Holocaust

Family Names Memorial Plaque of the Holocaust victims from Rhodes and Cos seen at the entry of the Kahal Shalom. Dedicated in 1969 by the Yedi Charhon Family.

The implementation of the anti-Jewish laws in September 1938 by the Italian Governor caused great alarm and hardship to the Jewish community. This resulted in a swift exodus of over 2,000 Jews from Rhodes which prior to then had a population of 4,000.

Italy, as an ally of Germany during World War II, allowed the Germans to share control over the Island of Rhodes. In September 1943, the Italian military surrendered full control of Rhodes to the Germans.

On July 18, 1944 the male Jews of Rhodes, age 16 and older, were ordered by the German military commanders to appear the following morning with their identity cards and work permits at the Air Force Command Center. The tactic of requiring the work permits tricked the Jews into thinking they were summoned to be sent for a work camp. The next morning after the Jewish men were assembled they were brutalized and threatened by the German soldiers who proceeded to take away the identity cards and work permits and herded the Jews into the basement of the building.

On July 19th, the remaining Jewish women and children were also ordered to appear the following day with their valuables under a threat of death. They had no choice but to obey, and once entrapped, their belongings were stripped away.

On July 23rd, the 1,673 Jews were ordered to march to the port where they boarded onto three crowded boats. On that sad day, a centuries old Jewish community had ceased to exist.

The crossing from Rhodes to the mainland of Greece lasted eight days and was horrendous. Seven people died during the trip. The trip had one stop at the Island of Leros, where they were joined by another small cargo boat carrying about a hundred Jews from the Island of Kos. Like the people from Rhodes, they had also been herded onto the boat after being stripped of all their valuables and their identity papers.

After landing in Piraeus (Athens) and staying at the Haidari concentration camp, they were forced onto trains to Auschwitz where most of them were murdered. There were approximately 151 survivors.

THE TRAGIC END OF THE COMMUNITIES OF RHODES AND COS

A history by Abraham Galante (English Version by Joseph Franco).  Mr. Galante was a former Professor at the University of Istanbul, Executive member of the Academy of Sciences of Portugal and former Deputy of the National Grand Assembly, (Parliament,) of Turkey, 1948. Translated from the original French into English by his great- nephew, Joseph Franco of Cape Town.

LIST OF RHODES & COS DEPORTEES

The following list of Jews deported from Rhodes by the Germans during the Second World War and is from the Italian book by Liliana Picciotto Fargion called “Il Libro della Memoria”.  The format of arranging the names and biographical data was designed and translated by John Holcenberg, the husband of Esther Rousso of Seattle (daughter of Nissim Rousso and Victoria Angel).  *Please note that married women were listed by their maiden names, names may be misspelled, and the list may be incomplete.

LIST OF LIBERATED DEPORTEES FROM RHODES

The following is a list of liberated Jews of Rhodes from the concentration camps. The list was from the Italian book by Liliana Picciotto Fargion called “Il Libro della Memoria”. The format of arranging the names and biographical data was designed and translated by John Holcenberg, the husband of Esther Rousso of Seattle (daughter of Nissim Rousso and Victoria Angel). *Please note that married women were listed by their maiden names, names may be misspelled, and the list may be incomplete. 

Article in the newspaper “Il Messaggero di Rodi” on July 1944 

  The following are images relating to the Holocaust:

1939-albert-almeleh-nace-treves

1939 photo of Albert Almeleh (17 years old) and Nissim (Nace) Treves (16 years old), on the ship, Giulio Cesare which took them to Africa. Both of them fled Rhodes shortly after the anti-Jewish laws were instituted by the Italian fascist government. Photo from Nace Treves. Read Stories of Emigration: Oral History Transcript – Nissim “Nace” Treves.

refugee-shipwreck

May 1939 photos of a boat that stopped in Rhodes en route to Palestine from Prague and Braslava carrying about 600 Jews. In Rhodes several young Rhodeslis joined the refugees. But before the vessel had traveled far from Rhodes a fire broke out on board. The passengers safely reached the Island of Samos and returned back to Rhodes. The Eastern European Jews were allowed to sleep in the stadium. In a short time, the Rhodes Jewish community managed to obtain another ship and the refugees sailed for Palestine.

german-tanks

The Germans captured Rhodes on September 1943. Photo of German tanks outside the Marine Gate. Photo from Jo Mallel.

