Φωτισμός του Μνημείου Ολοκαυτώματος στην Καβάλα

Πηγή: Κεντρικό Ισραηλιτικό Συμβούλιο

Το Μνημείο Ολοκαυτώματος στην Καβάλα, στην οδό Ερυθρού Σταυρού, φωτίζεται πλέον (από τις αρχές Αυγούστου 2018) από φανοστάτη που τοποθετήθηκε στον χώρο προκειμένου να αποφευχθούν στο μέλλον απόπειρες βανδαλισμού του. Το Μνημείο έχει ήδη βεβηλωθεί δύο φορές από την ανέγερσή του στην πόλη το 2015. Η πρόταση για τον επαρκή φωτισμό του σημείου προήλθε από τον κ. Βίκτωρα Βενουζίου, χορηγό του Μνημείου και τ. πρόεδρο της Ι.Κ. Καβάλας, και υλοποιήθηκε με μέριμνα των αρμόδιων αρχών του Δήμου Καβάλας. Για την ακόμη πληρέστερη ασφάλεια του Μνημείου, η πρόταση του κ. Βενουζίου περιλαμβάνει την εγκατάσταση κάμερας ασφάλειας.

Το Μνημείο είναι τοποθετημένο εκεί όπου υπήρχαν οι καπναποθήκες στις οποίες κρατήθηκαν οι Εβραίοι της Καβάλας, το 1943, πριν από την εκτόπισή τους στα στρατόπεδα εξόντωσης.

Four Men Arrested For Vandalizing Holocaust Memorial In Kavala

Kavala Mayor Dimitra Tsanaka in front of the destroyed Holocaust memorial, 30/3/2017 via kavalapost.gr

Police say they have arrested four men who used hammers to smash the marble veneer on the Holocaust memorial in Kavala three months ago.

All four men are Greek citizens, aged 40, 29, 22 and 20 years, local media have reported.

The Kavala Holocaust Memorial was dedicated on June 7, 2015 after city officials postponed its original dedication, saying they opposed the Star of David on the memorial.

 

Holocaust memorial in Kavala restored after vandalism

A Holocaust memorial in Kavala that suffered an act of vandalism last week, when unknown persons used hammers to smash the marble coating on the memorial, has been meanwhile restored by the municipality of Kavala, local media reported.

Kavalapost.gr also reported that the police are examining CCTV footage of the attack.

The Kavala Holocaust Memorial was dedicated on June 7, 2015 after city officials postponed its original dedication, saying they opposed the Star of David on the memorial.

Greece: Holocaust memorial destroyed in Kavala

Kavala Mayor Dimitra Tsanaka in front of the destroyed Holocaust memorial, 30/3/2017 via kavalapost.gr

A Holocaust memorial in Kavala, northern Greece, has been partially destroyed in a deliberate act of vandalism, kavalapost.gr reported today. The attack occured only a few days after the desecration with paint of the Holocaust monument in Arta.

The municipality of Kavala has condemned the vandalism promising to fully restore the monument and take the necessary measures to apprehend those responsible.

Though guarded by the police during the night, this is the second vandalism of the newly erected Kavala Holocaust memorial: Just two weeks after the unveiling ceremony on June 7, 2015, the monument was desecrated by a blue paint attack.

Update, 31.03.2017: The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece has expressed in a statement its “deep concern: these acts of desecration show in an obvious way that anti-Semitism -an antisemitism almost without Jews-, racism, and intolerance survive and lurk everywhere in every moment. Every moral, political or other act of legitimation of the nostalgic pro-Nazis increases the risk of the revival of anti-Semitism and of the expansion of such incidents that threaten the values of a modern and democratic society and darken the prestige of our country. Prosecutors should take all necessary measures to arrest the vandals responsible and bring them to justice.” (full statement here)

Relevant: Vandals smash Holocaust memorial in northern Greece (ekathimerini.com, 30.03.2017)

Breaking: Desecration of the Holocaust Memorial of Kavala

Unknown persons desecrated with paint the Holocaust Memorial of Kavala early this morning (see the photos below), reported the website proininews.gr.

The inauguration of the Holocaust Memorial took place on Sunday June 7, 2015. The Monument dedicated to the 1,484 Jews of the town who perished in the Nazi camp of Treblinka, was unveiled following a controversy of many weeks caused by the decision of the Mayor of Kavala to postpone the unveiling ceremony on the grounds that members of the city council objected to the monument’s “Star of David” engraving.

