"LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR"
Shoa's
Impact on Greek Jewry Remembered
It is with manifested emotion that I write these words of appreciation to
Greek Consul-General Aghi Balta --- the commemoration is young enough, for
I can recall the first under the Hon. Dimitri Platis, then Dr. Catherine
Bouras --- for hosting at the Consulate, 60 East 79 Street, NYC, this
evening's Remembrance Day of the Holocaust of Greek Jewry, pursuant
both of Greek parliamentary and international law. (The occasion was
postponed from its earlier schedule, for it coincided with the funeral for
the late Athens and Greece's Archbishop Christodoulos.)
The program was thoughtfully constructed, following her timely bilingual
remarks establishing its context: the extent of Greek-Jewish loss, at 87%,
the largest percentage of any European country experiencing Nazi demonic
occupation and extermination of Jewish populations!
In the midst of the Shoa, Holocaust, human kindness was not totally
eclipsed: the acts of strangers and non-Jews to hide, protect, and
otherwise risk their own lives to checkmate Nazi designs on their
compatriots is a lasting testimonial that philotimo, that Greek
decency, and courage can be found in the least unlikely places, among
seemingly un-heroic people. Yet, their individual and collective actions
(including the Stamos family who saved the young Matathias clan) truly
forged links in the chain connecting them to their illustrious pre-Common
Era ancestors. Alas, we must lament that there were not enough such
people, a mass that could have reversed the tide of genocide.
That was plainly seen in the historic documentary contrasting the Jewish
residents in two Greek Ionian islands, Kerkyra (Corfu) and Zakynthos. Both
had been settled by Jews during centuries when the isles experienced the
currents of cross-national and ideological fermentation --- nationalism,
recognition of civil and human rights. Yet, the former experienced a high
Jewish casualty rate, while the 275 Jews of Zakynthos survived intact!
In the Tony Lykouressis film, The Song of Life --- To Tragoudi
Tis Zois --- shown after the formal proceedings, the Jews of Zakynthos
were viewed as fellow Greeks, albeit different in their religious faith,
never made to feel excluded, shunned, the other. Thus, when the
German authorities demanded the inevitable list of Jews on the island both
Mayor Loukas Karrer and Archbishop Chrisostomos proceeded to submit one .
containing just their two names, challenging the Germans to begin with
them deportation and extermination!
After World War II, as many surviving Greek Jews journeyed to the new
State of Israel, the Zakynthos contingent has maintained its ties,
lovingly remembering their past years of life on the island, some making
an annual pilgrimage to reunite with their Greek Orthodox
"relations."
Both my wife, Anna, and I had misty eyes, as we were also very moved by
Rabbi Prof. Martin Cohen of Hebrew Union College, touching on the common
strands permeating Jewish and classical Greek thought, and intoning a
solemn Kaddish, the traditional prayer for the dead (though death
is never mentioned, and the glory of G-d extolled). He also introduced a
cantor-candidate, Rebecca, who rendered a haunting El Molay Rahamim.
Newly-appointed Cyprus Consul-General Andreas Panayiotou, counted as a
friend as we frequently encounter each other in community gatherings,
related the connection of his country and Israel, from pre-independence
days, when it was a British Mandate, and Cyprus was a British colony.
Illegal aliens, in modern parlance, to Palestine were detained in settings
reminiscent of the camps from which they were liberated by the Allies! The
thrilling saga of the ship Exodus, of Leon Uris writing fame, of
course depicts this episode to populate the nascent Jewish homeland with
the survivors of the Holocaust.
Finally, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, the primate of the Greek
Orthodox Church in North America, closed with remembrances of his youth
living among Jews in my Mother Nina's city of Thessaloniki; his deep
understanding of Jewish wisdom, and the necessity to teach tolerance,
understanding, and appreciation of differences.
The cocktail reception that followed, tasty and ample, was almost
anti-climactic, given the just-concluded solemn couple of hours. It was
good to exchange impressions and reminisces with the many people we knew
in the capacity crowd.
As I relive those moments
in my mind, I rush to recall this list (please help to complete it): Prof.
Dimitri Argyriades, Solomon Asser, Dr. Sevi Boutos, Prof. Steve Bowman,
mayoral hopeful John and Margo Catsimatidis, Dr. Anna Kohen-DeRow, Ilias
Hadjis, Marcia Ikonomopoulos, Koula and Sol Koffinas, Jesse Levy, Dr. Alan
Matarasso, Perry and Sam Matsas, siblings Esther and Morris with father
Steve Negrin, Morris photographer Dimitri Panagos, Dimitri and Joyce
Recanati with brother Elias, Anna Sarfatti, designer Rena Solomon, Orestes
Varvitsiotis, Joseph Varon, Consul Sophia Veve, GreekNews editor Apostolis
Zoupaniotis, and many others.
The evening can have
greater effect, were tonight's happenings to become widely circulated,
especially in quarters where the Holocaust is denied, and the continued
existence of Israel and Jews is deeply regretted. And, please, let us not
be guilty of sophistry: being rabidly anti-Israel is reflective
anti-Semitism to the core! The recent case of the notorious neo-Nazi
author Kostas Plevris, convicted in an Athens court for inciting hatred
and racial violence, illustrates the need for our permanent vigilance. Let
institutions of learning, religion, government, civil society take up the
cudgels to eradicate fear, and uplift our spirits, creatively calling
forth the better angels of our nature and souls.
Sincerely, and with
fraternal affection,
Asher
Prof. Asher J. Matathias
312 Longacre Avenue,
Woodmere, NY 11598-2530
516-374-2958
Mobile: 369-5799 AsherJmat@Aol.com