Inigo Campioni was an Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina) admiral and appointed governor of the Dodecanese in 1941. Campioni was on the island of Rhodes during the armistice between Italy and the Allies on September 8, 1943. On September 11, 1943, the German forces captured Rhodes. Refusing to collaborate with the Axis Powers, he was arrested and convicted of high treason. Campioni was later executed by firing squad together with the Counter admiral Luigi Mascherpa in Parma.

September 1943: During the German attack on Rhodes, only a few Jews managed to escape. Read Moshe Surmani: From Rhodes to Israel.

detention-center-about-1950

July 1944: The Jews of Rhodes were detained at the Air Force Command center located just outside the Old City near the Gate of Amboise. The Jews were held there for 3 days prior to their deportation to Auschwitz.

boy-with-star

A photo of a young Rhodian Jewish boy of the Angel family, wearing the Star of David on the lapel of his coat. The Jews of Rhodes were not required to wear the “Star”; the boy chose to wear the “Star” as an innocent gesture of pride instead of its actual use as a symbol of persecution. Tragically, the boy was among the 1,673 Jews of Rhodes deported to Auschwitz, where he was killed. Only 151 survived. Miru Alcana, a Holocaust survivor, donated the original photograph to the RJHF Archives.

Miru Alcana with brother Nissim. Miru’s parents and siblings died in the concentration camps. Read Survivor of the Holocaust: Oral History Transcript of Miru Alcana.

demostration

Wedding photo of Yosef Levy and Dona Habif.  In July 1944 the Nazis deported them to the Auschwitz concentration camp where they were killed along with other Jews from Rhodes.  Photograph from Miru Alcana/RJHF Archives.

Simeon and Rosa (née Tarica) Hasson were the only married couple deported from Rhodes that survived Auschwitz-Birkenau. Read Ladino Letters (Kartas): Simeon Hasson – Testimony of a Survivor

Alberto Franco was detained in the Haidari Concentration Camp. He was among the few fortunate Rhodeslis not deported to Auschwitz due to Turkish citizenship (marriage to Hayatie “Victoria” Israel, a Turkish citizen) and the courageous intervention of the Turkish Consul, Selahattin Ulkumen. Read Alberto Franco Diary 

women-survivors

June 1945 photo in Bologna, Italy of 6 young Rhodian Jewish women survivors of the concentration camps. They were liberated one month earlier and traveled by train to Italy. There they met at a military barracks with British soldiers of the Jewish Brigade from Palestine (note the Star of David on the door of the truck). Standing in the front row, L-R: Susana Levy, Lucia Franco, soldier and Renee Levi. Standing in the second row, L-R: Rebecca Capelouto, Alice Tarica and Stella Levi. Photo from Stella Levi.

10-young-refugee-men

1946 photo of ten young Rhodesli men survivors of the Nazi concentration camps. The photo was taken in Ostia, Italy (near Rome) where the refugees lived in temporary housing. (The Rhodesli women were housed in a shelter in Rome.) L-R: Alberto Levy, Jack Hasson, Victor Hasson, Samuel Modiano, Eliezer Sourmani, Pepo Cordoval, Jack Cordoval, Joseph Cone, Ner Alhadeff and Joseph Hasson. Photo from Joseph Natan Hasson.

1946-memorial

1946 photo of the President of the Jewish Community, Elia Soriano, laying a wreath at the fountain in “La Juderia” in memory of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Photo from Elie Jacob Soriano.

Saving Jewish Lives From Auschwitz and the Holocaust

The following is an article from the 2005 “Ke Haber?” newsletter, page 11.

RJHF Archives.

There were 42 Jews who were originally detained, but released prior to their deportation due to the courageous acts of the Turkish Consulate General of Rhodes, Selahattin Ulkumen.  He has been honored by several organizations, including the B’nai B’rith, the Anti Defamation League as well as by Yad Vashem in Jerusalem which awarded him the “Righteous Among the Nations” in 1990 with a tree planting ceremony.

On July 18, 1944, the Germans began ordering all of the Jews of Rhodes to appear with their identity cards and work permits at the Air Force Command Center in the new section of the city.  On July 20th, the Consul General in Rhodes for Turkey, Selahattin Ulkumen went to the office of the German Commanders demanding the release of the Jews of Turkish nationality that were being detained.  He cited various treaties and neutrality agreements between Turkey and Germany, and reluctantly the Germans released the 42 Jews.