Source: proininews.gr

Source: protoplano.gr

Related: Antisemitic graffiti on the wall of the Jewish Cemetery of Kavala (11/06/2015)

Update, 22.06.: On Monday, the Jewish community expressed its satisfaction with the Kavala municipality for its “immediate intervention to clean and restore the monument.” The  community called on Greek authorities to apprehend the vandals. [via JTA]

The Canadian Embassy to the Hellenic Republic condemns in the strongest terms the desecration of the holocaust memorial in Kavala and calls on the relevant authorities to take all necessary steps to identify those responsible and hold them accountable under the law. [via Facebook]

Update, 23.06.: The Greek government hasn’t yet condemned the desecration of the Holocaust Memorial of Kavala. Here is the full statement of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece:

After two weeks since its inauguration the much disputed Holocaust Monument in Kavala was desecrated with an amount of paint thrown at it by unknown vandals. Though guarded by the police during the night, the Monument was found in the morning of Sunday June 21, 2015, covered with light blue paint.

Following the Municipality’s prompt actions, the city’s cleaning units restored it immediately.

The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece in an announcement posted on its website expressed the Greek Jewry’s sorrow at the disgraceful incident. The announcement also points out: “At the same time we express our satisfaction for the immediate intervention of the Municipality of Kavala for the cleaning of the Monument and urge all competent authorities to take the necessary measures to protect it from those who aim at vandalizing not only the memory of the victims but the cultural heritage of the city of Kavala as well”.

Kavala Mayor Dimitra Tsanaka condemned the incident while stressed that this was not a sign of anti-Semitism. (Source: kis.gr)

Antisemitic graffiti on the wall of the Jewish Cemetery of Kavala

Last Sunday, the Memorial to Holocaust victims was inaugurated in Kavala (northern Greece), following a controversy of many weeks caused by the disgraceful decision of the Mayor to postpone the unveiling ceremony on the grounds that members of the city council objected to the monument’s Star of David engraving.

However, Minos Moissis, President of the Jewish Community of Athens, who attended the ceremony, discovered on the same day the following antisemitic graffiti scrawled on the wall of the Jewish Cemetery of Kavala, in which an askava/memorial service took place before the unveiling ceremony. Despite the final decision of the city council to dedicate the monument, it is undeniable that antisemitism in Kavala remains an all-day phenomenon.

„Jews Murderers of the People.“ Kavala, June 2015. Photo courtesy of Minos Moissis

The address of Panayotis Sgouridis, member of the Independent Greeks party who represented the Greek government at the unveiling ceremony, has been also harshly criticized at the social media but also by the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece. Mr. Sgouridis compared the “atrocities of WWII” with the “blockade of Gaza” arguing that victims could become perpetrators.

• Here you can see another shameful photo taken this time in front of the Holocaust Memorial of Kavala. It shows how antisemitic can be pro-Palestinian activists.

Perhaps not all is lost / Οι μαθητές που κάνουν τη διαφορά

Christian students of the 3rd General Lyceum of Kavala in support of the Holocaust monument last Sunday. Kavala’s mayor Dimitra Tsanaka postponed the long-awaited event on the grounds that members of her party objected to the monument’s Star of David engraving. Photo Credit: Mayor Rishon, via https://abravanel.wordpress.com/2015/05/19/major-update-church-comes-against-shoah-monument-mayor-accuses-jews/

“What I am afraid is that Courage in Greece is scarce and it bodes ill the fact that even dead, Jews cannot be welcome. Still there were children that Sunday morning in front of the Municipality and these children had chosen to wear that yellow Magen David which everyone hated; so perhaps not all is lost. The Righteous were always few but our gratitude immense; may these boys and girls serve to redeem the sins of the fathers.” (Abravanel: Church comes against Shoah Monument, Mayor accuses Jews)

The students of the 3rd General Lyceum of Kavala have also managed to put their school on the Auschwitz Memorial Map, in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp. They uploaded all the material they ‘ve collected for a series of activities that took place in their school community on the 3rd of April 2015. (information via Abravanel on Twitter)

“Holocaust Memorial Day” in the 3rd General Lyceum of Kavala. Photo Credit: Maria Dimitriadou / Source: http://twinspace.etwinning.net/2372/home

