Unidentified Person 542’s Life in Photos
Italian Conquest of Rhodes
Italy conquers Rhodes and the Dodecanese from the Ottoman Empire during the Italo-Turkish War. The Jewish community numbers approximately 4,500 — its historical peak.
Jewish Community of Rhodes (jewishrhodes.org)
Ezra Bessaroth Congregation (Seattle)
Ezra Bessaroth Congregation is incorporated in Seattle, evolving from earlier mutual aid societies. By this time roughly 600 Sephardic Jews live in the city, many from Rhodes.
HistoryLink.org
The Rhodesli community maintained distinctive Sephardic Passover traditions, including unique Ladino songs and recipes.
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne formally cedes the Dodecanese islands to Italy. Under Governor Mario Lago, Greek, Turkish, and Jewish communities coexist under relatively benign administration.
Cambridge University Press
Italian Racial Laws
Mussolini enacts the Leggi Razziali (Racial Laws). On Rhodes, the rabbinical seminary is closed and Jews who became Italian citizens after 1919 are ordered to relinquish citizenship. Approximately 2,000 Jews flee Rhodes over the following months — to the Americas, Africa, and Palestine.
Jewish Virtual Library; Yad Vashem
German Occupation of Rhodes
Following Italy's armistice with the Allies on September 8, the German Wehrmacht occupies Rhodes on September 11. For ten months the remaining Jewish community of roughly 1,800 lives under German military rule.
Yad Vashem; Jewish Community of Rhodes
Deportation of Rhodes Jews
1,673 Jews are rounded up and marched to the port of Rhodes, loaded onto three boats. Combined with 94 Jews from Kos, approximately 1,767 people begin the longest journey of any community sent to Auschwitz — 24 days by sea and sealed cattle car. Approximately 151 survive. Over 90% are murdered.
Yad Vashem; Jewish Community of Rhodes (jewishrhodes.org); Claims Conference
Arrival at Auschwitz-Birkenau
After 24 days — 7 days at sea, detention at Haidari camp near Athens, and 13 days in sealed cattle cars — the transport from Rhodes arrives at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Approximately 1,200 are sent directly to the gas chambers.
Yad Vashem; UW Stroum Center for Jewish Studies
After a harrowing sea and train journey, the Jews of Rhodes arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau on August 16, 1944.
The entire Jewish community of Rhodes (approximately 1,700 people) was deported by Nazi forces on July 23, 1944.
Liberation of Rhodes
The German garrison surrenders Rhodes to the British on May 8, 1945. The island comes under British military administration. Of the roughly 1,800 Jews on Rhodes at the time of deportation, only about 151 survive the camps.
Jewish Community of Rhodes (jewishrhodes.org)
Dodecanese Ceded to Greece
The Treaty of Paris formally transfers the Dodecanese islands from Italy to Greece. Most surviving Rhodesli Jews have already emigrated to Israel, the United States, or Africa. Approximately 50 Jews remain on Rhodes.
Greek City Times; Treaty of Paris (1947)
Rhodesli Heritage Archive
Preserving the memory of the Jewish community of Rhodes