(2015)_The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship _ [το Ολοκαύτωμα των Εβραίων Ελλήνων και των Εβραίων της Θεσσαλονίκης: Ιταλική Κολοβωμένη και επιλεκτική Ανθρωπιά, Ισπανική προσαρμόσιμη Υπηκοότητα _ στα Αγγλικά]

http:/ / www.iicatene.esteri.it/ iic_ atene/ it/ Download t he Book Link Σύνδεσμος Καταφόρτωσης του Βιβλίου ht t p: / / www. iicat ene. est eri. it / iic_at ene/ resource/ doc/ 2017/ 02/ e brei_di_salonicco_bd. pdf 

The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship Paul Isaac Hagouel, Ph.D. Thessaloniki, Greece hagouel@eecs.berkeley.edu Talk and Presentation at the International Scientific Conference Diplomacy and the Deportation of Jews in 1943 The goal is to identify and investigate interstate relation that affected the deportation of Jews from the Southern Balkans and other countries Tuesday, January 27, 2015, Skopje at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Co–organizers: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Skopje Diplomatic Club – Skopje Memorial Center of the Holocaust, Skopje Institute of National History, Skopje International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Full paper with citations, to be published in the upcoming Proceedings, is attached below with link to Power Point Presentation & the plain text with no citations Link to download the Power Point Presentation: https:/ / www.dropbox.com/ s/ e60ptjelgz032jx/ Ha gouel_Jews_Spain_Italy_Skopje_20150127_fin2r es_.ppt?dl= 0 Paul Hagouel The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship 1 Paul Isaac Hagouel, Ph.D.2 Abstract The role that Italy played in the Holocaust of the Jews of Thessaloniki has not been documented. Jewish Greeks of Thessaloniki and other nearby locales did not benefit either by Italian or Spanish Diplomacy and the Diplomats. The unfortunate indirect role that Italy played in the Annihilation of Jewish Greeks will be demonstrated. The adaptability, along with the fortunes of war, and, consequently, its interpretation at will by the Spanish Administration, of the Spanish Citizenship (its rights and privileges) of Jewish Thessalonikians is also demonstrated. It is regrettable that the self–evident and obvious duty of a Country – State to protect its own citizens had to be transubstantiated into and elevated to the realm of Humanity and Saving and Rescue. In the last decade a surge in interest on Holocaust History and Studies worldwide, as well as the maturity of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance 3 and its impact on the academic, educational and museums and memorials fields, has produced a corpus of works dealing with many aspects pertinent to the Holocaust. One very noble component is the Rescue of Jews in peril of annihilation during those dark years. Diplomats of various countries played a role in the rescue, some in direct conflict and contrary to the guidelines of their superiors and, many, far exceeding their competence and mandate that entailed personal risk and danger. Events that relate to rescue actions by Spanish Diplomats in Athens and Italian ones in Thessaloniki concerning the Jews of Thessaloniki have been documented albeit lacking in detail, especially for Italy. Italy was an aggressor and perpetrator of crimes, so how can one talk, at the same instance, about Italian humanity? And what sort of 1 Paper presented at the International Conference organized by the Diplomatic Club, Skopje and titled Diplomacy and the deportation of Jews in 1943 Note: There is an accompanying power point presentation. The URL link is: https:/ / www.dropbox.com/s/ e60ptjelgz032jx/ Hagouel_Jews_Spain_Italy_Skopje_201501 27_fin2res_.ppt?dl= 0 The presentation elaborates on the paper. 2 3 Paul Isaac Hagouel, 11 Chrysostomou Smyrnis Street, GR–54622, Thessaloniki, Greece, E–mail: hagouel@eecs.berkeley.edu, URL: independent.academia.edu/PaulIsaacHagouel +30 23102070886, mobile +30 6974389086 www.holocaustremembrance.com (20150125) The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 1 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel citizenship was the Spanish one held by a number of Jews, permanent residents of Thessaloniki, that forbade its holder to enter and take up residence in that same State? In a previous work of mine 4 I gave the definition of Holocaust where I noted, in particular, that the term Holocaust incorporates all the primal causes, causae causans, irrespective of how far back we have to look and trace the past. Any actions or failures to react of any individual, group, society and/or states which tolerate or, worse, kindle activities that may lead to other Holocausts, not necessarily of Jews, are also included in the definition. Consequently we have to trace how Greece found itself occupied by the Deutsches [German] Reich, the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Bulgaria in the first place and, thus, the Jews found themselves in this dire predicament with the horrendous outcome and end. Greece had declared its neutrality early on when the clouds of the impending war were gathering all over Europe. Unfortunately the Head of the Government of the Kingdom of Italy Benito Mussolini 5 had grandiose ambitions about a new Italian Empire in the Mediterranean. Italy tried to provoke Greece with the torpedoing of the cruiser Elli on August 15, 1940 6 . Even though the identity of the perpetrator was correctly presumed (markings on a stray torpedo that hit the breakwater jetty), the Greek Government restrained itself. But, then, Mussolini started getting very restive since he yearned desperately to “match” the war campaign successes and conquests of his ally Hitler. Documents 7 prove that, even if he was not preparing for a campaign 4 5 6 7 Paul Isaac Hagouel, Balkan Jews in the 21st Century, Bridge to Friendship and Understanding (The Holocaust in the Southern Balkans), Full paper to be published at the Conference Proceedings of the Scientific Forum 70 years from the deportation of Jews from Skopje, Bitola & Štip, March 12, 2013, at the Academy of Sciences and Arts, Skopje, Co–organizers: Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute of National History, Holocaust Fund https://www.dropbox.com/s/l4ofsk511nt3t82/Hagouel_Holocaust_in_the_Balkans_Skopj e_March_12_2013_f-libre__.pdf?dl=0 (20150125) https://www.academia.edu/3683003/The_Holocaust_in_the_Southern_Balkans_Balkan_J ews_in_the_21st_Century_Bridge_to_Friendship_and_Understanding (20150125) David I. Kertzer, The Pope and Mussolini : The secret history of Pius XI and the rise of Fascism in Europe, Random House, 2014, New York http://www.logiastarata.gr/2014/08/15-1940.html (20150125) L’ Agression de l’Italie contre La Grèce, Documents Diplomatiques, Ministère Royal des Affaires Étrangeres, 144 pages, 1940, Athènes, ioannismetaxas.gr/AgressionItalienneIndex.pdf (20150125) The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 2 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel against Greece many months in advance, he was considering and planning for it a long time ago. The Reich not only knew about this but was also proactively “advising” and recommending to the Greek Government to come to an agreement with and cede to any eventual demands by their ally Italy who considered the Mediterranean as its sphere of interest and thus [the Reich] was not interested! 8 With the benefit of hindsight and interpretative synthesis of the facts [correlation of data] I deduce that if Italy hadn’t attacked Greece (and without any provocation!) and Greece wouldn’t have beaten her back, then Hitler would not have been compelled to come to her rescue and would not have invaded and occupied Greece. At 3:00 AM in the morning of October 28, 1940, the Italian Minister to Greece, Emanuele Grazzi, handed an ultimatum to Prime Minister Metaxas demanding free passage of Italian Troops 9 . Metaxas replied with a No and war was de facto declared and hostilities started at the Albanian – Greek frontier. More than 11000 Jewish Greek soldiers were amongst the Greek troops that took part in the campaign, including my father Leon, a Lance Corporal. Greeks dealt the first defeat to an Axis power. Mussolini was humiliated. 10 11 Understandably Greece invited Britain to assist and British troops landed in Greece. 12 Hitler used this as an additional pretext and on April 6th, 1941 8 9 10 11 12 Auswärtiges Amt, 1939/41 Nr.7, Dokumente zum Konflikt mit Jugoslawien und Griechenland, Siebtes Weißbuch der Deutschen Regierung, Archiv Edition. Das Buch dient dokumentarischen und wissenschaftlichen Zwecken, die Auswahl der Dokumente findet nicht die ungeteilte Zustimmung des Verlags. Reihe Kriegsursachenforschung, Band 8, Faksimile der vom Auswärtigen Amt der Deutschen Regierung herausgegebenen Originalausgabe, wie sie 1941 in Berlin gedruckt wurde. 200 pages Page 193, Nr. 137, Sonnleiter, Fuschl, den 27. August 1940, Aufzeichnung über den Empfang Griechischen Gesandten in Berlin durch den des Reichsminister des Auswärtigen von Ribbentrop am 26. August 1940 In Fuschl Also in Greek: Auswärtiges Amt, 1939/41 Nr.7, πί βηα Έΰΰλαφα επί βμ λάιεωμ ηε βθ Γδκυΰεκ ζαυ αθ εαδ βθ ζζΪ α, 223 pages, 1941, Βε ο ο , Berlin Ibid. 7, pages 134 & 134 MACGREGOR KNOX, MUSSOLINI UNLEASHED, 1939-1941: Politics and Strategy in Fascist Italy's Last War, Cambridge University Press, 2004, London [Chapter 5, The Attack on Greece, pages 189-230] Edwin Packer, Italian Fiasco, the Attack on Greece, pages 256-272 Olivia Manning, The Greeks at War, Greece, October/December 1940, pages 273-275 History of the Second World War-Part10, Editors Sir Basil Liddell Hart & Barrie Pitt, Marshall Cavendish USA Ltd., 1973 Sheila Lawlor, Churchill and the politics of War, 1940-1941, Cambridge University Press, 2006, New York [Part 3, The Greek Decision (January to March 1941), pages 165-259] The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 3 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel invaded Greece from Bulgaria, an Axis ally. Thessaloniki was occupied on April 9th, 1941. The conqueror divided Greece into three occupation zones: The Italian one comprising most of continental Greece and many islands, the Bulgarian one comprising Eastern Macedonia and Thrace except the border zone with Turkey, and the German one with the rest of the territory which included also Thessaloniki and its vicinity. Before we proceed, the term Jew in Greece should be clarified 13 . From the first ever temporary Constitution of Epidavros in 1822 14 , the 3d Protocol of the Treaties of London in 1830 15 , and with all successive Constitutions to this day, Greece was 13 14 15 Paul Isaac Hagouel, The Jews of Thessaloniki: Legacies of the Past, Shaping of Traditions, Challenges for the Future, Invited Talk and Presentation at Fakirleri Koruma Derneği, November 9, 2014, İstanbul https://www.dropbox.com/s/mus2eg5zrhz02i4/Hagouel_Istanbul_The_Jews_of_Th essaloniki_20141109_full_pages-libre.pdf?dl=0 Paul Isaac Hagouel, History of the Jews of Thessaloniki: from Jews to Hellenes, from Antiquity to Modern Times, Proceedings (to be published) of the International Conference Jews History, Tradition, Culture, Language & Religion. CELEBRATING 70 YEARS SINCE THE RENEWAL OF THE WORK OF THE JEWSIH COMMUNITY, SKOPJE, AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR (1944-2014), Thursday, December 18, 2014, Academy of Sciences and Arts, Skopje, Co–organizers: Jewish Community, Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute of National History, Skopje https://www.dropbox.com/s/72gonlyhrn04i8h/Hagouel_Skopje_The_Jews_of_Thes saloniki_20141218_ff2-libre.pdf?dl=0 http://norfid.