A CHILD'S REMEMBRANCE OF LIVING THROUGH WWII By Leonidas Petrakis published in The National Herald February 8, 2020 The National Herald has given HellenicGenealogyGeek.com permission to post articles that are of interest to our group. -------------------------------------------- It is well documented that the Nazis committed many horrific acts of violence against the civilians in occupied Greece during World War II. The ferocity and brutality of the German occupiers intensified greatly as the Resistance was strengthening in1943, and the capitulation of Italy forced them to assume sole responsibility for the Occupation. In their open warfare against the civilians they had the eager participation of Greek collaborators. Kalavryta, Kandanos, Distomo are well documented and known cases of the Nazi brutality, but the atrocity against the Spartiates in the Fall of 1943, although extensively documented is less well known.  The intent of this article is not to retell that atrocity a...

TREZOROS - The Lost Jews of Kastoria (Greece) One Story Speaks for Many (Town Life Clip) Watch by clicking on the video link above This deeply moving documentary illuminates the lives of a Sephardic community in Greece whose story speaks for all people who have been displaced and wronged by war and discrimination. The story is set in the beautiful and idyllic city of Kastoria where Jews and Christians lived in harmony for over two millennia. In October 1940 this would all change after the invasion of Greece by Axis forces. Initially occupied by Italy, the Jewish community remained safe- but after Mussolini fell from power the Nazis took control of the town, dooming the community that had existed since the times of the Roman Empire. The film uses never-before-seen archival footage, vibrantly bringing to life just one of the many Jewish communities that had existed in Greece before the end of World War II. “Trezoros” (Ladino/Judeo Spanish term of endearment meanin...