In the summer of 1944, the German occupying forces deported Jews from the Greek islands of Rhodes and Kos to Auschwitz-Birkenau. It was the last transport of Greek Jews headed for the Auschwitz death camp.
A monument and a museum in the city of Rhodes commemorate the fate of the Jewish communities of Rhodes and Kos. This city is also home to the oldest synagogue in Greece.

Kos, 1943, German units take the city of Kos on Kos island on October 3, 1943, Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-524-2269-04A, Robter A. E. Bauer


Rhodes (city), undated, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Rhodes and Kos, Rhodes Jewish Museum

The islands of Rhodes and Kos belong to the Dodecanese islands in the South Aegean. Until 1944, the islands were home to a Jewish community. The members of the community were Sephardic Jews: their ancestors had fled from Spain at the end of the 15th century. There were about 1,800 Jews on Rhodes before the war; 150 lived on Kos. In 1941, the islands were occupied by the Italian army, after which some Jewish families chose to emigrate. When Mussolini was ousted in 1943, German troops under the command of Lieutenant General Ulrich Kleemann took Rhodes. The other Aegean islands, including Kos, were taken by British units shortly after the Italians had retreated. In October 1943, however, they were seized by German Wehrmacht units. Although Jews from other parts of Greece had been deported on a mass scale from 1943 on, the Aegean Jews were led to believe that they would remain safe. In June 1944, however, a representative of the Reich Main Security Office arrived on Rhodes in order to prepare the upcoming deportation of the Jews.
On July 13, 1944, Lieutenant General Kleemann ordered the Jews of Rhodes to gather at collection points within four days. Some Jews were able to escape deportation because the Turkish Consul General on Rhodes, Selahattin Ülkümen, had issued them Turkish passports. The others were brought to Piraeus on the Greek mainland in freight ships together with the Jews from Kos. They were first forced to hand over their valuables to the Wehrmacht. From Piraeus they were transferred to the Chaidari collection camp near Athens. In Chaidari the SS prepared deportation trains which took them to the Auschwitz death camp a few days later.

Kos, 1943, German units take the city of Kos on Kos island on October 3, 1943, Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-524-2269-04A, Robter A. E. Bauer


Rhodes (city), undated, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Rhodes and Kos, Rhodes Jewish Museum

On July 24, 1944, about 1,670 Jews from Rhodes and about 65 Koan Jews were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Most of them were murdered in the gas chambers immediately upon arrival, probably on August 16, 1944. Approximately 150 Aegean Jews, whom the SS selected for forced labour deployment, survived the war.

Rhodes, 1943, 7-year-old Alexander Angel, one year before his deportation to Auschwitz, Rhodes Jewish Museum, Miru Alcana


Rhodes (city), 2009, Entrance to the Kahal Shalom Synagoge, built in 1577, Louis Davidson

The memorial to the murdered Jews of Rhodes and Kos was dedicated in 2002. It was set up jointly by the Greek government and by the Jewish community of Rhodes. The six sides of the black granite stele symbolise a Star of David. Inscribed on the six sides, in six languages (Hebrew, Greek, English, Ladino, French and Italian) is the memorial's dedication: »Never forget. In eternal memory of the 1,604 Jewish martyrs of Rhodes and Kos who were murdered in the Nazi death camps. July 23, 1944«. The memorial is located on the »Square of the Jewish Martyrs« in the old town of the city of Rhodes. A Jewish museum was opened in Rhodes already in 1997. It was an initiative of the Rhodes Jewish Historical Foundation in Los Angeles and the Jewish community of Rhodes.
The oldest synagogue in Greece today - the Kahal Shalom Synagogue, originally built in 1577 - is in close vicinity.

Rhodes (city), undated, Detailed view of the memorial, Rhodes Jewish Museum


Rhodes (city), 2009, Interior of the Kahal Shalom Synagoge, Louis Davidson

Name

Mnimeío gia tous dolofonithéntes Evraíous apó ti Ródo kai tin Ko