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/nomos-epidaurou-proswrinon-politeumaths-ellados-b-e8nikh-suneleusis-astros-1823.pdf (20150125) A _ Papers relative to the Affairs of Greece, Protocols of Conferences Held in London, House of Commons, 1830, 340 pages, London page 316 The London Conferences 1830 No. 25. PROTOCOL, No. 3, of the Conference held at the Foreign Office on the 3rd of February, 1830. Present: The Plenipotentiaries of Great Britain; France; and Russia. ... The Plenipotentiaries of Great Britain and Russia appreciated the justice of this demand; and it was decided that the Catholic religion should enjoy in the new State the free and public exercise of its worship, that its property should be guaranteed to it, that its bishops should be maintained in the integrity of the functions, rights, and privileges, which they have enjoyed under the protection of the Kings of France, and that, lastly, agreeably to the same principle, the properties belonging to the ancient French Missions, or French Establishments, shall be recognized and respected. The Plenipotentiaries of the three Allied Courts being desirous moreover of giving The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 4 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel founded as a State recognizing only Hellenes and no minorities. All religions were/are tolerated and all were/are fully emancipated. All Hellenes have Civil Rights, there exist no Group Rights. After the conclusion of the Balkan Wars16 17 , 18 Thessaloniki became officially Greek with the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest . All its inhabitants, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Armenians etc became Greek – Hellenes with the 1913 Treaty of Athens. 19 Hence, on April 9th, 1941, the Jewish population of Thessaloniki is comprised, overwhelmingly, by Jewish Greeks. There exist around five hundred Jewish Spaniards, permanent residents of Thessaloniki and a lesser number of Jewish Italians [note that in the Italian Diplomatic Correspondence they are referred as Israeliti Italiani i.e. Italian Jews], also permanent residents of Thessaloniki, and a minute number of Jews of various other nationalities. It is more than safe to claim that the totality were of Sephardic origin and spoke Ladino [Judeo Espagnol]. to Greece a new proof of the benevolent anxiety of their Sovereigns respecting it, and of preserving that country from the calamities which the rivalry of the religions therein professed might excite, agreed that all the subjects of the new State, whatever may be their religion, shall be admissible to all public employments, functions, and honours, and be treated on the footing of a perfect equality, without regard to difference of creed, in all their relations, religious, civil, or political. 16 17 ... JACOB GOULD SCHURMAN, The Balkan Wars 1912-1923, 3ed, The Floating Press, 2008, Auckland, New Zealand Richard C. Hall, The Balkan Wars 1912-1923 Prelude to the First World War, Routledge Taylor & Francis, 2000, New York Note: With the end of the Balkan wars in 1913, 4 interrelated Peace Treaties were signed. These were the Treaty of London, the Treaty of Bucharest, the Treaty of Athens and the Treaty of Constantinople. The following URL link gives the full text of all Treaties: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2yk8dkz91lnfpsp/Various%20Treaties_%282013%29_distr_p.pdf 18 Treaty of Bucharest: https://www.dropbox.com/s/j7uzxyrre3ychcc/1913-08-10-TraitedeBucarest.pdf?dl=0 Ratification of Bucharest Treaty of 28Jul-10August 1913, Government Gazette of the Kingdom of Greece, Fascicle A, Nr. 217, 28 October 1913, Athens, www.et.gr (20150125) Note: All Laws, Directives, Presidential decrees etc are freely accessible (Artilce 7, Law 3861/ 2010 for Transparency in Public Administration) at the Website of the Hellenic Government Gazette: www.et.gr. 19 Ratification of the Peace Treaty (in Greek & French), Government Gazette of the Kingdom of Greece, Issue A, Number. 229, 14 November 1913, Athens, www.et.gr [Note: It is the 1913 Treaty of Athens] The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 5 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel The fate of the Jewish Greeks of Thessaloniki as well as of the Bulgarian occupied territories and of the former Italian occupied ones after Italy capitulated on September 8, 1943 20 was total annihilation in the Death Camps in Poland. A few thousand, who fled and hid or were rescued, survived. Of the 48000 something deported – shipped to Auschwitz – Birkenau from Thessaloniki and surroundings, in the spring on 1943, only 2000 survived the ordeal 21 . The Sephardic Jewish Greeks from Eastern Macedonia and Thrace were also deported and all were annihilated at Treblinka 22 . 20 Note: After Italy capitulated, all Jewish Italians that were still in Greece (mainly Athens) were, automatically, considered just plain Jews for the German Occupation Authorities and the destiny reserved for them was, if caught, deportation and annihilation at Auschwitz–Birkenau Danny Bennahmias, private communication & conversation, 1974, Oakland, California Rebecca Camhi Fromer, The Holocaust Odyssey of DANIEL BENNAHMIAS, Sonderkommando, The University of Alabama Press, 1993, Tuscaloosa & London 21 Paul Isaac Hagouel, The History of the Jews of Thessaloniki & the Holocaust, 2006, West Chester, Pennsylvania & Thessaloniki (2008) https://www.dropbox.com/s/ozmj8h58j8v8io5/Hagouel_Thessaloniki_Holocaust_n _n-picture.pdf (in English) https://www.dropbox.com/s/yttkjrxyq642k9f/Hagouel_Holocaust_WCUPA_2006_ show.pps?m (in English) https://www.dropbox.com/s/i58leisp25s0ras/HagouelHol_USConsulate_2008_color_show.pps?m (in Greek) Paul Isaac Hagouel, The History of the Jews of Salonika & the Holocaust – an Exposé, Sephardic Horizons (Editor: Judith Roumani) Volume 3, Issue 3, Fall 2013 http://www.sephardichorizons.org/Volume3/Issue3/hagouel.html https://www.dropbox.com/s/474zcjhv6z9gzqg/%282013%29_in_Sephardic_Horizons__TheHistory-of-the-Jews-of-Salonika-and-the-Holocaust-An-Expos%C3%A9_f.pdf 22 Ibid. 4 Paul Isaac Hagouel, Οζκεατ ωηα, ισθ ω β, Μθάηβ ωθ ίλαίωθ ζζάθωθ βμ Θε αζκθίεβμ, θα κζδεάμ Μαεε κθίαμ εαδ ΘλΪεβμ [Holocaust, Annihilation, Memory (Remembrance) of the Jewish Greeks of Thessaloniki, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace] (full paper in Greek follows the summary in English), to be published in the Proceedings of the Two-Day Conference 70 Years since the Holocaust., Department of Political Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Saturday, April 6, 2013 https://www.dropbox.com/s/3coi2t702manfnt/__Hagouel_Holocaust_EMacedonia___Thr ace_and_Thessaloniki_2013_AUTH_full_post__.pdf?dl=0 Paul Isaac Hagouel, The Annihilation of Jewish Greeks in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace during WWII: Balkan Particularities, Facts, Memory, to be published at the Proceedings of the International Conference, Jews across the Balkans – History, Society and Culture Marking 70 years since the destruction of the Jews of the Balkans (1943-2013), October 1, 2013, Skopje at the Academy of Sciences and Arts, Co–organizers: Bar-Ilan University, The Aharon and Rachel Dahan Center for Culture, Society and Education in the Sephardic Heritage, Salti Center for Ladino Studies https://www.dropbox.com/s/acakpn44x9i98xh/Hagouel_Holocaust_Balkan_Particularitie s_Skopje_Oct1_2013_f__post_.pdf?dl=0 The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 6 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel In 2007, the Italian Embassy in Athens published a volume titled Ebrei di Salonicco – 1943, I documenti dell’umanità italiana [Hebrews – Jews of Thessaloniki – 1943, the documents of Italian humanity]. 23 It is regrettable that Ambassador Gianpaolo Scarante, in his salutation of the edition, only mentions the persecution of the Jews during the Nazi (note: neither German nor Italian) occupation and exalts the courageous humanity demonstrated by many Italians in Greece without further elaboration. Bear in mind that during the same chronological period atrocities were committed by the Royal Italian Army against civilians 24 25 26 and Greeks were literally dying of hunger due to the occupation policies of the Axis allies and of the onerous financial burden of compulsory occupation costs decided and signed by the Reich and the Italian Kingdom in Rome 27 . It is of interest to put the historic record, regarding Italy and the Jews of Thessaloniki during World War II, in its true context and frame. Ebrei di Salonicco, 1943 : I Documenti dell'Umanità Italiana / a cura di (επ ε α) Jannis Chrisafis, Alessandra Coppola, Antontio Ferrari ; traduzioni di ( ε φ α ) Flora Molcho = ίλαίκδ βμ Θε αζκθίεβμ : α θ κεκυηΫθ α βμ δ αζδεάμ αθγλωπδΪμ. Ambasciata d'Italia in Atene, 2007, Athens 24 Grecia 1943: quei fascisti stile SS. Domenikon come Marzabotto. Oltre 150 uomini fucilati per rappresaglia. Ora un documentario alza il velo sulle stragi del nostro esercito. Occultate, di Enrico Arosio, L'Espresso, 28 febbraio 2008 http://espresso.repubblica.it/visioni/cultura/2008/02/28/news/grecia-1943-quei-fascististile-ss-1.7472 (20150125) 25 Μ ΤΡΗ Ι ΛΟ΢ ΣΗ΢ Κ ΣΟΧΗ΢, SCHWARZBUCHES DER BESATZUNG, Zweite ergänzte und korrigierte Ausgabe, Ausschuss der Ausgabe † Petros Antaios, Panagiotis Aronis, Manolis Glesos, Athina Kakolyri, Petros Kouloufakos, Jannis Kyriakakos, Frangiskos Konstantarakis, G.A. Mangakis, Kostas Papajannakis, Haralambos Roupas, Copyright © Athen 2006, Nationalrat für die Entschädigungsforderungen Griechenlands an Deutschland, 128 pages 23 Lidia Santarelli, Muted violence: Italian war crimes in occupied Greece, Journal of Modern Italian Studies 9(3) 2004, Routledge _ Taylor & Francis, pages 280–299 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KzwYDtnF2s Criminali di guerra italiani (20150125) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxIDllFB08w Crimini di guerra italiani in Grecia, 1943 (20150125) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQimOSqRuuk La guerra sporca di Mussolini 4/6 (20150125) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWMiTFi6sJA Mussolini's dirty war (2012 upload) (20150125) 26 M. Cherif Bassiouni, Crimes Against Humanity, Historical Evolution and Contemporary Application, Cambridge University Press, 2011, New York [page 715] ο Γ ο α , Κα κχδεσθ Ϊθεδκθ εαδ απΪθαδ Κα κχάμ, 1954, Θε α ο , pp. 23, 24 Sotirios Gotzamanis, Occupation Loan and Occupation Expenses, 1954, Thessaloniki (in Greek) 27 Σω The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 7 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel Even though Italy was an aggressor and occupier of Greece, she was never prosecuted nor indicted in the Nuremberg trial 28 . But Italy was also a perpetrator of crimes of war and crimes against humanity 29 . Italy was a de facto dictatorship tolerated by the King and there existed a benign relationship between the Italian State and the Vatican. Italy had already committed crimes in Ethiopia and, concerning Jews, passed Anti– Judaic Laws starting in 1938 30 , which were not even rescinded during the brief period of the Badoglio Administration till the capitulation. 