Hazak Luncheon

Wednesday, May 22, 2013
12 noon

NHS Hazak held a luncheon and program featuring Dr. Ronna Schneider as guest speaker. The niece of NHS member Matt Yosafat, Dr. Schneider visited Salonika, Greece in April 2012 with the National Young Leadership Cabinet. In the process, she learned quite a bit about Jewish history in Greece and her own family.

At one time, the Jews comprised 50% of the population in Salonika. There were over 50,000 Jews in Greece at the time of the German occupation. Between March and August 1943, the Germans deported more than 45,000 Jews from Salonika to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. Most of the deportees were gassed on arrival in Auschwitz.

After the Holocaust, 98% of the Greek Jewish population had perished. Her tour guide told the story of one family that survived the war years by escaping to Mount Olympus and living on the mountain for two and a half years. Dr. Schneider was astonished when the tour guide said the name of the family: Yosafat! She had never been told the story about how her famly survived the Holocaust. While her own family immigrated to America after the war, she met with many relatives who stayed in Greece and learned even more about her family. Many photos of important scenes were projected on the screen so everyone could see them.

Photography by Gayna Bassin