All of the other Jews were detained for one more day until they were crowded onto three small freight ships and deported to Auschwitz.  Of the 1,673 Jews deported, they were all murdered except for 151 who survived.

 

As written by Hizkia Franco in his book, The Jewish Martyrs of Rhodes and Cos, “Selahattin, the Consul General of Turkey, intervened to protect his nationals.  He managed to obtain their release, along with the families, even in the case of marriages of women of Turkish origin to Jews of the Dodecanese”.

One of the Jews of Turkish nationality, Maurice Soriano, said in an interview several years later, “I owe my life to this Turkish Consul who showed enormous strength to save his citizens’ lives.”

Although the 42 Jews of Turkish nationality were not deported, they were still threatened and were required to appear at 8 a.m. daily at the German Command Center.  The Daniel Touriel family, who moved to the United States after the War, described the following:  “Every morning, at 8 a.m. we had to be present for a roll-call at the Gestapo.  Sometimes, without any given reason we were detained for 1 to 2 hours.  Those hours were nightmares for us.  Besides being in fear of being sent to a concentration camp, we were terrified of losing our lives under the continuous bombings of the Island since we were refused to be in bomb-shelters.“

In a later newspaper interview, Selahattin Ulkumen stated:  “All I did was carry out my duty as a human being”.

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aron
Admin
1 month ago

1946 Rhodesli Holocaust SurvivorsFor the 2024 International Day of Commemoration, let us recognize the extraordinary courage of the Holocaust victims and survivors. May their stories give us strength and purpose.

Image: 1946 of mostly Rhodesli Survivors at an excursion near Rome. Rhodesli Jewish Calendar (2018).

tom klein
tom klein
4 years ago

wow! yes, i think that’s the same family, unless there was more than one GABRIEL baker. i have a photo of the door of their house from when we visited rhodes. his grandchildren and great-grandchildren would be thrilled!

Aron
Aron
4 years ago

To Tom Klein: Jacob Gabriel had an oven that was used by the Jewish community. Is this your family? I have copies of some documents that I could forward to you. One of the documents state: “Esercita il mestiere di fornaio con negozio in Via Eredia, ritraendo da tale lavoro circa 10 Lire al giorno”. Translation: “He works as a baker with a shop on Via Heredia, earning about 10 Lire a day from this job.” I have a copy of a 1938 document that has his signature handwritten in Ladino. I can also send you a copy of a… Read more »

tom klein
tom klein
4 years ago

hi, is there any documentation about the GABRIEL family? as far as i know, Salomon GABRIEL was born in 1918, and his father’s name was Jacob, but i don’t know very much about the rest of his family.

aron
Admin
5 years ago

Hi Davide. I located some information about your family and could send you by a separate email a couple documents. It indicates that your grandfather, Giacomo (Jacob) was born in “Adana” (I think Turkey) on July 22, 1917 and he had a younger sister, Rebecca born in Adalia on June 20, 1920. Your great-grandfather, Isaac was born in Rhodes in 1876 and your great-grandmother, Rosa, was born in Izmir in 1889. The documents indicate that your family lived at Via della Castellania #61 (which was called “La Kaye Ancha” by the Jews of Rhodes and their home was a few… Read more »

Davide Giordano Hazan
Davide Giordano Hazan
5 years ago

Hello, im italian from Bari (South Italy). my grandfather was from Rhodos. I dont know nothing about my past. My grandfather never talk about the past. The name of him was Giacomo Hazan, son of Isacco Hazan (shipowner). Giacomo had a sister, the name was Boccone (I never heard a name like that). If you will have a connection with me, add me on Facebook. I will happy to talk with you! Grazie! Davide Giordano Hazan

Claude Hasson
5 years ago

My cousin Victor Hasson, living in Bruxelles, goes to Rhodes with his family every summer. His daughter, Stella Hasson wrote a book in french, called “From Paradise to Hell”. The story of her father Victor Hasson in Rhodes, Holocaust and after Hell….

Adi
Adi
5 years ago

Hi Aron. My great aunt is Behora Ganon, She’s my great-grandfather sister (His name is Itzhak Romano) I would like to get some more details if possible.