31 Furthermore, all the Italian Diplomats in Greece have not been on record as opposing the regime and what it represented. Continuing to serve can only be construed as tacit approval of the policies of their government 32 . Actually, surmising from Italian Diplomatic Documents as presented in both the publication of the Italian Embassy and Daniel Carpi’s work titled Italian Diplomatic Documents of the History of the Holocaust in Greece (1941–1943) 33 (which, in itself, is another misleading title with respect to its contents), Consuls Guelfo Zamboni and his successor, after June 18, 1943, Giuseppe Michele Mario Castruccio along with Captain Lucillo Merci managed to protect around 350 Jews of Thessaloniki who were either Italians of had a connection with Italy and so they could provide them with temporary Italian citizenship documents. (These events were taking place, during the 28 Judgment of the international military tribunal for the trial of German major war criminals (with the dissenting opinion of the Soviet member), Presented by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to Parliament by Command of his Majesty, House of Commons, [Cmd. 6964] Miscellaneous No. 12 (1946), 30th September 1st October, 1946, Nuremberg, 156 pages, London Michele Battini, Sins of Memory: Reflections on the lack of an Italian Nuremberg and the administration of international justice after 1945, Journal of Modern Italian Studies 9(3), pages 349–362, Routledge, Taylor & Francis, 2004, UK 29 Ibid. 24, 25 30 Le leggi antiebraiche in Italia 1938-1945, Materiali della Giornata di studio-formazione in occasione del 70° anniversario (Bologna, 6 novembre 2008) a cura di Maria Laura Marescalchi http://www.italia-liberazione.it/ita/doc/leggirazziali_70esimo.pdf (20150125) 31 Iael Nidam-Orvieto, Fascist Italy and the Jews: Myth versus Reality (20150125) http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/holocaust/insights/video/fascist_italy1.asp http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/holocaust/insights/video/fascist_italy2.asp 32 Davide Rodogno, Italiani brava gente? Fascist Italy’s Policy Toward the Jews in the Balkans, April 1941–July 1943, European History Quarterly, SAGE Publications, London, Thousand Oaks, ca, and New Delhi, Vol 35(2), 213–240 33 Daniel Carpi, Italian Diplomatic Documents of the History of the Holocaust in Greece (1941–1943), Tel Aviv University, 1999, Tel Aviv The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 8 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel first half of 1943, when Adolf Eichmann’s emissaries were busy deporting all the Jewish Greeks to Auschwitz – Birkenau). As I noted above, those were considered first Jews and then Italians, thus being lesser Italians than the non–Jews. Still, the documents and the numbers reveal, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the Diplomats and the Captain protected, shielded and saved citizens of their Country as was their duty, albeit of Jewish religious descent, and not just any Jew. Granted, they showed zeal in this endeavor; however, they never veered out of their diplomatic competence. They never reached out to Jewish Hellenes to distribute something close to Schutz– Pässe as Swede Raoul Wallenberg and Swiss Carl Lutz 34 handed out in the thousands in Budapest to Jewish Hungarians facing imminent fatal danger, a year later, in 1944. And, furthermore, displaying [personal] courage means that we face danger. I do not see or discern that the aforementioned [Italian] diplomats were facing any real danger to their safety with their actions which were completely within their bounds. Still it was an attainment of humanitarian deed even if it was limited in its scope. In my humble opinion and, in the name of the truth, the title should not be Hebrews of Thessaloniki. The correct, and precise one, has to be Jewish Italians of Thessaloniki. 35 Furthermore, we read in the Italian Press that Zamboni is portrayed both as the Italian Schindler 36 and/or the (Giorgio) Perlasca of Thessaloniki [il Perlasca di Salonicco]. 37 How I long-wish that this was really true! 34 Carl Lutz, the Forgotten Hero (2013) http://www.urania-nf.hu/docs/sajto/Mediendossier_ENG_MR_140619_HU_DEF.pdf (20150125) 35 Pier Cesare Ioly Zorattini, Michele Luzzati, Michele Sarfatti (a cura di), Studi sul mondo sefardita in memoria di Aron Leoni, Olschki, L’evacuazione nel 1943 da Salonicco degli ultimi ebrei italiani e degli ebrei italiani ‘provvisori’: contesto, questioni e numeri, Firenze 2012, pp. 251-276 http://www.michelesarfatti.it/testi-online/12-levacuazione-nel-1943-da-salonicco-degli-ultimiebrei-italiani-e-degli-ebrei-italiani-provvisori:-contesto,-questioni-e-numeri/ (20150125) 36 37 Guelfo Zamboni, lo schindler di salonicco, La Repubblica, 25 Settembre 2008, http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2008/09/25/lo-schindler-disalonicco.html (20150125) LA BUROCRAZIA AL SERVIZIO DEL BENE, Zamboni, il Perlasca di Salonicco, Dalla Grecia una onorificenza ai rappresentanti d'Italia per l'impegno contro le deportazioni degli ebrei, Corriere Della Sera, 4 February, 2008 http://www.corriere.it/spettacoli/08_febbraio_04/ebrei_salonicco_zamboni_dc07bdb0d2f2-11dc-8916-0003ba99c667.shtml (20150125) The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 9 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel And it did not – does not do justice to Democratic Post War Italy that the Italian Ministry of Defense conferred, in 1948, the Bronze Medal for valor (sic) to the Flag of the Corps of Engineers (of the Italian Army) respecting the whole “Italian – Greek campaign” at Fronte Albano – Greco, 28 Ottobre 1940 ! 38 And, even more damaging, in the year 2012, Ercole Viri, Mayor of Affile, defended a decision by the City Council to use 130000 € of public funds in order to honour convicted war criminal Field Marshal Rodolfo Graziani with a mausoleum and memorial park! 39 I yearn to feel confident that the Ancient Greek adage of Demosthenes πλκμ ΰαλ κ εζευ αίκθ εείΪθ Ϋεα κθ ωθ πλδθ υπαλιΪθ ωθ ελίθε αδ (all previous events are judged according to the last one) does not hold true in this case. Italy has to come to terms with some of her rather shameful and ignoble deeds of her past that shade her otherwise postwar stellar record. The cultivation of the notion of the “good” Italian versus the “bad” German and of their depiction as saviors of Jews in general, is being questioned, albeit belatedly and slowly. Historiography always has the last word. Another special group of non–Greek nationals Jewish inhabitants of Thessaloniki was that of the Spanish nationals, around 500 strong. These were Spanish citizens but they were not allowed to enter Spain automatically. They had to renew their Certificate of Nationality each year (see Figures 1 & 2). The Certificate was issued by the Spanish Consulate of Thessaloniki. As a group they were exempt from the racial laws that were applied to their Jewish Greek coreligionists and fellow Sephardim, i.e. they did not have to wear the Yellow Star or live in the Ghetto 40 . Spain was a neutral country albeit favorably predisposed towards the German Reich 38 LA BANDIERA DELL'ARMA DEL GENIO http://www.iscag.it/FOTO/Foto%20Pres%20Generali/Foto%20Bandiera%20Genio/Band _034.jpg (20150125) 39 Mayor defends monument to fascist leader convicted of war crimes. An Italian Fascist leader convicted of using poisonous gas against enemy soldiers in Africa was "not a war criminal", said the mayor of the town which has erected a monument in his honour, The Telegraph, Josephine McKenna, 2 September 2012, Rome http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9515780/Mayor-defendsmonument-to-fascist-leader-convicted-of-war-crimes.html (20150125) 40 Ibid. 21 The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 10 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel and the Axis Powers. General Franco was the Leader of the State and the Monarchy had been abolished 41 . As long as Spain was both neutral and friendly towards Germany, Jewish Spaniards were relatively safe. However, with the tempo of the sequence persecutions – deportations accelerating in 1943, the German appetite for more Jews to destine for “Special Treatment [Sonderbehandlung]” increased. Spain’s reluctance to accept large numbers of its undesirable non–resident citizens risked to be construed by the Germans as a «carte blanche» to do as they please with the Jewish Spanish nationals in its fold. Nevertheless, after much bureaucratic deliberation among the pertinent German and Spanish Authorities, the Germans finally deported the Spanish nationals to Bergen–Belsen [August 2, 1943] and housed them in separate barracks. After further deliberations among the Spanish Government and the Germans they were finally freed and allowed to travel to and enter Spain via France (all 367 of them). Their sojourn in Spain was brief, just a few months in Barcelona, and then they were shipped to Casablanca on June 14, 1944 42 . With the assistance of UNRRA they were sent to Palestine. They were finally able to return to Greece after August 9, 1945 43 44 . All these events are documented via the Certificates of Nationality and the Family (couple) Spanish Passport of David Jacob Gattegno and Rachel Gattegno in