Family Names Memorial Plaque of the Holocaust victims from Rhodes and Cos seen at the entry of the Kahal Shalom. Dedicated in 1969 by the Yedi Charhon Family.
The implementation of the anti-Jewish laws in September 1938 by the Italian Governor caused great alarm and hardship to the Jewish community. This resulted in a swift exodus of over 2,000 Jews from Rhodes which prior to then had a population of 4,000.
Italy, as an ally of Germany during World War II, allowed the Germans to share control over the Island of Rhodes. In September 1943, the Italian military surrendered full control of Rhodes to the Germans.
On July 18, 1944, the male Jews of Rhodes, age 16 and older, were ordered by the German military commanders to appear the following morning with their identity cards and work permits at the Air Force Command Center. The tactic of requiring the work permits tricked the Jews into thinking they were summoned to be sent for a work camp. The next morning after the Jewish men were assembled, they were brutalized and threatened by the German soldiers who proceeded to take away the identity cards and work permits and herded the Jews into the basement of the building.
On July 19th, the remaining Jewish women and children were also ordered to appear the following day with their valuables under a threat of death. They had no choice but to obey, and once entrapped, their belongings were stripped away.
On July 23rd, the 1,673 Jews were ordered to march to the port where they boarded onto three crowded boats. On that sad day, a centuries old Jewish community had ceased to exist.
The crossing from Rhodes to the mainland of Greece lasted eight days and was horrendous. Seven people died during the trip. The trip had one stop at the Island of Leros, where they were joined by another small cargo boat carrying about a hundred Jews from the Island of Kos. Like the people from Rhodes, they had also been herded onto the boat after being stripped of all their valuables and their identity papers.
After landing in Piraeus (Athens) and staying at the Haidari concentration camp, they were forced onto trains to Auschwitz where most of them were murdered. There were approximately 151 survivors.
*Of the Jews who were deported from Rhodes, only 151 survived. Twenty-two had died on the voyage, 1,145 at Auschwitz, and 437 in the labor camps. (The Jews of Rhodes by Rabbi Marc D. Angel)
The Holocaust Memorial was dedicated on June 23, 2002, in memory of the World War II victims from Rhodes and Cos. The dedication of the black granite column was a culmination of several years of planning by the Greek government in collaboration with the Jewish Community of Rhodes. (Ke Haber? 2003 p. 4-5)
Each year, in July, a wreath-laying ceremony is held to commemorate and honor the fallen members of the Jewish community.
The Holocaust Memorial is in the “Square of the Martyred Jews” (Martyron Evreon), located in the heart of the former Jewish Quarter. Jewish homes and small shops were initially in this area but were destroyed during the WWII bombardments. A small park and square were established afterward.
The monument is six sided, each having a different language: Greek, Hebrew, English, French, Italian and Ladino (Judeo-Spanish).
Survivors of the Holocaust were among the attendees. Seated L-R: Sami Modiano, Stella Levi, Jack Hasson and Sara Notrica Jerusalmi.
Holocaust survivors Sami Modiano and Jack Hasson
Lucia Modiano Sulam was a Holocaust survivor who came back to Rhodes after the war and became the caretaker of the Kahal Shalom synagogue.
Holocaust survivors Stella Levi and Sami Modiano during the unveiling of the Names of the Holocaust Victims. (Ke Haber? 2011 p. 9)
Stella Levi with the Jewish Community of Rhodes (JCR) Director, Carmen Cohen
President of the Jewish Community of Rhodes (JCR), Bella Angel Restis
Abraham Galante (1863-1961), a professor at the University of Istanbul and a former Deputy of the National Grand Assembly of the Turkish Parliament in 1948, wrote an article about the tragic demise of the Jewish Community of Rhodes and Cos. The article, originally written in French, was translated into English by his great-nephew, Joseph Franco, of Cape Town.
ELENCO NOMINATIVO DELLE PERSONE EMIGRATE CLANDESTINAMENTE DAL MESE DI SETTEMBRE 1943 AD. OGGI.
“LIST OF NAMES OF PERSONS WHO EMIGRATED ILLEGALLY SINCE THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 1943 AD. TODAY.”
(The Jewish Martyrs of Rhodes and Cos by Hizkia M. Franco)
“To the unsettling military and political situation was added the disastrous effects of famine and bombardment. Indeed, famine had begun to wreak havoc among the civilian population of our island. We were reduced to eating greenery gathered in the fields, as foodstuffs had become extremely rare and fetched exorbitant prices. Many people fled to Turkey to escape certain death. Apart from this, the air and naval bombardments became increasingly terrible, and the number of casualties was considerable. As our quarter was near the port and next to the Customs, we were in a very dangerous situation. This was why the Jewish population suffered ceaselessly. Two bombardments were particularly disastrous for us. The first was on 2 February 1944 and caused the deaths of eight Jews and the destruction of several house. The second of these bombardments took place on the first day of Pesach, in 1944, and was a great deal more severe. There were many more victims, as faithful were caught in the streets of the quarter just as they were leaving the synagogue after morning prayers.”
