eSefarad Noticias del Mundo Sefaradi
Unknown persons desecrated the Holocaust Memorial of the Jews of Rhodes. The monument is located in the Old City and the perpetrators painted with paint all six sides, while they painted the swastika, adding the initials AME, apparently referring to some, and unknown so far, organization.
The incident happened at the night hours of Friday to Saturday and was seen in the morning. The Security Police of Rhodes was alerted and they conduct an investigation; in the area of the monument was found a sponge used by perpetrators to paint.
It is noted that several times in the past unknown persons had vandalized that monument.
The Holocaust Memorial was erected in 2002 to Jewish Martyrs Square, which was the old Jewish quarter of Rhodes before the war. In the six sides is written in as many languages (Greek, French, English, Italian, Hebrew and Ladino), the phrase «Do not ever forget the eternal memory of the 1604 Jews of Rhodes and Kos who perished in Nazi death camps.»
Prewar Jewish community of Rhodes was one of the most flourishing on the island, but in July 1944 the Germans on the island gathered the 1600 Jews and after an eventful journey led them to Auschwitz. Of these, 1,200 were driven directly to the crematoria, while eventually were rescued by Allied forces only 150 (120 women and 30 men). Today in Rhodes live very few Jews.
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Fuente: “Desde Grecia, Akí Salónika” * Intecultural-Interreligious Dialogue Group