my possession. (See the Addendum in the end of the paper) What makes this topic more pressing today is the need to set the record straight as was/is the case of wartime Italy. Starting with year 2008, the first edition of the book by Matilde Morcillo Rosillo and titled Sebastián de Romero Radigales y los Sefardíes de Grecia (1943 – 1946) [S. R Radigales and the Sephardic (Jews) of Greece (1943 – 41 Stanley G. Payne and Jesús Palacios, Franco: A Personal and Political Biography, The University of Wisconsin Press, 2014, Madison 42 Michael Molho, In Memoriam Hommage Aux Victimes Juives des Nazis en Grèce, Communauté Israelite de Thessalonique, Seconde édition revue et augmentée par Joseph Nehama, [printed] 1988, Thessalonique, pp. 111–114 43 Haim Avni, Spanish Nationals in Greece and their fate during the Holocaust, Yad Vashem Studies on the European Jewish Catastrophe and Resistance, VIII, Livia Rothkirchen, Editor, Yad Vashem, 1970, Jerusalem 44 Bernd Rother, Spanish Attempts to Rescue Jews from the Holocaust: Lost Opportunities, Mediterranean Historical Review, Vol. 17, Issue 2, pp. 47–68, Frank Cass, December 2002, London The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 11 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel 1946)] is published 45 . The editor is Casa Sefarad Israel, Madrid. The cover shows people wearing the Yellow Star of David and all pages of the book carry this Holocaust ubiquitous symbol. Yet, Jewish Spaniards were exempt in being marked. In the Preface, the then Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Ángel Moratinos repeats the title and compliments the work of Rosillo for her “documented exposition of the saga of those Spaniards”. However, in the Greek translation, the title is translated as Spain and the Jews of Thessaloniki 1943 – 1950 (!?) (I am curious; did the Ministry check the translation?). Thus Sephardi is equated to Jew and vice versa. Guessing from the title one might infer that Radigales was somehow involved with ALL the Sephardi Jews of Greece – I wish he was! Then, in the third page, a more extended title is given that puts the matter in a correct perspective: Sebastián de Romero Radigales y Los Sefardíes Españoles de Grecia Durante El Holocausto a Través de La Correspondencia Diplomática [Radigales and the Spanish Sephardim of Greece during the Holocaust through Diplomatic Correspondence] 46 . This secondary title reveals that Radigales was either interested or, most probably, could shield and protect only Sephardic Jews holding the Spanish citizenship and not the rest of the Sephardim (By the way, Greece was also home to non – Sephardic communities such as the oldest Romaniote community, numbering almost 2000 souls, at Ioannina (Janina) – of the 1960 deported to Auschwitz in March, 25, 1944, 1850 would never return 47 ). The case of the Jewish Spaniards in Thessaloniki is more peculiar than the one of the Jewish Italians. 48 49 Spain was neutral; no Anti–Judaic Laws were passed even 45 Matilde Morcillo Rosillo, Sebastián de Romero Radigales y los sefardíes de Grecia (1943-1946), Casa Sefarad Israel, © Metáfora Ediciones, 2008, Madrid 46 Note that, like Italian, in this case the descriptive adjective is the citizenship – nationality (e.g. Italian, Spanish) and the noun is the Jew (or Sephardi), where, according to constitutional mandates, both should have been talking about Italians or Spaniards (albeit of Jewish descent) and not about Jews. 47 Rachel Dalven, The Holocaust in Janina, Journal of Modern Greek Studies, Volume 2, Number 1, May 1984, pp. 87-103 (Article), Johns Hopkins Univ Press, Baltimore Alejandro Baer, Zur Judenrettung Spanischer Diplomaten: Mythen, Fakten und Erinnerungspolitik, Proceedings of 3. Internationale Konferenz zur Holocaustforschung Helfer, Retter und Netzwerker des Widerstands, 2011, Berlin Bernd Rother, Franco und die Deutsche Judenferfolgung, © Oldenbourg 1998, ©Vierteljahrshefte fur ZeitgeschichteJahrgang 46 (1998), Heft 2, Inhaltsverzeichnis: 48 49 The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 12 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel though Anti–Semitism was existent even among some of Franco’s closest advisors and/or associates and collaborators 50 . Hence one would expect that the self evident duty of the Spanish Legations, present in countries occupied by the Reich, would be to do their outmost to protect and shield their citizens from any perceived dangers. And, yet, this obvious obligation was not transubstantiated into proactivity and action. However, if we take into consideration that Franco remained, for his own reasons, both a believer of and a fancier for Hitler to deliver an Axis victory instead of him (Franco) being a reasoner, and that he did not break off diplomatic relations with the Großdeutsches Reich until May 8th, 1945, VE Day, 51 52 53 then we should not be surprised about the vacillations of Spanish Diplomacy vis à vis its own citizens, albeit of Jewish descent, as well as the peculiar adaptability of the rights and/or privileges of that citizenship to the whims of who knows which advisor or confidant of Franco, in 1943 and 1944. Again, I emphasize that Radigales, who arrived in Athens on April 1943, like Zamboni, acted within his competence, albeit pressuring his government to take action in repatriating its citizens of Jewish religious descent 54 . He is supposed to have 50 51 52 53 54 http://www.ifz-muenchen.de/heftarchiv.html , URL: http://www.ifzmuenchen.de/heftarchiv/1998_2.pdf , VfZ-Recherche: http://vfz.ifz-muenchen.de , 1998, München (20150125) Wayne H. Bowen, Spaniards and Nazi Germany, COLLABORATION IN THE NEW ORDER, University of Missouri Press, 2000, Columbia and London David Wingeate Pike, Franco and the Axis Stigma, PALGRAVE MACMILLAN, 2008, Hampshire UK Christian Leitz, Sympathy for the Devil: Neutral Europe and Nazi Germany in World War II, NYU Press, 1st Edition, [Chapter 5, Spain: The Axis Neutral, page 157], 240 pages, 2001, New York Julius Ruiz, Fighting the International Conspiracy: The Francoist Persecution of Freemasonry, 1936–1945, Politics, Religion & Ideology, Rootledge, 12:2, 2011, 179-196 ¿Documentos robados? Franco y el Holocausto ¿Fue Francisco Franco un defensor de los Judios? A través de historiadores y archivos y testimonios de judíos, indagamos sobre lo que hubo de cierto en esta historia. Al finalizar la II Guerra Mundial, la primera ministra de Israel, Golda Meir, y el presidente del Congreso Mundial Judío, Israel Singer, agradecieron a Franco la ayuda prestada durante el Holocausto. Elie Wiezel, Premio Nobel de la Paz, declaró que "España fue, probablemente, el único país de Europa que no devolvió a los judíos". ¿Contribuyó Franco a la salvación de entre 40.000 y 60.000 judíos perseguidos por los nazis, como señalan algunos autores? ¿O fue un mito que se creó ante el aislamiento al que sometió la ONU a España tras la guerra? Uno de los libros que han servido de base para este documental es Franco y el Holocausto, de Bernd Rother. Otros textos al respecto son Las montañas de la libertad The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 13 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel stated that, if the Spanish government did nothing to protect its citizens, Spain would incur the wrath of the Allies and not only. If nothing else, he was speaking in logic and realism that also sprang by the obvious change of the fortunes of war against the Axis powers ever since the surrender of Field Marshal Paulus’ 6th Army in Stalingrad on February 1st, 1943 55 . Final defeat of the Reich loomed unmistakable. 56 It seems that the evident imminent collapse of the German Reich a year later (1944) might have made a noticeable difference in compelling, driving and/or nudging governments and/or their envoys to take action. This was most apparent in Budapest. It is there that the daring Italian Giorgio Perlasca 57 , in conjunction with the activities of Diplomat Ángel Sanz-Briz 58 , Head of the Spanish Legation, acted against (Josep Calvet), Retorno a Sefarad (José Antonio Lisbona) y En un tiempo sin libertad. Semblanza de una Sefarad inhóspita (Jacobo Israel). Dirección y guion: Yolanda Villaluenga. Histórico de emisiones: 23/03/2014 http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/archivos-tema/archivos-tema-documentos-robadosfranco-holocausto/1686535/ (20150125) 55 A CUARTA PÁGINA España, el Holocausto y la memoria perdida La propaganda de Franco hizo creer, con cierto éxito, que su régimen contribuyó a la salvación de miles de judíos. En realidad fichó a 6.000 sefardíes por iniciativa falangista El País, Félix Santos, 17 NOV 2012 http://elpais.com/elpais/2012/09/12/opinion/1347442531_615522.html (20150125) 56 Emilio Sáenz-Francés San Baldomero, “Not to be shown to researchers”: Spanish Foreign Policy towards the Deportation of the Spanish Sephardic Community of Salonica in 1943, European migrants, diasporas and indigenous ethnic minorities / edited by Matjaz Klemencic, Mary N. Harris, (Europe and the wider world_4), © 2009 by CLIOHRES.net, Published by Edizioni Plus-Pisa University Press, 2009, Pisa 57 Enrico Deaglio, La Banalità del Bene: Storia di Giorgio Perlasca, feltrinellieditore Universale Economica Feltrinelli, 1991 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBYf-unALOw (20150125) Giorgio Perlasca, un eroe italiano (in spagnolo), Fondazione Giorgio Perlasca, Published on May 30, 2013, la versione in spagnolo del film Hero Refused to Turn Away from Persecuted (Giorgio Perlasca), Los Angeles Times, 22 November 1990, page U9, Los Angeles 58 El Angel De Budapest (2010) - Pelicula Completa En Castellano Budapest, 1944, en plena Segunda Guerra Mundial (1939-1945), Adolf Eichman dirige la deportacion masiva de judios hungaros al campo de exterminio de Auschwitz. Angel Sanz-Briz (Zaragoza, 1910-Roma, 1980), un diplomatico de la embajada espanola en Budapest, utilizo todos los medios a su alcance para salvar el mayor numero de vidas posible. Para ello, emitio miles de visados y pasaportes que garantizaban la inmunidad de sus portadores, que llegaron a burlar en ocasiones a las autoridades alemanas y a sus colaboradores hungaros. Su actividad ceso cuando, en diciembre de 1944, le ordenaron regresar a Espana. Habia logrado salvar a casi 5.000 judios. Desde entonces, se le conoce como “El Angel de Budapest” . Published on Sep 19, 2013, David Barnave The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 14 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel inhumanity. First Ángel Sanz-Briz got authorization from the Spanish Government to grant Spanish citizenship to Sephardim in Budapest based on and applying the 1924 Royal Law for granting citizenship to people Sephardic origin 59 . However, he was not able to find more than 45 Sephardim amongst the hundreds of thousand of Ashkenazim. He was authorized to provide protection, and hence citizenship for up to 200. So the 200 documents were multiplied and the serial numbering was always the same. Perlasca continued the work after Sanz-Briz was ordered to leave Budapest by daringly assuming the role of continuator in the stead of Sanz-Briz. Now imagine what the turn of events could have been for the Sephardim Greeks of Thessaloniki if the Spanish Legation in Athens had also extended such protection. For completeness I am quoting 2 recent publications: First the joint 2008 bilingual publication of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Casa Sefarad titled Visas for Freedom – Spanish Diplomats and the Holocaust. 