The 8 casualties from the first bombardment, February 2, 1944:
The 25 casualties from the second bombardment, first day of Pesach 1944, April 8, 1944
Holocaust Survivor, Diana Galante Golden in February 1997
She discussed the deportation of the Jews from Rhodes, the food rations and the bombings of La Juderia. The interview was conducted in Portland, Oregon at the Ahavath Achim Synagogue.
Photo: Piazza del Fuoco after the 1944 bombardments
Transcript: Stella Levi Interview on June 18, 1998 about the 1944 bombings
Monument dedication to the WWII bombing victims of La Juderia
“Seventy years later, a burial memorial was erected by the Jewish Community of Rhodes on July 24, 2014, at the Jewish cemetery for those victims of the bombings that fell on the Juderia of Rhodes on February 2nd and April 8th, 1944. There were more than 30 members of the Jewish Community who were killed in those two bombings. These victims were buried in the cemetery and a few months later in July 1944, the remainder of the Jewish community was deported to Auschwitz. Therefore, until this time the victims of the bombings never had the proper burial with memorial service within the year of their death.” (Ke Haber? 2015 p.4)
The following list of Jews deported from Rhodes by the Germans during the Second World War and is from the Italian book by Liliana Picciotto Fargion called “Il Libro della Memoria”. The format of arranging the names and biographical data was designed and translated by John Holcenberg, the husband of Esther Rousso of Seattle (daughter of Nissim Rousso and Victoria Angel). *Please note that married women were listed by their maiden names; names may be spelled differently, and the list may be incomplete.
(The Jewish Martyrs of Rhodes and Cos by Hizkia M. Franco)
The following is a list of liberated Jews of Rhodes from the concentration camps. The list was from the Italian book by Liliana Picciotto Fargion called “Il Libro della Memoria”. The format of arranging the names and biographical data was designed and translated by John Holcenberg, the husband of Esther Rousso of Seattle (daughter of Nissim Rousso and Victoria Angel). *Please note that married women were listed by their maiden names; names may be spelled differently, and the list may be incomplete.
There were 42 Jews who were originally detained but released prior to their deportation due to the courageous acts of the Turkish Consulate General of Rhodes, Selahattin Ulkumen. He has been honored by several organizations, including the B’nai B’rith, the Anti-Defamation League as well as by Yad Vashem in Jerusalem which awarded him the “Righteous Among the Nations” in 1990 with a tree planting ceremony. In a later newspaper interview, Selahattin Ulkumen stated: “All I did was carry out my duty as a human being”. (Ke Haber? 2005 p. 11)
1939 photo of Albert Almeleh (17 years old) and Nissim (Nace) Treves (16 years old), on the ship, Giulio Cesare which took them to Africa. Both of them fled Rhodes shortly after the anti-Jewish laws were instituted by the Italian fascist government. Photo from Nace Treves. Read Stories of Emigration: Oral History Transcript – Nissim “Nace” Treves
May 1939 photos of a boat that stopped in Rhodes en route to Palestine from Prague and Braslava carrying about 600 Jews. In Rhodes several young Rhodeslis joined the refugees. But before the vessel had traveled far from Rhodes a fire broke out on board. The passengers safely reached the Island of Samos and returned back to Rhodes. The Eastern European Jews were allowed to sleep in the stadium. In a short time, the Rhodes Jewish community managed to obtain another ship and the refugees sailed for Palestine.
German tanks outside the Marine Gate during the capture of Rhodes in September 1943. Photo from Jo Mallel.
September 1943: During the German attack on Rhodes, only a few Jews managed to escape. Read Moshe Surmani: From Rhodes to Israel
1941 Food Ration Card of Moshe Franco and Mazaltov Galante
“From the first months of our entry into the war, the shortage of food had begun to preoccupy us because stocks were becoming more and more difficult to obtain. The arrival of ships loaded either with foodstuffs or fish and animals for slaughter was always a great relief for us, and people would quickly form long queues at the distribution points…” -Hizkia M. Franco, The Jewish Martyrs of Rhodes and Cos
Inigo Campioni was an Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina) admiral and appointed governor of the Dodecanese in 1941. Campioni was on the island of Rhodes during the armistice between Italy and the Allies on September 8, 1943. On September 11, 1943, the German forces captured Rhodes. Refusing to collaborate with the Axis Powers, he was arrested and convicted of high treason. Campioni was later executed by firing squad together with the Counter admiral Luigi Mascherpa in Parma.
