It was the first Holocaust memorial to be built on a public space in Greece and its installation marks a change of attitude of Greek officials towards the remembrance of the Holocaust.[1] The monument is regularly vandalized.
Description
The base of the sculpture is built out of grey marble. The sculpture consists of a menorah created out of human bodies and flames. There are two plaques; one in Greek and English, and one in Greek, Hebrew, and English.
Inscription of the first plaque (in English):
DEDICATED BY THE GREEK PEOPLE TO THE MEMORY OF
THE 50,000 JEWISH GREEKS OF THESSALONIKI,
DEPORTED FROM THEIR MOTHER CITY
BY THE NAZI OCCUPATION FORCES
IN THE SPRING OF 1943, AND
EXTERMINATED IN THE GAS CHAMBERS OF
THE AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU DEATH CAMPS
NOVEMBER 1997
Inscription of the second plaque (in English):
IN MEMORY OF THE 50,000 JEWS FROM THESSALONIKI, VICTIMS OF THE HOLOCAUST
KAROLOS PAPOULIAS, PRESIDENT OF THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC
MOSHE KATSAV, PRESIDENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL
ON THE OCCASION OF THE FIRST STATE VISIT OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL
TO THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC
16th FEBRUARY 2006
18 SHVAT 5766[2]