60 Pages 40 to 47 of the document in pdf format are devoted to the efforts of Radigales for the repatriation of the Jewish Spaniards. It is interesting to indicate that on page 14 (second page of pdf) of the promotional flyer 61 for the exhibition it states (in Spanish) that Radigales made efforts to repatriate the Sephardim, without distinguishing between the Greek ones, the overwhelming majority, and the Spanish ones, the minute minority. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzubysQ8Dq4 (20150125) Ángel Sanz briz. el Schindler Español (DOCUMENTAL) Uploaded on Nov 27, 2011 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMsVwSrfyeg (20150125) 59 José Cohen, Los sefardíes y la nacionalidad española, Libertad Digital, 23 April 2013, Real Decreto del Directorio Militar de Primo de Rivera, 20 de Diciembre del 1924, for granting the Spanish citizenship to Sephardim who were: antiguos protegidos españoles o descendientes de éstos, y en general individuos pertenecientes a familias de origen español que en alguna ocasión han sido inscritas en Registros españoles y estos elementos hispanos, con sentimientos arraigados de amor a España, por desconocimiento de la ley y por otras causas ajenas a su voluntad de ser españoles, no han logrado obtener nuestra nacionalidad 60 61 http://www.libertaddigital.com/opinion/jose-cohen/los-sefardies-y-la-nacionalidadespanola-68228/ (20150125) Visados para la libertad, Diplomáticos Españoles ante el Holocausto, Ministerio de de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación & Casa Sefarad Israel, 2008, Madrid http://pendientedemigracion.ucm.es/info/dptoants/curriculos/catalogo_visadosDic08.pdf (20150125) alerto.es/pdfs/alef_06mar.pdf (20150125) The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 15 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel On November 2014, a 44 page publication of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in Spanish) appears titled MÁS ALLÁ DEL DEBER, La respuesta humanitaria del Servicio Exterior frente al Holocausto [ Beyond the Call of Duty, Humanitarian response of the Foreign Service to the Holocaust ] 62 . Pages 13 and 14 are dedicated to Radigales and his actions while in Athens. Italy and Spain today are far removed form their respective pasts. Spain should be complimented for her earnest efforts in the last 20 years to reach out to all its Sephardic descendants via Casa Sefarad and with its biennial World Gathering for Erensya Sefaradi, and the new Citizenship Law. Italy is, understandably, proud of acts of humanity during the war albeit truncated and selective and carried out by individuals at their own initiative and not as a state policy. Slowly she is coming to terms with her recent history 63 . Nevertheless, the best would have been for us not to be here today to commemorate tragic events. I am sure (I hope!) this history will never be repeated. Thank you 62 63 MÁS ALLÁ DEL DEBER, La respuesta humanitaria del Servicio Exterior frente al Holocausto http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Portal/es/SalaDePrensa/ElMinisterioInforma/Paginas/Notici as/20141126_MINISTERIO1.aspx (20150125) http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Portal/es/SalaDePrensa/Multimedia/Publicaciones/Documen ts/2014_CATALOGOEXPOSICIONMASALLADELDEBER.pdf (20150125) Maria Cristina Villa, L’Italia non vede, non sente, non parla: Il cinema italiano della deportazione razziale, Doctoral Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles, 2006, Los Angeles Marta Petrusewicz, The hidden pages of contemporary Italian history: war crimes, war guilt and collective memory, Journal of Modern Italian Studies 9(3) 2004, Routledge _ Taylor & Francis, pages 269–270 Filippo Focardi & Lutz Klinkhammer, The question of Fascist Italy's war crimes: the construction of a self-acquitting myth (1943 – 1948), Journal of Modern Italian Studies, 9(3), 2004, Routledge _ Taylor & Francis, pages 330–348 The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 16 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel Addendum: David Jacob Gattegno and Rachel Gattegno The Chronicle–Narrative of the Jewish Spaniards of Thessaloniki We will attempt to visualize their Odyssey by retracing some instances of their lives these three years (1943–1945). This is a virtual journey for us but a very real one for them fraught with rigor and privation and, most of all, the threat of extermination hanging on top of their hands as long as they were in the custody of the Reich. This we achieve by following the story David Jacob Gattegno and Rachel Gattegno using as a temporal and location fixing compass a set of pertinent archival documents: The couple David Gattegno and Rachel Gattegno (born Frances) hails from a family that lived for centuries in Thessaloniki. David Gattegno owns (owned) a Print Shop that specialized in quality printing. They are both Spanish nationals, permanent residents of Thessaloniki. They renew their Certificates of Nationality annually and the 1941 Certificate of David displays prominently the new Franco era Coat of Arms (see Figure 1). The German Authorities stamp the Certificate with the following word logo: “BESCHEINIGUNG DER SPANISCHER ANGEHÖRIGKEIT” i.e. Certificate of Spanish Citizenship (see Figure 1a). Thus Spanish citizens are identified as such by the Occupation Authorities and distinguished from the Jewish Greeks. They are exempt from the race [«Nuremberg»] Laws which are being enforced upon their Greek national brethren starting mid February 1943. Figure 1: Front of the 1941 Certificate of Nationality of David Gattegno The Certificate was issued at Thessaloniki by the Spanish Consulate Figure 1a: Magnification of the German Stamp that adds the German equivalent of the Document Title of Certificate of Spanish Citizenship The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 17 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel We now follow the itinerary of the Jewish Spaniards by «riding» the Passport of the Gattegnos 64 and some other pertinent documents of the era as a virtual vehicle. The Germans draw a list of all Spanish nationals of Jewish origin who belong to the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki. The following Figure 3 shows part of the 12 pages 1943 German document listing the Jewish Spaniards of Thessaloniki 65 . I have included only the names of the Gattegnos without loss of generality. Note that in the last column is written when their Spanish Nationality ID was issued (Compare it with Figure 2). Also note the address given (Hr. Sm yrni 9 ). This is my actual business & home address (!) if new numbering is taken into account [current number is 11]. Figure 2: Details of the 1941 Certificate of Nationality of David Gattegno [inside–back] The Certificate was issued on July 8, 1941. It identifies David Gattegno as a printer (The Germans has entered Thessaloniki on April 9 of the same year) The Gattegnos, like the rest of Spanish nationals, are making preparations for the journey to the . . . unknown. They apply for a husband–wife common Passport at the Spanish Legation in Athens. Their Passport is signed by Consul Sebastián de Romero Radigales (whose name 64 65 Gat t egno 1943–1945 Spanish Passport , Private Archives of Leon Hagouel, (unpublished and unreleased) 2006, Thessaloniki Yad–Vashem Archives–YVA, JM.2218, List of Spanish nationals in Salonika, 30/04/1943, 12 frames (K213082-K213093), Jerusalem The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 18 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel appears in the historiography of the Jewish Spaniards of Thessaloniki and who will remain for some years as Consul after Liberation) (Figure 6). The Gattegnos write a letter to Paul Frances 66 , Rachel’s son from an earlier marriage, who had managed to leave Greece earlier, describing to him their situation and predicament, mentioning among other things that they were allowed to take with them 5000 Swiss Francs. The letter is dated Thursday, May 27, 1943 67 . Figure 3: German Legation Legal Advisor von Thadden’s letter accompanied with the full list all Spanish Nationals of the «Jewish race» (sic) who belong to the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki as of April 30, 1943. Bear in mind that by that date, out of the total 19 convoys to Auschwitz– Birkenau, 13 had already left . . . (Only the Gattegnos are included without loss of generality) 66 Personal Note: I am named after Paul Frances. My other name Isaac belongs to one of my father’s brothers who, after having suffered during the aforementioned forced slave labor in various localities in Greece, was gassed almost immediately upon arrival at Auschwitz–Birkenau since he was already in pitiful condition 67 Private Archives, (unpublished and unreleased) The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 19 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel Figure 4: Page 1  The Passport was issued by the General Consulate of Spain in Greece Page 2  The Passport was issued on May 25, 1943 Page 3  Personal Data of the Passport Holders Figure 5 The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 20 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel Figure 6 Page 4 Page 5a Page 5b  Signature by the Consul General of Spain, Sebastian de Romero, May 25, 1943  Authorization–Permission by the Consulate General of Spain in Athens for the Holders to enter Spain for one time only (!) from the border crossing at Irun [opposite Hendaye France] (July 6, 1943)  Entrance Stamp in Spain (Port–Bou opposite Cerbère France and not Irun), February 10, 1944 [note the 7 months period that has elapsed] The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 21 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel Figure 7 Page 6  Authorization – Permission from the Bank of Greece to export foreign currency (2000 Swiss Francs or the equivalent in other foreign banknotes [currencies]), June 7, 1943. The export permit is valid for 15 days Page 6a  Second Entrance Stamp in Spain (Port–Bou), February 10, 1944 Page 7  Authorization – Permission from the Bank of Greece to export foreign currency (3000 Swiss Francs or the equivalent in other foreign banknotes [currencies]), June 9, 1943. The export permit is valid for 15 days The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 22 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel Figure 8: Count List [Devisenzählung] of Foreign Currency, gold and jewelry belonging to Jewish Spanish Nationals being deported to Bergen–Belsen seized–confiscated by the German Authorities one day before the departure of the 19th Convoy (destination Bergen–Belsen), July 31, 1943. The person responsible for collecting the valuables and completing the List was Dieter Wisliceny. Note that according to the Authorization– Export Permissions by the Bank of Greece (Passport Pages 6 & 7) David Gattegno was allowed to take out a total of 5000 Swiss Francs with him . . . (Without loss of generality I include only David Gattegno) 68 Wisliceny claims that David Gattegno deposited only 30 Swiss Francs while (as we know) he had permission to carry and export up to 5000 Francs (Figure 8). The options are the following: 1 David Gattegno took only 30 Francs with him. 2 David Gattegno was carrying a larger sum but was able to conceal it despite the threat of severe punishment if found. 