Documents stamped with “di razza ebraica”
The stamp “di razza ebraica” was used to recognize and discriminate against a person’s Jewish heritage during the anti-Jewish laws of the Italian Fascist Era. It was used on legal documents such as passports, identification cards, business licenses, etc. (Left) ID card issued to Violetta Turiel in 1943. (Right) Business License of Alberto Menasce in 1944.
July 1944 articles in the newspaper “Il Messaggero di Rodi”
(Left) A page from July 16, 1944, about Ordinance N. 29. In 1) & 2): That all subjects who have left Rhodes following the recent bombings must present themselves with their personal data at the Municipal Office by noon on July 17, 1944, and that all Jews of all sexes and ages are prohibited from leaving the municipalities of: City of Rhodes, Trianda, Cremasto and Villanova and must present themselves for the transfer order at the Municipal Office by noon on July 17, 1944.
(Right) A page from July 23, 1944, about Government Decree XXII, N.94 prohibiting the sale of Jewish property and that movable and immovable property transfers are not allowed, even donating the property.
In July 1944, the Jews of Rhodes were detained at the Air Force Command center located just outside the Old City near the Gate of Amboise. They were held for 3 days before their deportation to Auschwitz. On the 23rd of July 2014, a memorial plaque was placed at the building, located at the cross streets of Navarino and Etharchou Makariou.
1938 members of the Maccabi Sports Club in Rhodes. L-R: Buchuk Cohen, Moshe Alhadeff, Yosef Alcana (the President of the athletic club), Aslan Israel, Haco Franco, Albert Alhadeff and Rahamin Benoun. All were deported and killed in Auschwitz.
A photo of a young Rhodian Jewish boy of the Angel family, wearing the Star of David on the lapel of his coat. The Jews of Rhodes were not required to wear the “Star”; the boy chose to wear the “Star” as an innocent gesture of pride instead of its actual use as a symbol of persecution. Tragically, the boy was among the 1,673 Jews of Rhodes deported to Auschwitz, where he was killed. Only 151 survived. Miru Alcana, a Holocaust survivor, donated the original photograph to the RJHF Archives.
Miru Alcana with brother Nissim. Miru’s parents, siblings, nieces and nephews died in the concentration camps. Photo from Miru Alcana. Read Survivor of the Holocaust: Oral History Transcript of Miru Alcana.
Wedding photo of Yosef Levy and Dona Habif. In July 1944 the Nazis deported them to the Auschwitz concentration camp where they were killed along with other Jews from Rhodes. Photo from Miru Alcana.
Simeon and Rosa (née Tarica) Hasson were the only married couple deported from Rhodes that survived Auschwitz-Birkenau. Photo from Mati Franco. Read Ladino Letters (Kartas): Simeon Hasson – Testimony of a Survivor
Alberto Franco was detained in the Haidari Concentration Camp. He was among the few fortunate Rhodeslis not deported to Auschwitz due to Turkish citizenship (marriage to Hayatie “Victoria” Israel, a Turkish citizen) and the courageous intervention of the Turkish Consul, Selahattin Ulkumen. Read Alberto Franco Diary
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1946 photo of the President of the Jewish Community, Elia Soriano, laying a wreath at the fountain in La Juderia in memory of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Photo from Elie Jacob Soriano.
June 1945 photo in Bologna, Italy of 6 young Rhodian Jewish women survivors of the concentration camps. They were liberated one month earlier and traveled by train to Italy. There they met at a military barracks with British soldiers of the Jewish Brigade from Palestine (note the Star of David on the door of the truck). Standing in the front row, L-R: Susana Levy, Lucia Franco, soldier and Renee Levi. Standing in the second row, L-R: Rebecca Capelouto, Alice Tarica and Stella Levi. Photo from Stella Levi.
1946 photo of ten young Rhodesli men survivors of the Nazi concentration camps. The photo was taken in Ostia, Italy (near Rome) where the refugees lived in temporary housing. (The Rhodesli women were housed in a shelter in Rome.) L-R: Alberto Levy, Jack Hasson, Victor Hasson, Samuel Modiano, Eliezer Sourmani, Pepo Cordoval, David Cordoval, Joseph Cone, Ner Alhadeff and Joseph Hasson. Photo from Joseph Natan Hasson.
In Rome, 1946
At Lago Albano near Rome, 1946
Diana Galante Golden, Holocaust Survivor
Stella Levi, Holocaust Survivor
Sara Notrica Jerusalmi, Holocaust Survivor
Nissim “Nace” Treves
Albert Almeleh
Joseph Alhadeff
Rhodes Jewish Historical Foundation
