The Eleftherias Square roundup of 9,000 Jewish men marked the first major antisemitic action in Salonica under Axis occupation and initiated the destruction of the city's Jewish community.
Key Facts
- Date
- Saturday, 11 July 1942 (Jewish Sabbath)
- Jewish men rounded up
- 9,000 persons
- Age range conscripted
- 18 to 45 years old
- Duration of roundup
- 08:00 to 14:00 (6 hours)
- Announced by
- Generalleutnant Kurt von Krenzki, 7 July 1942
- Eichmann trial testimony
- Survivor Itzhak Nehama testified in Jerusalem, 1961
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the 1941 Axis occupation of Greece, German authorities and the collaborationist Governorate-General of Macedonia coordinated antisemitic policies targeting Salonica's large Jewish population. On 7 July 1942, Generalleutnant Kurt von Krenzki announced the conscription of all Jewish men aged 18–45, with governor-general Vasilis Simonides issuing a parallel edict classifying Jews as a racial category under principles similar to the 1935 Nuremberg Laws.
On 11 July 1942, approximately 9,000 Jewish men were assembled in Eleftherias Square in Salonica. Organized by the Governorate-General of Macedonia, Greek police, and military officers, the roundup forced men to perform humiliating calisthenics and roll on the ground in violation of the Sabbath. German Army, Navy, and SS personnel participated in beatings; guard dogs were used against those who collapsed; several were injured and some died.
In the weeks following the roundup, thousands of Salonica Jews were conscripted into forced labor projects, though some veterans of the Greco-Italian War and certain white-collar workers received limited exemptions. The event is widely regarded as the opening act of the systematic destruction of the Jewish community of Salonica, which culminated in mass deportations to Nazi extermination camps beginning in 1943.