3 Wisliceny, along with the rest of his detachment, profited from the loot and reported altered tallies to the Reich Finanz [Finance] Authorities. The most obvious correct answer to this multiple choice question is 3. So Wisliceny and the rest of the perpetrators were not only extraordinary murderers but they were also common thieves [as in crooks, bandits & robbers]! So much for the «High» 68 Yad–Vashem Archives–YVA, TR3/345, List of currencies held by Spanish nationals in Salonika, 31/07/1943, 5 pages, Jerusalem {From Police d’ Israël, Quartier General, 8– ème Bureau, Fiche 345}, Jerusalem The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 23 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel principles of National Socialism, the Herrenvolk and, last but not least, the Elite of the Elite, the SS! 69 70 Figure 9: A note, dated December 2, 1943, declares that the «Judenaktion» in Thessaloniki resulted in the confiscation of 22300000 Drachmas, 40185 US Dollars and 55345 Swiss Francs, plus what they seized from the Jewish Spanish Nationals There exists a «gap» in exit and entry Stamps: First of all they were hoarded on a train and deported on August 2, 1944 so there were no «niceties» such as border stampings exiting Greece, entering Yugoslavia, and then the Reich to Bergen–Belsen (remember Austria was the Reich Province of Ostmark). Again there is no exit Stamps from the Reich or entry into a (fully) Occupied France and dumped at the 69 70 Peter Padfield, “Himmler”, MJF Books Fine Communications, 1990, New York “The SS”, By the Editors of Time–Life Books, TH E TH I RD REI CH , Time–Life Books, 1988, Alexandria, Virginia The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 24 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel French–Spanish frontier at Cerbère (Figure 11) for subsequent entry into Spain and final destination, there, Barcelona (Figures 6, 7, 10 & 11) Figure 10 Page 5 (stamp) Entrance Stamp in Spain (Port–Bou), February 10, 1944 Page 6 (stamp) Second Entrance Stamp in Spain (Port–Bou), February 10, 1944 Figure 11  Authorization by the Spanish Consulate General in Athens for the Pass Holders to enter Spain without having to pay any custom duties or levies for the import of their personal belongings due to the fact that they always resided abroad [i.e. in Greece and not Spain] July 6, 1943 Page 8a  One orthogonal Spanish Stamp dated February 2, 1944 (?). A faint digit 3 after the digit 2 is discernible in magnification Page 8b  A small round Stamp of the Customs of Port–Bou Page 9  French Exit Visa by the Vichy Police at the border town of Cerbère, Région de Montpellier, opposite Spanish Port–Bou, February 10, 1944. Note the Vichy Coat of Arms on the Stamp Page 8 The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 25 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel Figure 12 Page 10  Spanish Stamp, April 4, 1944 Page 11  Gratis Extension of the validity of the Passport at the Spanish Consulate General in Palestine at Jerusalem, July 4, 1945 [Note the gap with no Exit or Entrance Stamps from Spain to Casablanca and then on to Palestine, a time period of more than a year] A New York Times article 71 dated February 17, 1944 reports that “365 Jews Reach Spain”. The text follows: MADRI D, Feb. 16 ( 2P) —The Spanish Foreign Legion announced t oday t hat 365 Spanish- speaking Jews descended from t hose expelled from Spain by Queen I sabella and King Ferdinand in 1492 had been brought t o Spain aft er negot iat ions wit h Berlin freed t hem from a Germ an concent rat ion cam p at Bergen Belsen. Thousands of t hese Spanish Jew s lived in Salonika and elsewhere in t he east ern Medit erranean. They speak a t ype of Spanish lit t le different from t hat spoken in t he t im e of I sabella and Ferdinand. A not e by t he Foreign Minist ry said t hose repat riat ed expressed t heir unanim ous t hanks and sat isfact ion for t he Spanish Governm ent 's help in get t ing t hem out of t he Germ an concent rat ion cam p. 71 365 Jews Reach Spain, The New York Times, February 17, 1944 The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 26 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel  Figure 13: Food Ration Card issued to the Gattegnos in Barcelona Figure 13b: The outside back cover of the Passport was stamped with the note “UNION OF POLISH INMATES” (in Greek after the return) Figure 14  Entrance Stamp to Greece and Stamp [Timbre] Consular Fees levied at the Port of Piraeus on August 26, 1945 due the lack of Greek Consular attestation [in Jerusalem] Inside Back Cover Various Stamps, February, March & April 1944 [Barcelona Spain] Page 12 The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 27 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 Paul Hagouel There exists another gap in exit and entry Stamps: No exit Stamp from Spain to Casablanca exists and neither an entry Stamp to Palestine (at the time under the League of Nations British Mandate). Figure 12 bears the extension of the validity of the Passport issued by the Consulate General of Spain in Palestine and located in Jerusalem. Figure 13 shows a Food Ration Card issued to the Gattegnos in Barcelona. Figure 14 bears the entry Stamp into Greece at the Port of Piraeus on August 26, 1945. Thus this modern Odyssey differs from the Homeric one in the sense that the wish– goal of its unsung heroes was to return to where they had started from. Their Troy and Ithaca was one and the same: Thessaloniki! The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: page 28 of 28 Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship January 27, 2015 (From Left to Right) His Excellency Her Majesty’s Ambassador Mr. Charles Garrett His Excellency The Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Nikola Poposki at the British Residence, Skopje Text without citations The Holocaust of Jewish Greeks and Jews of Thessaloniki: Italian truncated and selective Humanity, Spanish adaptable Citizenship Paul Isaac Hagouel, Ph.D. Abstract The role that Italy played in the Holocaust of the Jews of Thessaloniki has not been documented. Jewish Greeks of Thessaloniki and other nearby locales did not benefit either by Italian or Spanish Diplomacy and the Diplomats. The unfortunate indirect role that Italy played in the Annihilation of Jewish Greeks will be demonstrated. The adaptability, along with the fortunes of war, and, consequently, its interpretation at will by the Spanish Administration, of the Spanish Citizenship (its rights and privileges) of Jewish Thessalonikians is also demonstrated. It is regrettable that the self–evident and obvious duty of a Country – State to protect its own citizens had to be transubstantiated into and elevated to the realm of Humanity and Saving and Rescue. In the last decade a surge in interest on Holocaust History and Studies worldwide, as well as the maturity of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and its impact on the academic, educational and museums and memorials fields, has produced a corpus of works dealing with many aspects pertinent to the Holocaust. One very noble component is the Rescue of Jews in peril of annihilation during those dark years. Diplomats of various countries played a role in the rescue, some in direct conflict and contrary to the guidelines of their superiors and, many, far exceeding their competence and mandate that entailed personal risk and danger. Events that relate to rescue actions by Spanish Diplomats in Athens and Italian ones in Thessaloniki concerning the Jews of Thessaloniki have been documented albeit lacking in detail, especially for Italy. Italy was an aggressor and perpetrator of crimes, so how can one talk, at the same instance, about Italian humanity? And what sort of citizenship was the Spanish one held by a number of Jews, permanent residents of Thessaloniki, that forbade its holder to enter and take up residence in that same State? In a previous work of mine I gave the definition of Holocaust where I noted, in particular, that the term Holocaust incorporates all the primal causes, causae causans, irrespective of how far back we have to look and trace the past. Any actions or failures to react of any individual, group, society and/or states which tolerate or, worse, kindle activities that may lead to other Holocausts, not necessarily of Jews, are also included in the definition. Consequently we have to trace how Greece found itself Page 1 of 8 occupied by the Deutsches [German] Reich, the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Bulgaria in the first place and, thus, the Jews found themselves in this dire predicament with the horrendous outcome and end. Greece had declared its neutrality early on when the clouds of the impending war were gathering all over Europe. Unfortunately the Head of the Government of the Kingdom of Italy Benito Mussolini had grandiose ambitions about a new Italian Empire in the Mediterranean. Italy tried to provoke Greece with the torpedoing of the cruiser Elli on August 15, 1940. Even though the identity of the perpetrator was correctly presumed (markings on a stray torpedo that hit the breakwater jetty), the Greek Government restrained