Vanessa Menasce
Vanessa Menasce
6 years ago

Thank you so much for all the details. I am the granddaughter of Josef Menasce and Vida Franco, who left Rhodes in February 1940 for the Belgian Congo. They unfortunately had to leave behind Vida’s mother, Fasana Menasce (married name Franco), daughter of Leah Tarica and Eliau Menasce; as she was too old for the long boat trip to Africa. I have noted her name on the list of the deportees; although some of her details are missing: is there a way of adding the missing details on the list? As for how and when she died, I do not… Read more »

Anthony Romano
Anthony Romano
6 years ago

Thank you Aron for the information although tragic and so sad

I am also searching to find out if any of my grandmother’s family was killed by Nazis. My grandmother was Sara Betton and her father Benzion Betton (not certain of spelling), Benzion came to the US around 1910-20 then sent for his wife (I dont know her name and would like to) and two daughters (Sara and Bolie). I wanted to know if they had any family still in Rhodes when the Nazis deported and murdered our people.

aron
aron
6 years ago

Anthony. Unfortunately they were not on the list of 42 people. This family was originally from Bodrum and the nearby island of Kos. The date you referred to was the date they were murdered in Auschwitz. I will email you more detailed information regarding: Jacob Romano, Marie Cadranel, Matilde Mazaltov Romano, Morris Haim Romano and Behora Mazaltov Ganon.

aron
Admin
6 years ago

Hi Rosina. I will send to your email address a 1938 family registration from Rhodes of the Isaac Hazan family. It indicates they lived at #61 Via della Castellania. Also in the home lived: Rosa Azicri, Giacomo Hazan and Rebecca Hazan. It also indicates that the parents of Isaac was Giacobbe Hazan and Caden Notrica. The parents of Rosa were Abramo Azicri and Esther Haim. Let me know if you would like the same type of family registration of the Moshe Franco and Mathilde Galante side of your family. I am also emailing you a copy of the deportation record… Read more »

Anthony Romano
Anthony Romano
6 years ago

My great grandmother Behora Ganon (married name Romano) and my great aunt Hanula Romano (married name Levi) were Turkish citizens I believe and I wanted to know if they were in the 42 who were released from detention. The list of deportees above list both and has this date 16/08/1944 as what happened to them — not sure if that is their murder date or something else. Please help

Rosina Engel-Franco
Rosina Engel-Franco
6 years ago

My mom Rebecca Hazan (her mom Rosina Azicri, her father Isacco Hazan) who were born in Izmir and moved to Rhodes with her family was one of the Auschwitz survivors. She married my dad, Ghedalia Franco (son of Moshe Franco & Mathilde Galante) who escaped the Holocaust because he had moved to Congo (Kinshasa) where I was born. My mom is now 95 years old and has 2 other daughters, 7 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren, a victory over the Nazis who wanted to annihilate the Jews. I was very excited and moved to discover this websie and see some… Read more »

aron
aron
6 years ago

Hi Ruth. I’m emailing to you a 1938 family registration page of Behor Habib (of Gallipoli) & Reina Hasson. It indicates that Behor’s parents were Hasdai Habib & Lea Mezitrano. It also states that Regina’s parents were Moreno Hasson & Rebecca Menashe. They married on January 2, 1917. It also states that they lived at #16 Via Maggio in the Jewish Quarter. The other document provides a few sad details of their deportation to Auschwitz and death.

Ruth Rubinstein
Ruth Rubinstein
6 years ago

Hello, I would appreciate getting information on my uncle Behor Habib and his wife Reina and their three children (Lea, Victor and Leon) that were killed in Auschwitz. Could you email me to… (email address removed by aron to ensure privacy). thank you

tom klein
tom klein
7 years ago

could you please add a small bit of information to the deportees, Allegra, Rachel, Isacco, Matilde, Nissim, and Sol, the children of Jeuda Leon. he was my wife’s grandfather, and his wife’s name was Jamilla Piha. if you could please add her name as their mother. (she died before the deportation.)

thank you.

ROSSI avraham
ROSSI avraham
7 years ago

i am born in Tunis, My father in egypt (cairo) and my grandmother wife of albert Rossi was Maria Soriano from Rhodes.
I would like to meet my relatives. I live in Corsica; I you know some information about these Soriano pleasz mail me
my mail: albert2a@hotmail.com
Albert Rossi

Joseph Elkana
Joseph Elkana
8 years ago

Miru Alcana is my relative. I met her before she past away few years ago. Both of her brothers escaped to turkey. 1 of the brothers is my grandpa. my family shared their story how they escaped rhodes and they met miru again in Israel. This is my family.

Jo Mallel
Jo Mallel
10 years ago

WILL BE IN RHODIS FROM 16 to 30 July 2014.