Beth Shalom Synagogue (Athens, Greece)

The Beth Shalom Synagogue in Athens is the main synagogue of the Greek capital, with about 3,000 people, the largest group of Jews living in Greece. " Beth Shalom " is Hebrew and means " House of Peace ". The synagogue is 400 square meters and can hold approximately 550 people. Opposite her is in the same street, the second synagogue of the city, the Ioanniotiki Synagogue.

History

The synagogue was built in 1935 by the Sephardic community of Athens. The interior was completed only in 1951. During the Italian and German occupation of Athens during the Second World War it was the community not possible to use their place of worship. Since Athens originally lay in the Italian and later in the German occupation zone, had the city's Jews - their number had greatly increased by refugees from the northern, German-occupied Greece - supported by the Greek Orthodox Church during the Holocaust better survival than Jews of other countries under Nazi rule. However, in March 1944 the German occupiers did a raid in the synagogue and abducted a number of members of the community. At their fate recalls a bronze plaque inside the synagogue.

1975 Beth Shalom has been renovated.

Swell