Rhodes and the Holocaust

*** A Holocaust memorial is situated within the remains of the bombed out square of the old city of Rhodes. An epitaph on the black marble monument is displayed in six languages. In English, it reads: “In eternal memory of the 1604 Jewish Martyrs of Rhodes and Cos who were murdered in Nazi death camps.” Of the few that survived nearly all were young boys and girls orphaned by the genocide. *** Chapter 1 Beautiful Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese cluster of islands nestled in the Mediterranean Sea. A mere stone’s throw away, across a short span of the sea from the port, you can see the Western mountains of Turkey. Rich in history and fabled Greek mythology, the tales of life on the island stretch back over four thousand years. Centuries ago, the port of Rhodesboasted at its entrance one of the seven ancient wonders of the world- the Colossus of Rhodes. The Order of the Knights Hospitaliers of Saint John of Jerusalem purchased the island in 1309. After defeats in Jerusalem and Cyprus, the Knights established Rhodes as their headquarters. During their two-hundredyear era, the fortifications were enlarged with the addition of several public buildings, including a hospital, palace and churches. In 1522, after a long siege, the Ottoman Turks conquered the city from the Knights. New buildings, such as mosques and mansions, were added to the existing fortified castle walls. Despite the conquests by the Ottoman Empire, and later, by the Italians and Germans, Rhodes is the most perfectly preserved and still functional medieval town and castle fortress in the world. In late fifteenth-century Spain, the merciless Inquisition, combined with the Alhambra Edicts of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, ushered in a period of terror for the Spanish Jews, known as Sephardim. Finally, expelled from their homes and property, they set sail in search of a new home. Th e Ottoman Muslims welcomed them to settle in Rhodes in the sixteenth century. Earlier, there had been a minor presence of Jews on the island starting back two thousand years. However, with the arrival of the expelled Spanish community, there became established La Juderia, the Jewish quarter in the old fortress city of Rhodes. It was located in the eastern portion of the castle fortress, near a pier used by the large ships. The society became centered surrounding the street where the Kahal Gadol synagogue existed. In time, three more synagogues would be erected. The community grew and flourished under the Turks. Italian troops captured Rhodes and the Dodecanese in 1912 and later in 1923 established the colony “Isole Italiane Del Egeo”. By 1918, the Jewish community of La Juderia had grown to over 4,000. Many of the customs and traditions brought from Spain by their ancestors to the island continued to be handed down and observed through the generations. While most were multi-lingual in Greek, Italian, French and Turkish, the common language within the society was a Judeo-Spanish dialect known as Ladino. The Ladino language through time had become so ingrained on the island that some of the Greek and Turkish friends had also learned and were able to converse in that dialect during their social interactions with members of the Jewish community. There was a very solid sense of affiliation within La Juderia, with its basis in religion, customs, and tradition; a combination that translated into a charming, warm and collective familial way of life. The closeness of the society was often reflected during conversations, where in speech older women often referred to each other with the respectful prefix of “hermana” translating from Ladino into “sister”. Typical of a greeting between the women would be; “Ke haber, Hermana Esther?” - “How are you, Sister Esther?” The men were involved in all aspects of society; they were professionals, bankers, merchants, religious students and regular employees. While the synagogue was the societal center of their lives, interactions with the other ethnic groups on the island were on a secular level. Some wonderful friendships had developed and thrived amongst the people of La Juderia and their Greek and Turkish neighbors. The vast castle fortress with its medieval stone walls surrounding the Jewish quarter resembled in many ways the structures of the walled fortress city in the holy land. That aspect, earned La Juderia the affectionate tag of “Little Jerusalem” by its inhabitants. Many in La Juderia had done very well, such as the Alhadeff family who had become wealthy bankers and merchants. As in any society, some had not had such a measure of success, like Isaac and Djoya Hanan. Isaac was a poor mattress maker with a family of nine children. They lived in a onebedroom house, a short distance from the synagogue in Dossiadou Street. Often, they were unable to make ends meet and survived in their cramped space on the barest of essentials. Although poor by any standards, they were a happy family and the children were all gifted in one way or another. At age thirteen, the eldest son Morris set off by boat for the United States to start a new life and a quest to make his fortune. The second eldest son, Leon, quit school at age eleven to work, and also left for America to find employment that would enable him to send back money to support the family. The eldest of the daughters, Serena, helped her parents by doing odd jobs, the household chores, and bringing up her sisters and brothers. The fourth child, Mathilda, at the age of five, was given to more wealthy relatives as an “esclava” – an unpaid servant, to make ends meet. The middle child, Rachel, had the gift of intelligence. She had graduated from high school at the age of twelve and by age fourteen was a schoolteacher of pupils older than herself. She taught at the Alliance Israelite Universelle, the school of La Juderia. After completing her teaching at the Alliance, Rachel often loaded an old satchel with papers from her students that needed to be graded. She would set off to find a spot to mark their work. Walking a short distance along the narrow and winding streets, she would pass houses brimming with life. Familiar and smiling faces of families outside their time worn steps and through the alleyways, greeted her along her route. Her home was a short distance from the school, but she would keep walking towards the street of “La Calle Ancha” – the wide street and adjacent “Tcharshi” business district where many merchants exhibited their wares. Rachel’s earnings were used to help support her family. She knew that she could not afford to purchase any of the items the street so beautifully displayed, but still took pleasure at the window-shopping. Merchants and shoppers bustled with activity, greeting each other in Ladino the Judeo-Spanish language, Greek and Turkish. Occasionally, a dash of other languages would also permeate into the exchanges. Young Turkish men, some still clad in the old traditional Shalvars, a dress of baggy pants, busily worked at the outdoor restaurants serving coffee, wine and Raki liquor. Beyond the merchants’ shops, Rachel walked by the Grand Masters’ Palace, a vast stone castle where the former rulers of the island had presided over Rhodes. Finally, she would reach the outermost stone arches of the medieval city’s walls and exit the castle to head towards her goal, the Mandraki, the port situated on the Western end of the city fortifications. At the port, fishing boats had begun returning into the harbor carrying their trawling catches and the air carried a strong aroma of fish. Alongside the docks, a few boats were already moored with men working on repairing their fishnets and scrubbing the decks from the day’s fishing venture.