Boston, March 5: Series of presentations on Jews in Greece

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From: "HR-Net News Distribution Manager" <[email protected]>

Originally From: Foundation for Hellenic Culture <[email protected]>

The Foundation for Hellenic Culture, the Press Office of the Consulate General of Greece, the Vryonis Center for the Study of Hellenism, the American Jewish Committee, New England Region, and the Maliotis Cultural Center, present The Jews of Greece: History, Holocaust & Revival, a series of events at the Boston Public Library on Sunday, March 5.

Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston Street, Boston--Admission is free for all events.

For further information, please call (617) 523-0329 or (617) 522-2800.

MARCH 5, OPENING RECEPTION: 1-4 PM

Traces & Memory, an exhibition of paintings and installations by Xenis Sachinis, curated by Zoe Leoudaki and Viktor Koen. Exhibition will be on view through March 19.

Xenis Sachinis was born in Thessaloniki in 1954. He attended the National School of Fine Arts in Athens, specializing in etching, engraving, and stage design. He pursued a postgraduate degree in painting in Paris at the Ecole Superieure des Beaux Arts. He teaches drawing at the School of Fine Arts of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He has exhibited extensively in Greece, France, Poland, Germany, Italy, and Holland. His work is included in private collections in Greece and abroad. Traces & Memory was previously exhibited at the Central Armature Annex in Washington, DC, and at the Angel Orensanz Foundation Center for the Arts in New York City.

MARCH 5, 1:30 PM

Video screening

It Was Nothing, It Was Everything depicts the rescue of Jews in Greece during the Holocaust. Approximately 10,000 Greek Jews managed to survive the Holocaust. Some lived through the death camps, some became partisans, but most were helped by other Greek citizens who turned a deaf ear to the repeated warnings of German commanders that any non-Jews who attempted to protect Jews risked their lives.

MARCH 5, 2:00 PM

A panel discussion on the Holocaust in Greece. The participants are Photini Constantopoulou, Nikos Stavroulakis, and Yolanda Avram Willis.

Photini Constantopoulou is director of the historical archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece. Along with Thanos Veremis, she is the editor of Documents on the History of the Greek Jews. Nikos Stavroulakis, was the founding director of the Jewish Museum of Greece. In 1995, he moved to Hania, Crete, and worked on a project to reconstruct the Etz Hayyim Synagogue of Hania, the last remaining Jewish monument on the island. He lives in Hania and is archisynagogos of the Synagogue. Yolanda Avram Willis, a lecturer and writer, embarked in 1992 on an oral history project, interviewing rescuers and survivors of the little known Holocaust in Greece. She teaches Holocaust courses at Carnegie Mellon. At present, she is writing a book, A Hidden Child in Greece: Rescue Stories of the Holocaust.

MARCH 5, 3:00 PM

Concert of Mikis Theodorakis's Mauthausen with lyrics by Iakovos Kambanelis, sung by Penelope Bizas, and accompanied by William Lumpkin at the piano. Part of The Jews of Greece: History, Holocaust & Revival at the Boston Public Library.

Mikis Theodorakis, born in Chios of Cretan ancestry in 1925, is one of Greece's greatest composers. His works include popular music, music for film and theater, operas, and symphonies. He has set to music the poetry of George Seferis, Yiannis Ritsos, Odysseus Elytis, Federico Garcia Lorca, Pablo Neruda, and others. Iakovos Kambanellis, a Holocaust survivor, was born on the island of Naxos in 1922 and is an award-winning playwright and novelist. He lives in Athens. Penelope Bizas, a mezzo-soprano, has performed extensively in the US and abroad. She has been a soloist under the direction of Seiji Ozawa, Kurt Masur, Luciano Berio, Robert Page, and Theodore Antoniou. William Lumpkin, a pianist, is musical director of the Opera Institute and Opera Program at Boston University. He is currently an associate conductor and chorus master for the Boston Lyric Opera.

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