Minister Mendoni honours the memory of the Greek Jewish victims of Auschwitz

Hellenic Culture Minister Lina Mendoni paid tribute to the memory of the 53,000 Greek Jews, victims of the Nazi atrocities at the Auschwitz camp in Poland, during her visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, the culture ministry announced on Monday, 7 April 2025.

Noting that collective memory is being kept alive at the site of the martyrdom, so that these atrocities will never be repeated, the ministry reported that Mendoni laid a wreath at the Black Wall, at the execution site, at the Auschwitz I camp, as well as at the Memorial to Greek Jews, at the Birkenau camp.

At the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, the minister heard about the unknown historical aspects of the common “fate” of the extermination of Greek Jews. The “final solution” was the almost complete extermination of the Greek Jewish community, which had flourished in Greece for many generations.

According to the Ministry of Culture, 55,000 Greek Jews were transferred to Auschwitz, of whom 12,000 were deemed fit for work, while the rest were murdered. Of the 13,000 children who suffered their family’s fate, 136 were registered in the camp and detained. Only five survived. The rest were murdered. In total, 1,900 survivors returned to Greece.

Source: AMNA