itself. But, then, Mussolini started getting very restive since he yearned desperately to “match” the war campaign successes and conquests of his ally Hitler. Documents prove that, even if he was not preparing for a campaign against Greece many months in advance, he was considering and planning for it a long time ago. The Reich not only knew about this but was also proactively “advising” and recommending to the Greek Government to come to an agreement with and cede to any eventual demands by their ally Italy who considered the Mediterranean as its sphere of interest and thus [the Reich] was not interested! With the benefit of hindsight and interpretative synthesis of the facts [correlation of data] I deduce that if Italy hadn’t attacked Greece (and without any provocation!) and Greece wouldn’t have beaten her back, then Hitler would not have been compelled to come to her rescue and would not have invaded and occupied Greece. At 3:00 AM in the morning of October 28, 1940, the Italian Minister to Greece, Emanuele Grazzi, handed an ultimatum to Prime Minister Metaxas demanding free passage of Italian Troops. Metaxas replied with a No and war was de facto declared and hostilities started at the Albanian – Greek frontier. More than 11000 Jewish Greek soldiers were amongst the Greek troops that took part in the campaign, including my father Leon, a Lance Corporal. Greeks dealt the first defeat to an Axis power. Mussolini was humiliated. Understandably Greece invited Britain to assist and British troops landed in Greece. Hitler used this as an additional pretext and on April 6th, 1941 invaded Greece from Bulgaria, an Axis ally. Thessaloniki was occupied on April 9th, 1941. The conqueror divided Greece into three occupation zones: The Italian one comprising most of continental Greece and many islands, the Bulgarian one comprising Eastern Macedonia and Thrace except the Page 2 of 8 border zone with Turkey, and the German one with the rest of the territory which included also Thessaloniki and its vicinity. Before we proceed, the term Jew in Greece should be clarified. From the first ever temporary Constitution of Epidavros in 1822, the 3d Protocol of the Treaties of London in 1830, and with all successive Constitutions to this day, Greece was founded as a State recognizing only Hellenes and no minorities. All religions were/are tolerated and all were/are fully emancipated. All Hellenes have Civil Rights, there exist no Group Rights. After the conclusion of the Balkan Wars , Thessaloniki became officially Greek with the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest. All its inhabitants, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Armenians etc became Greek – Hellenes with the 1913 Treaty of Athens. Hence, on April 9th, 1941, the Jewish population of Thessaloniki is comprised, overwhelmingly, by Jewish Greeks. There exist around five hundred Jewish Spaniards, permanent residents of Thessaloniki and a lesser number of Jewish Italians [note that in the Italian Diplomatic Correspondence they are referred as Israeliti Italiani i.e. Italian Jews], also permanent residents of Thessaloniki, and a minute number of Jews of various other nationalities. It is more than safe to claim that the totality were of Sephardic origin and spoke Ladino [Judeo Espagnol]. The fate of the Jewish Greeks of Thessaloniki as well as of the Bulgarian occupied territories and of the former Italian occupied ones after Italy capitulated on September 8, 1943 was total annihilation in the Death Camps in Poland. A few thousand, who fled and hid or were rescued, survived. Of the 48000 something deported – shipped to Auschwitz – Birkenau from Thessaloniki and surroundings, in the spring on 1943, only 2000 survived the ordeal. The Sephardic Jewish Greeks from Eastern Macedonia and Thrace were also deported and all were annihilated at Treblinka. In 2007, the Italian Embassy in Athens published a volume titled Ebrei di Salonicco – 1943, I documenti dell’umanità italiana [Hebrews – Jews of Thessaloniki – 1943, the documents of Italian humanity]. It is regrettable that Ambassador Gianpaolo Scarante, in his salutation of the edition, only mentions the persecution of the Jews during the Nazi (note: neither German nor Italian) occupation and exalts the courageous humanity demonstrated by many Italians in Greece without further elaboration. Bear in mind that during the same chronological period atrocities were committed by the Royal Italian Army against civilians and Greeks were literally dying of hunger due to the occupation policies of the Axis allies Page 3 of 8 and of the onerous financial burden of compulsory occupation costs decided and signed by the Reich and the Italian Kingdom in Rome. It is of interest to put the historic record, regarding Italy and the Jews of Thessaloniki during World War II, in its true context and frame. Even though Italy was an aggressor and occupier of Greece, she was never prosecuted nor indicted in the Nuremberg trial. But Italy was also a perpetrator of crimes of war and crimes against humanity. Italy was a de facto dictatorship tolerated by the King and there existed a benign relationship between the Italian State and the Vatican. Italy had already committed crimes in Ethiopia and, concerning Jews, passed Anti–Judaic Laws starting in 1938, which were not even rescinded during the brief period of the Badoglio Administration till the capitulation. Furthermore, all the Italian Diplomats in Greece have not been on record as opposing the regime and what it represented. Continuing to serve can only be construed as tacit approval of the policies of their government. Actually, surmising from Italian Diplomatic Documents as presented in both the publication of the Italian Embassy and Daniel Carpi’s work titled Italian Diplomatic Documents of the History of the Holocaust in Greece (1941–1943) (which, in itself, is another misleading title with respect to its contents), Consuls Guelfo Zamboni and his successor, after June 18, 1943, Giuseppe Michele Mario Castruccio along with Captain Lucillo Merci managed to protect around 350 Jews of Thessaloniki who were either Italians of had a connection with Italy and so they could provide them with temporary Italian citizenship documents. (These events were taking place, during the first half of 1943, when Adolf Eichmann’s emissaries were busy deporting all the Jewish Greeks to Auschwitz – Birkenau). As I noted above, those were considered first Jews and then Italians, thus being lesser Italians than the non–Jews. Still, the documents and the numbers reveal, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the Diplomats and the Captain protected, shielded and saved citizens of their Country as was their duty, albeit of Jewish religious descent, and not just any Jew. Granted, they showed zeal in this endeavor; however, they never veered out of their diplomatic competence. They never reached out to Jewish Hellenes to distribute something close to Schutz–Pässe as Swede Raoul Wallenberg and Swiss Carl Lutz handed out in the thousands in Budapest to Jewish Hungarians facing imminent fatal danger, a year later, in 1944. And, furthermore, displaying [personal] courage means that we face danger. I do not see or discern that the aforementioned [Italian] diplomats were facing any real danger to their safety with their actions which were completely within their bounds. Still it was an attainment of humanitarian deed even if it was limited in its scope. Page 4 of 8 In my humble opinion and, in the name of the truth, the title should not be Hebrews of Thessaloniki. The correct, and precise one, has to be Jewish Italians of Thessaloniki. Furthermore, we read in the Italian Press that Zamboni is portrayed both as the Italian Schindler and/or the (Giorgio) Perlasca of Thessaloniki [il Perlasca di Salonicco]. How I long–wish that this was really true! And it did not – does not do justice to Democratic Post War Italy that the Italian Ministry of Defense conferred, in 1948, the Bronze Medal for valor (sic) to the Flag of the Corps of Engineers (of the Italian Army) respecting the whole “Italian – Greek campaign” at Fronte Albano – Greco, 28 Ottobre 1940 ! And, even more damaging, in the year 2012, Ercole Viri, Mayor of Affile, defended a decision by the City Council to use 130000 € of public funds in order to honour convicted war criminal Field Marshal Rodolfo Graziani with a mausoleum and memorial park! I yearn to feel confident that the Ancient Greek adage of Demosthenes πλκμ ΰαλ κ εζευ αίκθ εείΪθ Ϋεα κθ ωθ πλδθ υπαλιΪθ ωθ ελίθε αδ (all previous events are judged according to the last one) does not hold true in this case. Italy has to come to terms with some of her rather shameful and ignoble deeds of her past that shade her otherwise postwar stellar record. The cultivation of the notion of the “good” Italian versus the “bad” German and of their depiction as saviors of Jews in general, is being questioned, albeit belatedly and slowly. Historiography always has the last word. Another special group of non–Greek nationals Jewish inhabitants of Thessaloniki was that of the Spanish nationals, around 500 strong. These were Spanish citizens but they were not allowed to enter Spain automatically. They had to renew their Certificate of Nationality each year (see Figures 1 & 2). The Certificate was issued by the Spanish Consulate of Thessaloniki. As a group they were exempt from the racial laws that were applied to their Jewish Greek coreligionists and fellow Sephardim, i.e. they did not have to wear the Yellow Star or live in the Ghetto. Spain was a neutral country albeit favorably predisposed towards the German Reich and the Axis Powers. General Franco was the Leader of the State and the Monarchy had been abolished. As long as Spain was both neutral and friendly towards Germany, Jewish Spaniards were relatively safe. However, with the tempo of the sequence persecutions – deportations accelerating in 1943, the German appetite for Page 5 of 8 more Jews to destine for “Special Treatment [Sonderbehandlung]” increased. Spain’s reluctance to accept large numbers of its undesirable non–resident citizens risked to be construed by the Germans as a «carte blanche» to do as they please with the Jewish Spanish nationals in its fold. Nevertheless, after much bureaucratic deliberation among the pertinent German and Spanish Authorities, the Germans finally deported the Spanish nationals to Bergen–Belsen [August 2, 1943] and housed them in separate barracks. After further deliberations among the Spanish Government and the Germans they were finally freed and allowed to travel to and enter Spain via France (all 367 of them). Their sojourn in Spain was brief, just a few months