Tribute to the memory of 53,000 Greek Jews, victims of Nazi atrocity in Auschwitz camp, Poland, the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoniduring her visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum. In the area of the martyrdom, the collective memory is kept alive, so that these atrocities will never repeat. Lina Mendoni laid a wreath on the black wall, at the point of executions, in the Auschwitz Camp, but also at the monument to the Greek Jews, in the Birkenau camp.
At the premises of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, Lina Mendoni heard the unknown historical aspects of the common “fate” of exterminating Greek Jews. The “final solution” was the almost complete extermination of the Greek Jewish community, which flourished in Greece for many generations. 55,000 Greek Jews were transferred to Auschwitz. Of these, 12,000 were considered capable of work, while the rest were murdered. Of the 13,000 children who followed their family’s fate, 136 were enrolled in the camp and held. Only five survived. The rest were murdered. In Greece, a total of 1,900 survivors returned.
Tiling her experience in the Museum’s Guest Book, Lina Mendoni said: “In this historical place of martyrdom, it is shocking to realize how knowledge, experience, expertise can lead to inhumane behaviors and criminal actions. A visit here, where the signs of death remain indelible, must be a huge lesson for all of us, so that humanity does not repeat the same tragic mistakes. In difficult times, one should not forget his faith in the values of democracy. Of real democracy. We bend our head and pay tribute to the thousands of dead who paid the violence of their fellow humans with their lives. This sacrifice should never be forgotten».
Auschwitz was the largest camp created by Nazi Germany in Poland near Krakow. It is a complex of 44 camps, including concentration barracks, extermination and forced labor. The three major camps were Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II (Birkenau) and Auschwitz III (onlyvic). More than a million three hundred thousand people died in Auschwitz. Among them, nine out of ten, were Jews. The four largest gas booths were 2,000 people each time.
Lina Mendoni was welcomed by his deputy director, Andrzej Kacorzyk, at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum. The minister was accompanied by the Greek Ambassador to Warsaw Eleni Kampa, the Director of the Jewish Museum of Greece, Zanet Battinou, the author of the book “Auschwitz -Greek -Greek – Night” George Pilihos and the officials.