Tracing Your Family Roots 173 - Story of Greeks Jews in WWII

Micheal Matsas, author of "The Illusion of Safety, the Story of Greek Jews during the Second World War" talked about his book and where he found the information.
Sidney Sachs

[@debbiemohiosen147]

Doctor Matsas explains it exceptionally well and it is very interesting to hear .

[@SolomonsSeals]

How interesting and so little known of our Jewish brothers and sisters in Greece! Thank you for sharing this.

[@user-yz8pw9dv2n]

Excellent description about the situation of Romaniote jews in Greece at this time in the unique situation of Romaniote greek speaking jews.

[@Cheater1968]

Epirus is different to other parts of Greece. The Jews and Christians generally lived well together but the Church(and I was told this by my Christian side) told the Christians to keep their distance from the jews because the church did discuss the blood libel issue. Alot of Christians disregarded this esp in the mountains where the Church did not have a big strong hold.

[@ektorpolykandriotis635]

please, read the ending of Kosmas of Aetolos. It is your history and you should be familiar with it before you adopt criticism about your ascendants.

[@barthill9578]

part 2 ?

[@carolancarey992]

with all due respect to this author's findings. The US refugee board was founded under the Roosevelt administration. However, the US military deaths was 407,300, in WWII is he saying that wasn't enough? However, 12,100 civilian deaths number also included in this 0.32 percent. Including civilians, the number of total deaths is 419,400. 671,801 soldiers were also badly wounded during combat.is that enough?

[@Cheater1968]

Coming from this area of Greece, I know the history well and what Dr Matsas says is true. Many Greeks fought the Germans and perished and those of Romaniot heritage married Christians or hid their identity. Not because the 95% who didn't care if the Jewish community were not Christians but those of a tiny % that did. Dr Matsas is not talking about the Turkish invasion so i don't see any relevance to steve81132 post.

[@takismhtsotakhs1589]

people should never forget

[@lemonysnicket2618]

let him comete his story dont interrupt

[@thirraschonnovik9032]

In Greece the people they are more Greek Orthodox

[@toulahilaris]

We have Matsas families in our church. They come from the same region that Dr. Michael comes from. They are most likely related.

[@user-ul9is6nn1v]

Toula Hilaris which Church?

[@geokokinofridis4550]

In 1826 AD the Turks invaded the Greek island of Chios , the Turks massacred nearly 40000 people among them many Jews from Chios. There was also a Jewish community in Sparta, in the Spartan towns of Mystras, Tripi, and Anavriti. who lived in these area for thousands of years. The Spartan King Areus had a close Friendship with the Macabees their communications were found where they call each other brothers. King Areus fought the Romans in a battle in Elos and won, Elos is located 20 miles south of Sparta near the Eurotas river

[@lemonysnicket2618]

spartan werent romans? im new in history

[@vasilikiyannos]

Spartans were Greeks!!!

[@thirraschonnovik9032]

No chios. Isminiz and cisme

[@chrissmith1716]

Geo kikinofridis no chios ismini and cisme

[@thiseaslostinlabyrinth5471]

When a nation revolts against it's oppressors, it has to get rid of the traitors first. The Greeks got rid of the Jews because they collaborated with the ottomans, although they where, as mr. Matsas says..Greek speakers and living in the country for centuries.

[@alep_bet]

what nonsense; what you just justified is the abhorrent notion of 'collective responsibility' which is a fascist notion. Also, the relatively preferential treatment Jews enjoyed in the Ottoman empire may have been resented by the non-jewish population but this is a matter of Ottoman administration and if anyone was to be resented it ought to be the administration which showed its favour to particular groups including Greek and other landowners and merchants. For every Greek or Jewish merchant you had hundreds if not thousands of impoverished Greek or Jewish ordinary folk. Also, bare in mind that Greek-speakers were resented by other ethnolinguistic groups in the Ottoman empire for the degrees of influence and power they enjoyed e.g. Phanariot appointments as translators and diplomats of the Sublime Porte, degrees of autonomy is various regions including the islands, and so on. While there were abhorrent practices such as the devshirme (periodic conscription of young male children for the Ottoman yenissari corp), these affected all Ottoman subjects across the Balkans; not just Greeks. As to 'traitors', why were Jews collectively expected to side with the Greek national revolution when they were neither Greek, christian, nor resented the Ottoman administration as much as other Ottoman subjects? Also, why should they turn against an administration which centuries earlier had offered a safe haven to many many thousands of Jews expelled from the Iberian peninsula?

[@ektorpolykandriotis635]

@@alep_bet In the siege and Liberation of Tripolitsa the Jewish community found itself inside the walls with the Occupiers and not outside with the Greek revolutionaries fighting for freedom. The collaboration between the organized bodies of the Jewish community and the Ottomans is well documented. Phanariotes were natives in their thousand-year-old homes which had been conquered. They were the rightful claimants to the land and not emigres. Mr Matsas is ironically making his own statement about collective responsibility and it is a lot more collective than the statement you reject.

[@alep_bet]

spoken like a true fascist, congrats! Kolokotronis was criticised by other Greek revolutionaries for not sparing civilians; the fact that unarmed civilians may have found safety with the established order, doesn't make them legitimate targets ffs; it's not that difficult a concept to fit into your thick, chauvinistic scull @@ektorpolykandriotis635

[@Cheater1968]

Turkish Jews 'apparently' threw the body. Who knows if it wasn't a false flag by the Ottomans..

[@sheckey123]

Some Jews who lived in Turkey spoke Greek and lived there for thousands of years before the Turks arrived so call them what you'd live but they surely weren't Turks. The rest(the majority) arrived from Spain after the inquisition, and many of those Jews also learned Greek. As far as I know there were no Jews who were ethnically Turkish.

[@Cheater1968]

Turkish Jews were not Greek Jews. My Parents both Jewish and Christians side verify Mr Matsas story. In fact my Paternal Grandfather who was a Christian was horrified by the behaviour of the Greek Church. Its not the people thats the point being made here. Luckily the Epiriotes in general were not made of the same ilk as the Southern Greeks and top of Greece.

[@lemonysnicket2618]

who said the turkish jews related to greek jews !!

[@thirraschonnovik9032]

He's talking about the Greek no the turkey

[@Cheater1968]

Absolute rubbish. Many lived amongst the Greek Christians and were just as poor by the way.

[@lemonysnicket2618]

how do u know its alie aman in his age i dont think so