“In March 1943, the sirens marked the beginning of one of the most efficient and cruelest waves of deportation under the Nazis.”

“Only about 2,000 Jewish residents survived the Holocaust, mostly by going into hiding.”

“Even at the beginning of the 20th century — when the total population was estimated at 120,000 to 130,000 — approximately 60,000 to 62,000 of Thessaloniki's residents were Jewish, making up roughly 50% of the population.”

“At the start of the Nazi German occupation in 1941, the Jewish community in Thessaloniki was approximately 52,000 to 56,000 people, out of a total population of about 260,000 to 300,000.”

“German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited the site of the Thessaloniki deportations in October 2024 and expressed shame over German crimes in Greece.”

“The Greek Holocaust Museum in Thessaloniki has a total budget of approximately €40 million ($46 million). Germany has contributed €10 million so far.”

“The trading and port city on the Aegean Sea was known as the 'Jerusalem of the Balkans.'”

“Greek school lessons do not dwell on the history of Jewish life in Greece, the Jewish communities and their culture, nor the Holocaust.”

“Following the events of October 7, 2023 in Israel, the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece and the Jewish Community of Athens also noted a dramatic rise in antisemitic acts, particularly online and on social media.”

“The commemoration of the deportation of the Jews from Thessaloniki remains a significant date in Greek remembrance culture.”

“Nearly 50,000 people — descendants of Sephardic Jews who had fled to the Ottoman Empire from the Spanish Inquisition since the late 15th century — were crammed into cattle trucks and deported from their Greek homeland to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where they were murdered.”

“Greece recorded nearly 60 antisemitic incidents over the past eight years, including antisemitic graffiti, damage to monuments, cemeteries and places of worship, as well as physical attacks on people.”

“Construction of the Greek Holocaust Museum in Thessaloniki began in early 2024 and is scheduled to open in 2028.”

“For centuries, Thessaloniki was a cultural melting pot. Walking through the city, you could hear a linguistic mix: Greek, Turkish, French and Ladino — a form of medieval Spanish enriched with Hebrew, Turkish and Greek words, spoken by the city's Sephardic Jews.”

“From March to August 1943, according to estimates, approximately 48,000 Jews were deported by the Nazis from Thessaloniki by train, primarily to Auschwitz.”