Kaisariani: Three Greek Jews among the 200 executed

Three Greek Jews are among the 200 executed in Kaisariani, as stated in an announcement issued today by the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece.

Specifically, among those executed were Moses Karasso, from Thessaloniki, a merchant (or shoemaker), a member of the KKE, previously exiled to Anafi; Henri Perachia, from Thessaloniki, a worker and a leading figure of the Marxist movement during the Interwar period, a candidate in the repeat parliamentary elections in Thessaloniki in 1933, who published the newspaper “Proletarios” in Greek and in Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) and had founded the “Academic Bookstore,” and who was later exiled/imprisoned in Akronafplia; and Albertos Ezratis, from Thessaloniki, a cobbler, previously exiled/imprisoned in Akronafplia.

According to the announcement, these individuals “were among the thousands of Greek Jews who participated in the struggle against fascism and Nazism, either by joining the units of the Greek army in the Greco-Italian war or by taking part in the National Resistance against the German occupiers.”

“The historical memory of the 200 resistance fighters who were executed at the Kaisariani Shooting Range in 1944 is brought to life through photographs that were published and will soon be incorporated into the archival material documenting the atrocities committed by the Nazis during the occupation of our country,” the statement characteristically notes.

The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece expresses its satisfaction with the decision of the Greek Government for the photographic material to come under the ownership of the Greek State, as this will decisively contribute not only to deepening historical research but also to enriching the burden of memory passed down from generation to generation, so that the common point of reference remains the safeguarding of the value of freedom against intolerance, totalitarianism and blind fanaticism that attack modern society.