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Introduction
Between October 28, 1940 and April 1941 Italy tried to invade Greece but was
repelled by the Greek army, jointly with 13,000 partisans. Many Jews served as soldiers or officers in
the army or were part of the partisans. On April 7, 1941, coming from the newly conquered Yugoslavia and
from its ally, Bulgaria, the German army invaded the whole territory of Greece. Soon after, Germans
divided Greece between the Axis Partners: Bulgaria and Italy. On January 1943. Himler gave the order to
apply within 6-8 weeks the ?Final Solution? in the German zone. On March 15, 1943 occurred the first
deportation transport that left Salonica. By the end of July 1943, the Jewish population of Salonica was
liquidated in 19 transports. Nevertheless, while 46,000 Salonica Jews were deported to Auschwitz, a very
last transport of 441 Jews, including 367 Jews who all were Spanish nationals, arrived to Bergen Belsen
concentration camp.
In the meantime, Eastern Greek Macedonia, Western Greek Thrace, Yugoslavian
Macedonia and the Serbian city of Pirot that were first invaded by the German army, were occupied by
the Bulgarian army from 1941. Between March, 3 and 19, 1943, 11,343 Jews were sent to their death to
Treblinka Concentration Camp. From March 1944 the Germans began to deport Jews from other places in
Greece, including the Jews of the islands of Rhodes, Cos, Corfu and Crete.
On the eve of WW II the Jewish population counted 78,000 souls, 67,000 perished
in the Holocaust.
The present index which includes 228 names of Greek Jewish deportees, is based on
the book: Bergen Belsen; 1940-1945 Niedersachsische Landerzentrale fuer Politische Bildung. Gedenkbuch;
haeflinge des Konzentrazionlager Bergen Belsen. Bergen Belsen, Gedenstatte, 1995. It lists Jews from all
the nations who were interned in Bergen Belsen concentration camp.
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