'Jerusalem of the Balkans': Exploring Thessaloniki's lost Jewish history – opinion

The article explores the rich, yet tragic, Jewish history of Thessaloniki, once known as "La Madre de Israel" and the "Jerusalem of the Balkans." Jews, including Romaniotes and Sephardim expelled from Spain, constituted half the city's population, leading to the port closing on Shabbat. However, a 1917 fire and the Holocaust devastated the community. During the German occupation, over 53,000 of 56,000 Jews were murdered after being deceived about "resettlement" in Poland, as explained by local guide Elia Matalon. He noted, "They felt it inconceivable that their entire community could be destroyed." The city's Jewish cemetery was destroyed, with gravestones used for construction. In recent years, Thessaloniki has begun acknowledging its Jewish past through memorials and historical markers, with an estimated 55,000 descendants of Greek Jews now living in Israel.