CIT QUORA
It was late 1943. Greece had been occupied by the Axis since 1941. The Ionian Islands were initially under Italian control, but after Italy’s capitulation, they passed to Nazi Germany. Soon, the new occupiers started the procedure for the transportation of the local Jewish population to the concentration camps. They took 2,000 from Corfu, 400 from Cephalonia and then came for Zakynthos (Zante) and its 275 Jews.
The German commander of Zakynthos called the Greek mayor Loukas Karrer and ordered him at gunpoint to prepare a list of all the local Jewish families. Karrer complained arguing that they were law-abiding citizens, but was angrily dismissed. In his despair, he turned to the local metropolitan bishop Chrysostom, who also tried to reason with the German authorities but, again, to no avail.
The two men decided to take matters into their own hands. First, they arranged for most Jews to be scattered and sheltered all over the island with the help of local resistance groups. Then, they went to the German commander, and Chrysostom handed him the list he had asked for. Except that inside the envelope, there was a paper with only two names written in Greek and German:
Metropolitan Chrysostom of Zakynthos.
Mayor of Zakynthos Loukas Karrer.
The commander was astounded, and there was an exchange of telegraphs with the German authorities. At some point, Chrysostom intervened and said he wanted to contact Hitler directly. He claimed to have met him in 1924, when both were living in Munich. A message was indeed dispatched, but I doubt Hitler ever saw it. To this day, it’s uncertain whether Chrysostom was telling the truth or simply bluffing.
Apart from the mayor and the bishop, other influential people of Zakynthos, such as the writer and politician Dionysios Romas, were also doing their best with direct and indirect acts. Their combined efforts accomplished the unimaginable. A few days later, there came an order for the total exemption of the Zakynthine Jewish community from the deportation. All 275 of them survived WWII and the Holocaust.
After the war, most of the Jews of Zakynthos emigrated to Israel, but kept some traditions and contacts with the island. Loukas Karrer and Chrysostom were recognized as Righteous Among the Nations. In 1953, when a series of earthquakes devastated Zakynthos causing hundreds of casualties, Israel was among the first international agents to send humanitarian aid.
Image above: Metropolitan Chrysostom (left) and Mayor Loukas Karrer (right).
Image above: A memorial honoring Metropolitan Chrysostom and Mayor Loukas Karrer in the place where the Jewish Synagogue of Zakynthos once stood.
