The Story of Greek Jewry and The Holocaust
Dr. Andrew Lovinger
Wednesday, April 19th, 7:00 p.m.
The Greek Jewish community is the most ancient in Europe. It greatly influenced the evolution of Jewish thought and practice (including giving us words such as synagogue and afikomen and the Sabbath hymn Lekha Dodi). Following the arrival of the Sephardim in the 1490s, the port of Salonica became in the 16th -19th centuries a majority Jewish city (referred to as “Madre de Israel”), a renowned Torah learning center, and the commercial powerhouse of the Balkans. All this got destroyed in the Holocaust with the deportation and murder of 96% of Salonica Jews. Throughout Greece, 88% of its Jews perished. This presentation will describe the history of Greek Jewry, the tragic events of the Holocaust in Greece (including the role of the later UN Secretary General and Austrian President Kurt Waldheim), as well as the acts of unprecedented heroism and sacrifice by Greek individuals and organizations to rescue their fellow Jews. The talk will conclude with a brief look at current Jewish life in Greece.
Speaker Info:
Dr. Andrew Lovinger, born and raised in Greece, is a research scientist, professional engineer inducted
into the National Academy of Engineering, and amateur historian. As the son of Joseph Lovinger who
was the President of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece for 24 years up to his death in
1991, he has intimate first-hand knowledge of the history and life of Jews in Greece.
Zoom link will be sent to you after your registration.