in Barcelona, and then they were shipped to Casablanca on June 14, 1944. With the assistance of UNRRA they were sent to Palestine. They were finally able to return to Greece after August 9, 1945 . All these events are documented via the Certificates of Nationality and the Family (couple) Spanish Passport of David Jacob Gattegno and Rachel Gattegno in my possession. (See the Addendum in the end of the paper) What makes this topic more pressing today is the need to set the record straight as was/is the case of wartime Italy. Starting with year 2008, the first edition of the book by Matilde Morcillo Rosillo and titled Sebastián de Romero Radigales y los Sefardíes de Grecia (1943 – 1946) [S. R Radigales and the Sephardic (Jews) of Greece (1943 – 1946)] is published. The editor is Casa Sefarad Israel, Madrid. The cover shows people wearing the Yellow Star of David and all pages of the book carry this Holocaust ubiquitous symbol. Yet, Jewish Spaniards were exempt in being marked. In the Preface, the then Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Ángel Moratinos repeats the title and compliments the work of Rosillo for her “documented exposition of the saga of those Spaniards”. However, in the Greek translation, the title is translated as Spain and the Jews of Thessaloniki 1943 – 1950 (!?) (I am curious; did the Ministry check the translation?). Thus Sephardi is equated to Jew and vice versa. Guessing from the title one might infer that Radigales was somehow involved with ALL the Sephardi Jews of Greece – I wish he was! Then, in the third page, a more extended title is given that puts the matter in a correct perspective: Sebastián de Romero Radigales y Los Sefardíes Españoles de Grecia Durante El Holocausto a Través de La Correspondencia Diplomática [Radigales and the Spanish Sephardim of Greece during the Holocaust through Diplomatic Correspondence]. This secondary title reveals that Radigales was either interested or, most probably, could shield and protect only Sephardic Jews holding the Page 6 of 8 Spanish citizenship and not the rest of the Sephardim (By the way, Greece was also home to non – Sephardic communities such as the oldest Romaniote community, numbering almost 2000 souls, at Ioannina (Janina) – of the 1960 deported to Auschwitz in March, 25, 1944, 1850 would never return). The case of the Jewish Spaniards in Thessaloniki is more peculiar than the one of the Jewish Italians. Spain was neutral; no Anti–Judaic Laws were passed even though Anti–Semitism was existent even among some of Franco’s closest advisors and/or associates and collaborators. Hence one would expect that the self evident duty of the Spanish Legations, present in countries occupied by the Reich, would be to do their outmost to protect and shield their citizens from any perceived dangers. And, yet, this obvious obligation was not transubstantiated into proactivity and action. However, if we take into consideration that Franco remained, for his own reasons, both a believer of and a fancier for Hitler to deliver an Axis victory instead of him (Franco) being a reasoner, and that he did not break off diplomatic relations with the Großdeutsches Reich until May 8th, 1945, VE Day, then we should not be surprised about the vacillations of Spanish Diplomacy vis à vis its own citizens, albeit of Jewish descent, as well as the peculiar adaptability of the rights and/or privileges of that citizenship to the whims of who knows which advisor or confidant of Franco, in 1943 and 1944. Again, I emphasize that Radigales, who arrived in Athens on April 1943, like Zamboni, acted within his competence, albeit pressuring his government to take action in repatriating its citizens of Jewish religious descent. He is supposed to have stated that, if the Spanish government did nothing to protect its citizens, Spain would incur the wrath of the Allies and not only. If nothing else, he was speaking in logic and realism that also sprang by the obvious change of the fortunes of war against the Axis powers ever since the surrender of Field Marshal Paulus’ 6th Army in Stalingrad on February 1st, 1943. Final defeat of the Reich loomed unmistakable. It seems that the evident imminent collapse of the German Reich a year later (1944) might have made a noticeable difference in compelling, driving and/or nudging governments and/or their envoys to take action. This was most apparent in Budapest. It is there that the daring Italian Giorgio Perlasca, in conjunction with the activities of Diplomat Ángel Sanz-Briz, Head of the Spanish Legation, acted against inhumanity. First Ángel Sanz-Briz got authorization from the Spanish Government to grant Spanish citizenship to Sephardim in Budapest based on and applying the Page 7 of 8 1924 Royal Law for granting citizenship to people Sephardic origin. However, he was not able to find more than 45 Sephardim amongst the hundreds of thousand of Ashkenazim. He was authorized to provide protection, and hence citizenship for up to 200. So the 200 documents were multiplied and the serial numbering was always the same. Perlasca continued the work after Sanz-Briz was ordered to leave Budapest by daringly assuming the role of continuator in the stead of Sanz-Briz. Now imagine what the turn of events could have been for the Sephardim Greeks of Thessaloniki if the Spanish Legation in Athens had also extended such protection. For completeness I am quoting 2 recent publications: First the joint 2008 bilingual publication of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Casa Sefarad titled Visas for Freedom – Spanish Diplomats and the Holocaust. Pages 40 to 47 of the document in pdf format are devoted to the efforts of Radigales for the repatriation of the Jewish Spaniards. It is interesting to indicate that on page 14 (second page of pdf) of the promotional flyer for the exhibition it states (in Spanish) that Radigales made efforts to repatriate the Sephardim, without distinguishing between the Greek ones, the overwhelming majority, and the Spanish ones, the minute minority. On November 2014, a 44 page publication of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in Spanish) appears titled MÁS ALLÁ DEL DEBER, La respuesta humanitaria del Servicio Exterior frente al Holocausto [ Beyond the Call of Duty, Humanitarian response of the Foreign Service to the Holocaust ]. Pages 13 and 14 are dedicated to Radigales and his actions while in Athens. Italy and Spain today are far removed form their respective pasts. Spain should be complimented for her earnest efforts in the last 20 years to reach out to all its Sephardic descendants via Casa Sefarad and with its biennial World Gathering for Erensya Sefaradi, and the new Citizenship Law. Italy is, understandably, proud of acts of humanity during the war albeit truncated and selective and carried out by individuals at their own initiative and not as a state policy. Slowly she is coming to terms with her recent history. Nevertheless, the best would have been for us not to be here today to commemorate tragic events. I am sure (I hope!) this history will never be repeated. Thank you Page 8 of 8 Paul Isaac Hagouel Brief Curriculum Vitae I was born in Athens, Greece on March 16, 1950. I received the B.E. “sum m a cum laude” in 1972 [to p graduate in the School of Engineering and Science] and the M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from New York University, in 1973. I received the Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley in 1976. My Doctoral Dissertation dealt with the X-Ray Μicrofabrication of Βlazed Diffraction Gratings. While at Berkeley, together with Andrew R. Neureuther, I developed and presented the physical and mathematical foundation of the modeling of the etch front advancement process together with a novel algorithm capable of three–dimensional simulation, the Ray Tracing Algorithm. Our work has been the basis, since its presentation, of continuous and ongoing research in front and boundary advancement modeling and simulation (including etching and deposition) worldwide. The research was funded by the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research via a grant by the Joint Services Electronics Program. I have taught on an adjunct basis at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, from 1977 to 1983. I initiated and taught a course on Integrated Circuits, Solid State Theory, and Devices, and Microfabrication and Process Simulation. I also taught Holography as part of a course on Advanced Topics of Physics. I advised many students on Diploma Thesis and graduate students on their Doctoral Dissertations. I was a Visiting Research Engineer with the Electronics Research Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, from January to August 1995. While there, I engaged in fundamental resist research and also taught a course in the EECS department of the University and advised doctoral candidates. My current research interests center in process modeling and simulation algorithms, resist studies, IC fabrication technology, nanofabrication, and semiconductor device physics. I have published many technical papers in international peer reviewed journals and international pertinent conference proceedings [38 publications], plus lecture notes. I have more than 500 citations of my research work from international researchers. Besides Greek, I am fluent in French and English and adequate in German and Spanish. I am also interested (amongst others) in the study of History in General, History of Modern Greece, History of Holocaust, Vichy France, Human Rights and Religious Freedoms and Comparative Religious Studies. I have published and lectured extensively, both in Greece and abroad (Philadelphia [USA], Sofia, Skopje and Paris) on the Holocaust in Greece and the Balkans. My works are all uploaded and downloadable from the following site: { http://independent.academia.edu/PaulIsaacHagouel } I am a member of Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, and Sigma Xi Honor Societies [Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Research respectively]. I was an Eta Kappa Nu International Director at its governing board for two years (1982-1983). I am a Member of the Governing Board of the Jewish Museum of Greece, Athens {www.jewishmuseum.gr}. I am a member of the Academic Working Group of the Greek Delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance { http://www.holocaustremembrance.com } I am married to Nelly Isoua and have two children Sabrina and Leon. Thessaloniki, January 2015 11 Chrysostomou Smyrnis Str, GR–546 22 Thessaloniki, Greece telephone: + 30 2310270886, mobile: + 30 6974389086, facsimile: + 30 2310238449 hagouel@eecs.berkeley.edu & hagouel@gmail.com