“Στη συγκέντρωση δεν ήμασταν πολλοί-ή μάλλον δεν ήμασταν τόσοι πολλοί όσο θα ήθελα. Για Κυριακή πρωί, για ένα «δύσκολο θέμα» και για τα δεδομένα μιας επαρχιακής πόλης όπως η Καβάλα ο αριθμός των συγκεντρωμένων ήταν αρκούντως ικανοποιητικός. Ήταν εκει οι επικεφαλής των παρατάξεων της αντιπολίτευσης στο δήμο, μια βουλευτής του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ, άνθρωποι διαφόρων ηλικιών και ενδεχομένως ιδεολογικής τοποθέτησης. Πιο σημαντική θεωρώ την παρουσία μιας κυρίας, μεγάλης σε ηλικία που ουτε εβραία ήταν, ενδεχομένως ούτε ήρθε με την ιδιότητα του κομματικού μέλους αλλά γιατί «είναι απαράδεκτο αυτό που γίνεται», των μαθητών της πρώτης τάξης του 3ου λυκείου Καβάλας, που ήρθαν φορώντας το κίτρινο άστρο στο μέρος της καρδιάς, όπως αυτό που φορούσαν οι 1484 που εκτοπίστηκαν στην Τρεμπλινκα, και της καθηγήτριάς τους, της κ. Δημητριάδου, των τεσσάρων γυναικών που ήρθαν από το Ισραήλ μόνο και μόνο για τα αποκαλυπτήρια, θέλοντας να τιμήσουν τη μνήμη της οικογένειάς τους.” (Σοφία Χριστοφορίδου: Τα «αποκαλυπτήρια»… 18.05.2015)

[…]

-(χριστιανός μαθητής παρεμβαίνει): “Να σας κάνω μια ερώτηση;”

-Δήμητρα Τσανάκα.: “Σε παρακαλώ να τελειώσω”.

– (μαθητής): “Επειδή πρέπει να φύγω.(έχει διάβασμα για Πανελλήνιες). Οταν δεν υπάρχει Αστέρι του Δαυίδ δεν είναι σαν να μην υπάρχουν Εβραίοι;”

-Δ.ΤΣ.: “Παιδί μου θα μου επιτρέψεις. Ελα στο Δημαρχείο και αν δεν μπορείς έλα αύριο το πρωί. Ελα να δούμε αυτά τα μνημεία, ανα την Ελλάδα. Το μοναδικό πρόβλημα δεν ήταν το Αστέρι του Δαυίδ, η προστασία του μνημείου ήταν. Διότι να βάλω εγώ ένα μνημείο που θα το βανδαλίσουν μέσα σε ένα 24ωρο…»

– (μαθητής): “Δηλαδή δε μπορείτε να το προστατέψετε;”

-Δ.ΤΣ. “Πώς μπορώ να προστατεύσω αυτό εδώ κάτω (εννοεί το Ηρώο) που κάθε μέρα το καθαρίζουμε και κάθε μέρα το βάφουν;

– (μαθητής): “Και γιατί λέτε οτι δε μπορείτε να το προστατεύσετε;”

-Δ.ΤΣ.: “Δεν ξές παιδί μου τι γίνεται σήμερα; Δε βλέπεις τι γίνεται γύρω σου;”

[από την απομαγνητοφώνηση των δηλώσεων της Δήμητρας Τσανάκα, πηγή: sofiestories.wordpress.com]

Σιωπηρή διαμαρτυρία αντί Αποκαλυπτηρίων Μνημείου Ολοκαυτώματος στην Καβάλα – Unveiling of the Kavala Holocaust Memorial will not take place

Picture of the proposed Holocaust Memorial of Kavala. Via abravanel.wordpress.com

Kavala Mayor Dimitra Tsanaka [backed by conservative New Democracy] has come under fire after stopping the unveiling of a memorial to the city’s 1,484 Jews that were killed by Nazi troops, because it featured the Star of David (via kathimerini). A protest against this decision will be staged tomorrow morning in Kavala. Read below in Greek the press release of the citizens’ initiative that organises the protest.

ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΤΥΠΟΥ

Στην τελευταία συνεδρίαση του δημοτικού συμβουλίου Καβάλας, η Δήμαρχος κυρία Τσανάκα ζήτησε την αναβολή των Αποκαλυπτηρίων του μνημείου για τους 1.484 Καβαλιώτες Εβραίους που συνελήφθησαν από τις βουλγαρικές αρχές κατοχής στις 4 Μαρτίου 1943, εκτοπίστηκαν και εξοντώθηκαν στο ναζιστικό στρατόπεδο της Τρεμπλίνκα στην Πολωνία. Σύμφωνα με τη Δήμαρχο Καβάλας, το μνημείο δεν ανταποκρίνεται στα αισθητικά της κριτήρια και προτίθεται να κάνει άλλο ύστερα από καλλιτεχνικό διαγωνισμό. Σύμφωνα όμως με τις επίσημες ανακοινώσεις των εβραϊκών κοινοτήτων στην Ελλάδα, η Δήμαρχος Καβάλας ζήτησε να αφαιρεθεί το άστρο του Δαβίδ από το μνημείο. Το σύμβολο αυτό είναι στοιχείο της εβραϊκής ταυτότητας και υπενθυμίζει το κίτρινο άστρο, το διακριτικό σήμα που φορούσαν οι Εβραίοι της Καβάλας πριν από τον εκτοπισμό τους. Επειδή η απόφαση αυτή προσβάλλει τα δικαιώματα των συμπατριωτών μας Εβραίων και την ιστορική μνήμη για το μεγαλύτερο έγκλημα του Ναζισμού και των Κατακτητών στην πόλη μας, όπως και τα δημοκρατικά αισθήματα των πολιτών, καλούμε τους πολίτες της Καβάλας να συγκεντρωθούμε ειρηνικά και να διαμαρτυρηθούμε σιωπηρά μπροστά στο Δημαρχείο της πόλης την Κυριακή 17 Μαΐου 2015 και ώρα 10.30 π.μ. Τέλος, καλούμε τη Δήμαρχο Καβάλας να αναθεωρήσει την απόφασή της.

Πρωτοβουλία Πολιτών

Read also:

• Abravanel, the blog: Greek mayor rejects Holocaust Memorial; Star of David persecuted again
• Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece: CANCELLATION OF THE UNVEILING CEREMONY OF THE HOLOCAUST MONUMENT IN KAVALA
• AJC Shocked by Demand to Remove Star of David from Holocaust Monument in Kavala, Greece
• The Algemeiner: Jewish Groups Deplore Greek Demand to Remove Star of David From Holocaust Memorial
• The Times of Israel: Greek town wants Star of David off Holocaust memorial
• The Times of Israel: Une étoile de David indésirable en Grèce ?

Update, 17.05.:

Pavlos Zafiropoulos reports on thetoc.gr:

[…] Mr Lychounas [deputy mayor of culture in Kavala] himself, in an article written about the incident in the Kathimerini newspaper, indicates that there was something perhaps deeper behind the disgraceful episode. After describing the many delays in actually succeeding in getting the memorial ready (it was actually first approved by the municipality in 2004 but was plagued with foot-dragging and interminable delays), Lychounas writes that:

“The preparations with all relevant organs continued with the goal of a celebration of memory, but also of the future, until the cries of horror were heard: “The symbols of Lucifer (Star of David), indifference over our dead (make a memorial for the Greeks killed of Asia Minor), a global Zionist conspiracy, freemasonry, the new order of things which seeks to destroy the nation and hysteria over supposed protests” were the arguments…The bitter truth is that there remains a segment of the Greek population which has powerful anti-Semitic feelings based on ignorance and prejudice and the education system does not do enough to eliminate the phenomenon.”

Update, 18.05.:

The Times of Israel report:

Faced with blistering criticism over objecting to the presence of the Star of David on a monument dedicated to Holocaust victims, the mayor of Kavala in northern Greece told protesters Sunday that the dedication ceremony, originally set for this Sunday, will take place “very soon.”

Mayor Dimitra Tsanaka confirmed that councilors from her list had objected to the size and placement of the Star of David on a commemorative stone, although she denied she shared the opinion or wanted the star removed, as the Central Board of Jewish Communities has alleged.

Update, 19.05.:

According to the transcription provided by the Greek journalist Sofia Christoforidou, the Kavala Mayor, Dimitra Tsanaka, blamed in her speech last Sunday the Greek Jews and especially the vice-president of the Jewish Central Board Mr. Magrizos, for the cancellation of the unveiling ceremony of the Holocaust Memorial. The Mayor also admitted she canceled the event to protect the civil peace, after threats she received. After falling to continuous contradictions, she offered to retract her initial statement and accept the monument – possible date June, 7th.

“The uniqueness of Kavala is the protagonists were honest and managed to give us a clear view of greek antisemitism: the very existence of Jewish symbols is not to be tolerated on religious grounds, the Jews still conspire against us through Israel, we Christians have suffered just as much, the Holocaust did not happen here, it is not unique and does not concern us. The Orthodox Church still exerts a huge influence over greek politicians and unfortunately religious antisemitism remains a major part of her culture. And unfortunately we still need to be told by others that racism and antisemitism is not accepted by the rest of the world.”

Read more on abravanel.wordpress.com