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Showing posts from April, 2010

Greek Volunteers in the German Army, Police and SS 1943-1945

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I just borrowed the book "HERAKLES & THE SWASTIKA - Greek Volunteers in the German Army, Police & SS 1943-1945" by Antonio J. Munoz, through the Inter-library loan program.  I believe it was published in 1998 by Axis Europa Books.   It claims to be the "History of the little known Greek collaborationist forces.  The author travelled extensively gathering new data & unpublished photos."  It's actually quite short, only 68 pages, including 36 photographs and 35 detailed battle maps. It includes 23 Greek names (listed below) along with the Table of Contents.  I was disappointed in the book, it has some interesting photographs, but I hoped that it would provide more details regarding the Greek Volunteers.   Good luck with your Greek family history research. Georgia Keilman nee Stryker (Stratigakos) http://HellenicGenealogyGeek.com http://hellenicgenealogygeek.blogspot.com Join me on the Hellenic Genealogy Geek group on Facebook GREEK NAMES MENTION

Are You Related to Plato? - Genealogy News in Greece

ARE YOU RELATED TO PLATO? - Athens News article - While the family has always been at the heart of Greek society, few people actually go to the trouble of tracing their ancestors.  "My family tree website grew out of my own desire to find my roots," Greek-Canadian Eleni Panagiotarakou says "This in turn, I believe, was motivated by my longing for my maternal country and my family, something which I believe is quite common with people of the diaspora."   Panagiotarakou is one of the many thousands of Greeks who have turned to the internet to trace their roots.  While she avoids describing herself as an expert, she nevertheless has managed to build an extensive family tree, containing some 3,000 relatives.  As she explains, Panagiotarakou relied mostly on oral history - interviewing elderly relatives - for her research. Read the rest of this article in the Athens News -  http://www.athensnews.gr/articles/13385/11/04/2010/26882 At least they are writing about

Funds Sought to Continue Restoration at Ellis Island

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This is not specific to Greek Immigrants, but I thought it should be posted --- The New York Times ran an article on April 6th - " Funds Sought to Continue Restoration at Ellis Island ".    Save Ellis Island , a nonprofit charged with restoring that historic immigrant gateway to America, may not be able to save itself.   The group has run out of money. "We're not able to keep it going a whole lot longer," its president, Judith R. McAlpin, said in an interview.  She added that the group, which recently posted an "urgent appeal" for donations on its Website.   Save Ellis Island  needs to raise about $500,000 in the next few weeks if it is to survive.  If it does not, Save Ellis Island will have to return $512,000 in grants that it has already received to restore 30 buildings and repurpose them for the public benefit, Ms. McAlpin said, and work on current projects will be suspended. Read more of the article by Robin Pogrebin published in the New Yor

Thessaloniki Churches and Cemetery's

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Here are some links to Cemetery's and churches in Thessaloniki, Greece.   -------------------------------- Agia Paraskevi Cemetery  - Thessaloniki - photograph and description -------------------------------- Saint Paraskevi's Cemetery  - Lagada Street, Thessaloniki - 8 photographs of graves (from WikiMedia.org) - follow link for larger images -------------------------------- Church of Aghia Ekaterini , Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, Greece - Photograph -------------------------------- Thessaloniki Churches :  Information about the churches of Thessaloniki (includes photographs) -------------------------------- Good luck with your Greek genealogy research.

Museum for the Macedonian Struggle - Thessaloniki, Greece

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Museum for the Macedonian Struggle , Thessaloniki, Greece - GREAT online archive of 1,328 digital photographs (many of people) and postcards.   You can also take a virtual tour of the museum with details of exhibits.   "The Research Centre for Macedonian History and Documentation (KEMIT) maintains a specialised library and electronic databases, collects and processes archival material, publishes monographs and studies, organises seminars and conferences, provides information and documentation to interested parties and in general promotes the academic objectives of the Foundation through all possible means. "The fundamental priority of the Museum is to serve visitors and researchers.  The library and archives are open to the public every day, but archival research requires a permit, as does the copying of photographic or documentary material.  Archival material may also be subject to further restrictions, depending on the specific unit ." When visiting local

LIFE Magazine 1944 - Civil War Breaks Out in Greece

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LIFE Magazine - December 25, 1944 - Article titled " CIVIL WAR BREAKS OUT IN GREECE - Blood flows in ancient streets of Athens as Greek fights Greek ". "In these pictures LIFE Photographer Dimitri Kessel has recorded a story whose roots are in the basic antipathy - and the struggle for power - between European peoples who have suffered under German occupation and past leaders who can now return from exile.  In Greece this struggle flared out of hand on Dec. 3 after Greek police of the British-sponsored, pro-royalist Papandreou government fired on leftist and Communist demonstrators who were protesting an order to disarm and disband the ELAS resistance army.  Kessel, who witnessed the shooting, said police fired without provocation.  Justified or not, their action precipitated open civil war."  -   read rest of article and view photographs LIFE Magazines are on Google books. Georgia Keilman nee Stryker (Stratigakos) http://HellenicGenealogyGeek.com http

Book: Greek Community of London - 1,423 Greek Names

I found another great book - " The Greek Community of London " by Timotheos Catsiyannis, Bishop of Militoupolis, Dean of the Greek Cathedral in London - published in 1993.   He did a fabulous job, creating a very interesting and thorough book that has 783 pages and  what must be approximately 1,000 photographs and copies of documents ( I didn't do an exact count).   Bishop Catsiyannis also included f amily trees for the following families of Greek descent : Rallis Family Tree - (Stefanos Rallis (Born 1690) and Marietta Mavrocordatou) Mavrocordato Family Tree Franghiadis Family Tree Argenti Family Tree Rodocanachi Family Tree - (Merele branch) Paul Rodocanachi & Marigo A. Ralli Family Tree Rodocanachi Family Tree (begins Emmanuel Rodocanachi 1716-1790) Schilizzi Family living in England (begins Hadzi-zannis Lourentzis Schilizzi (1720-1800) & Franga Avierinou (1738-1806) Family Tree of Marica Omirou & Elias Mich. Eliadis Family Tree of Elena E.

Great-grandmother's cooking pot from Greece

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    MY TREASURE - My great-grandmother sent this cooking pot to my grandmother in the United States from Sparta, Greece around the early 1960's.  I was always told this is the actual cooking pot she used, that she would prepare her meal in the pot, take it to the bakers for cooking, then pick it up later in the day.  The pot looks like it is made of copper on the outside and some type of lead material on the inside (which is hard to believe).  She supposedly would have a local man resurface the inside of the pot when it wore down.   Both the top and bottom of the pot have a large A.I. imprinted on the front (see picture # 2).  I don't know if that is a mark for the manufacturer, or what it indicates.  Does anyone know? I was given this cooking pot by my mother many years ago and always tried to take good care of it.  Over the last year it was kept on the top shelf of a hutch, and when I took it down to clean it, I noticed marks that seem to be from moisture.  I don't un