How did a city with such a dominant and historic Jewish presence become a site of one of the most complete destructions of a Jewish community in Europe? Once known as the “Mother of Israel,” Thessaloniki, Greece lost over 95% of its Jewish citizens in 1943 during The Holocaust. Eli, son of Holocaust survivors Morris Pinhas and Matilda Massarano from Thessaloniki, Greece, provides a narrative of how they survived this destruction, blending historical events with personal accounts of survival and concluding with how the city addresses the memory of its lost population today.
How did a city with such a dominant and historic Jewish presence become a site of one of the most complete destructions of a Jewish community in Europe? Once known as the “Mother of Israel,” Thessaloniki, Greece lost over 95% of its Jewish citizens in 1943 during The Holocaust. Eli, son of Holocaust survivors Morris Pinhas and Matilda Massarano from Thessaloniki, Greece, provides a narrative of how they survived this destruction, blending historical events with personal accounts of survival and concluding with how the city addresses the memory of its lost population today.
Eli Pinhas, the son of Holocaust Survivors, grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from Georgia State University in Atlanta with a bachelor’s degree in business. Shortly after founding a wholesale jewelry business in Atlanta, Eli moved to Birmingham, Alabama, and successfully operated it for 25 years. He is married with three sons and three grandchildren.
Currently, Eli prepares tax returns from his home, taught 5th grade Hebrew at Temple Emanu-El, and has chanted from the Torah on Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) for over 30 years.
He speaks for the Alabama Holocaust Education Center about his family’s experience in their hometown of Thessaloniki, Greece, when the Nazi’s took it over and transported the entire Jewish community to concentration camps and death camps.
Once home to the largest Sephardic Jewish community in the world, Thessaloniki, Greece was granted the title of ‘Mother of Israel’ for its contributions to society across many fields. In 1943, during the Holocaust, the city lost over 95% of its Jewish citizens. How did it happen? Eli speaks about the events that led up to the tragic loss, his parents’ accounts of individual survival, and the Thessaloniki of today.
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