The German occupation of Greece began in 1941. Within a year Jews were forced to wear the star of David, conscripted into forced labor, made to stand for hours in the heat being beaten and forced to do calisthenics. They were placed in a ghetto near the rail lines to facilitate transport to labor and concentration camps. Deportations to Auschwitz in over-crowded railroad cars began in 1943, and more than 46,000 Jews were deported by the summer. Despite actions by the Greek resistance in saving some of the Jews, Thessaloniki lost 96 per cent of its Sephardic population in the Holocaust.
The following documents describe one couple - Rachel Saltiel and her husband Mentech - and efforts of two diplomats, themselves caught up in the occupation, to save the Sephardic Jews of Thessaloniki.
--Michael D. Bulmash, K1966
Browse the Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection.
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Spanish Vice-Consul in Thessaloniki, Greece, Solomon Ezrati Signed Attestation of Citizenship for Mentech Saltiel, Sephardi Jew in Thessaloniki During German Occupation
2022.1.58
Page with photograph stapled in top right corner, purple handstamp on bottom half of photograph, typewritten 'Bestatigung' underlined at center.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Document on Spanish Consulate in Thessaloniki letterhead during the German occupation confirming Mentech Saltiel’s address and that he is a Spanish subject. It is dated June 29, 1941, just two months after the occupation, and signed by Solomon Ezrati. Ezrati served as a Vice-Consul at the Spanish consulate in Thessaloniki, Greece. He worked closely with Consul General Romero Radigales helping save Sephardi Jews and was acknowledged as such by Yad Vashem. Jewish himself, Ezrati was arrested along with other Spanish nationals and deported to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. He survived the war.
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Personalausweis or Identity Card belonging to Mentech Saltiel, Sephardi Jew in Thessaloniki During German Occupation
2022.1.57
Blue booklet with hole punch through top left corner, photo on first page.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Mentech Saltiel would have been required to carry his Greek Jewish ID Card or “Personalausweis” - issued under German occupation in Thessaloniki - identifying him as a Thessaloniki glassware worker. Note the red hand stamp NICHT ARISCH (NOT ARYAN).
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Lifesaving ID Issued to Sephardi Jew Rachel Pinhas de Saltiel by Sebastian de Romero Radigales, Consul General of Spain in Athens, Greece During German Occupation
2022.1.16
Identification sheet with printed text at top left “CONSULADO GENERAL DE ESPANA EN ATENAS”, top right includes adhered black and white photograph of female with purple handstamp covering lower corner, bottom left includes adhered stamps and handstamps.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Rachel Pinhas de Saltiel and her husband Mentech Saltiel y Saporta, both of Spanish descent, belonged to the ancient Sephardi community of diaspora Jews in Thessaloniki, Greece, whose origin could be traced to the Spanish Expulsion of 1492. Sebastian de Romero Radigales - Consul General of Spain in Athens - used his authority to try to protect the Sephardi Jews who were being deported from Thessaloniki to Auschwitz (48,000 Jews deported between March and August 1943), invoking a 1924 decree which gave Sephardi Jews of the diaspora -descendants of the Spanish Expulsion of 1492 - a right to Spanish citizenship. Romero Radigales made repeated demands on the German ambassador that Jews with Spanish heritage should not be deported, but rather repatriated to their country of origin. Ironically, he found the Germans amenable to this, while Spain’s Francoist regime resisted his efforts to repatriate Jews from Thessalonica who had Spanish citizenship, the 1924 decree notwithstanding.
In August 1943, the Germans identified 367 Jews with Spanish citizenship who were subsequently interned in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp from August 1943 to February 1944, to be used for a possible trade with the Allies. The group included Rachel Saltiel and her husband Mentech. Heated negotiations occurred between Spanish diplomats and German authorities until Romero Radigales was able to change his own government’s position and allow these Belsen interns to be transferred to Spanish Morocco.
To the Germans, Romero Radigales would continue to be perceived as demanding and difficult, chronically interfering with their work. However, for his unwavering devotion to the Sephardic Jews of Athens and Thessalonica and his repeated efforts at saving Jewish lives, Sebastian de Romero Radigales would be honored as Righteous Among the Nations. His signature appears on this document as Consul General of Spain in Athens.
[Related item: 2022.1.56]
[Related item: 2022.1.56]
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Rachel Saltiel's Post-War Spanish Passport with Israeli Visas and Consular Stamps
2022.1.56
Blue booklet with bird and shield on cover, includes photograph on page 2 of 32 pages, no marks on pages 12-30.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Rachel Pinhas de Saltiel and her husband Mentech Saltiel y Saporta, both of Spanish descent, belonged to the ancient Sephardi community of diaspora Jews in Thessaloniki, Greece, whose origin could be traced to the Spanish Expulsion of 1492. Sebastian de Romero Radigales- Consul General of Spain in Athens- used his authority to try to protect the Sephardi Jews who were being deported from Thessaloniki to Auschwitz (48,000 Jews deported between March and August, 1943), invoking a 1924 decree which gave Sephardi Jews of the diaspora-descendants of the Spanish Expulsion of 1492- a right to Spanish citizenship. Romero Radigales made repeated demands on the German ambassador that Jews with Spanish heritage should not be deported, but rather repatriated to their country of origin. Ironically, he found the Germans amenable to this, while Spain’s Francoist regime resisted his efforts to repatriate Jews from Thessalonica who had Spanish citizenship, the 1924 decree notwithstanding.
In August 1943, the Germans identified 367 Jews with Spanish citizenship who were subsequently interned in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp from August, 1943 to February 1944, to be used for a possible trade with the Allies. The group included Rachel Saltiel and her husband Mentech. Heated negotiations occurred between Spanish diplomats and German authorities until Romero Radigales was able to change his own government’s position and allow these Belsen interns to be transferred to Spanish Morocco. Rachel and her husband Mentech would eventually take up residence in Tel Aviv.
[see related item: 2022.1.16]