The personal stories of Greek Jews who took part in the WWII Resistance (1941-44) are the focus of the exhibition “Synagonistis: Greek Jews in the National Resistance,” which was inaugurated on April 1 and will run through May 30 at the Washington Hebrew Congregation in Washington D.C.

(Greek FM Nikos Kotzias, center, with the Greek Ambassador to the US, Christos Panagopoulos, left, and Senior Rabbi M. Bruce Lustig)

The exhibition, compiled by the Jewish Museum of Greece in Athens and presented by the Embassy of Greece in the United States, focuses on the contributions of Greek Jews in the resistance to Axis forces in occupied Greece.

The exhibition is the product of fives years of research into the personal stories of men and women from various Jewish communities around Greece who took up arms and headed to the mountains to join the armed widespread Resistance in the country. Photographs, documents, letters, proclamations, underground newspapers and other relevant materials are presented for the first time.

The exhibition is accompanied by a bilingual catalogue, a documentary film by David Gavriilidis, as well as a specially designed educational program for schools.
“Synagonistis” is the Greek word for “fellow fighter” and it’s exactly this notion that the exhibition highlights: Greeks, regardless of religious affiliation, fighting the country’s invaders.

“It’s a duty to these records from oblivion, and this is the goal of this exhibition. It is also a voice against anti-Semitism and racism,” according to the Press Counselor at the Greek embassy and exhibition manager Christos Failadis.

“Synagonistis” is presented in Washington by the Embassy of Greece, sponsored by the Secretariat General of Communication of Greece and the support of the American Hellenic Institute, AHEPA, B’nai B’rith International, the American Friends of the Jewish Museum of Greece and the Black Olive Restaurant.