capital of the Romaniotes, Larissa, Volos, Patra, Crete, Corfu, Rhodes, Athens, and many others. These Jewish communities, together but also individually, are an integral part of the Greece’ s rich history. This pioneering book presents a unique detailed historical overview of the history of Greek Jews from antiquity to the present day, including the period of the Shoah when nearly 90% of the community was annihilated. Beyond this historical landscape, the book also highlights the contributions of Greek Jews to the economic, cultural, intellectual and political life of the country, and reveals the golden times and the darkest days in the coexistence between Jews and Christians in Greece.

Anastasios Karababas is a French-Greek historian with a special interest in the memory of the Holocaust across the younger generations. He teaches history and ethics at the Lycé e of the Alliance Israé lite Universelle, Paris. He is the author of La Shoah. L'obsession de l'antisé mitisme depuis le XIXe siè cle and Sur les traces des Juifs de Grè ce. He is a frequent TV and radio commentator in France and Greece. His latest book In the Footsteps of the Jews of Greece is based on extensive historical and archival research in Europe, Israel, and the United States.

Table of Contents
About the Author
Acknowledgements
Prologue by Yiannis Boutaris, Former Mayor of Thessaloniki
Introduction
Chapter 1 The Jews of Greece: From Antiquity to the Present Day
Chapter 2 Thessaloniki: The Jerusalem of the Balkans
Chapter 3 Macedonia and Thrace: The Sephardim and the Tobacco Trade
Chapter 4 Epirus, Evia, Central Greece, Peloponnese: The Lands of the Romaniotes
Chapter 5 Thessaly: The Power of the Resistance
Chapter 6 Ionian Islands: The Greki and the Pugliesi
Chapter 7 Crete and the Dodecanese and Cycladic Islands
Chapter 8 Athens: The Community that Survived the Holocaust
Chapter 9 Historiography and Memory of the Holocaust in Greece since 1945
Chapter 10 Contemporary Challenges: Judeophobia in Contemporary Greece Epilogue Bibliography