On December 6th, a delegation from Greece visited the Treblinka Museum. The meeting began with a ceremony of awarding the “Meritorious for to the Treblinka Museum” Medals. During the ceremony, Mr. Theodoros Mouriadis, Mayor of the Municipality of Kavala, and Mr. Nikos Kosmidis were honored. On behalf of Mr. Theodoros Mouriadis, Mr. Konstantinos Pefanis, President of the Kavala City Council, received the Medal. The award is an expression of appreciation for individuals and institutions for their commitment and assistance in achieving the statutory goals of the Treblinka Museum.
At the turn of February and March this year, Mr. Theodoros Mouriadis, Mayor of Kavala, and Mr. Nikos Kosmidis co-organized ceremonies commemorating the 80th anniversary of the arrest of Jews from the Greek regions of Thrace and Eastern Macedonia who were murdered in the Treblinka II Extermination Camp. They also invited the Treblinka Museum delegation to actively participate in the conference and ceremonies in Kavala (Greece). Moreover, they engaged and supported the Treblinka Museum delegations during their stay in Greece and are involved in identifying the names of the victims from these regions deported to Treblinka. Furthermore, Mr. Theodoros Mouriadis provided space for a photographic exhibition by Mr. Nikos Kosmidis titled “Spaces of Memory, Places of Martyrdom”, presenting, among others, photographs from the Treblinka Memorial Site. Additionally, Mr. Nikos Kosmidis is actively involved in social media, where he, among others, effectively disseminate knowledge about the history of the Treblinka II Extermination Camp.
In addition to those mentioned above, also present were:
- Iosif Mevorach, a writer and advisor to the Mayor of Kavala on historical memory matters.
- Mr. Miltiadis Sfoundouris, Deputy Mayor of Distomo, a lawyer from Athens, son of a survivor of the Distomo Massacre.
- Amalia Papaioannou, an archaeologist-historian, Curator of the Museum of Victims of Nazism in Distomo.
- Stefanos Kosmidis.
After the official meeting, the Greek delegation toured the permanent exhibition in the museum building, where they learned about the history of the Treblinka II Extermination Camp, and visited the former camp grounds. The delegation paid tribute to the Victims by laying wreaths at the central monument on the site of the former Treblinka Extermination Camp, reflecting at the symbolic stone inscribed with ‘Greece’, and reciting a Kaddish prayer.
