His Name

Last week I blogged about seeing my name (my great grandfather's name) in Hizkia Franco's book, The Jewish Martyrs of Rhodes and Cos. As the book hits the sad climax, the Nazis start deporting Jews to Haidari (a concentration camp outside of Athens) and then Auschwitz. Here, I came by yet another name that a family member carries. While I briefly blogged about the 3 Davids from which Nissim got his middle name, here's a bit more information about the tragic end of one of these Davids, Nonna's grandfather (his name bolded below):

The following details have been taken from an interview with Mr. Bension R. Menasche. The facts speak eloquently:

'This trip from Athens to Auschwitz lasted thirteen days, from 3 to 16 August 1944. What a journey, and in what terrible conditions! Thirteen days of unheard-of atrocious suffering. Men and women, old people and children were all packed into these dirty and repugnant wagons. We were suffocating, almost dying, the air was so different to breathe. All we had to eat was a mess-tin of filth, and a jug of water they called drinkable. That was all. Many of our deportees succumbed to their sufferings during the trip.

These corpses were flung out on to the fields as prey for the wild beasts. One can easily imagine the emotions of their fellow sufferers. It was these terrible conditions that the deportees spent the thirteen days of their appalling journey.

Here is a list of the deportees who died on the trip from Rhodes to Auschwitz:

Michel Menasche
Michel S. Menasche
Rica de Bochor Levi
Rebecca de Josef Abouaf, from Izmir
Alegra, his daughter
Boulissa de Nissim Alhadeff, the Hazan
David Capelluto, the travel goods supplier
The wife of Yacov Alhadeff, a shopkeeper
Avraam Levi
Sarota de Bochor Alhadeff
Mussani Tarica, an old man
Mazaltov de Bochor Hasson
Mussani Habif, the ironmonger
Bochor Cohen, a porter
Tia Linda de Halfon
Rebecca de David Alhadeff
Yznuda Levi, from Milas
The wife of the Hacham de Cos
Albert, the son of Bochor Almeleh
Avram Huniou, shammas of the Gadol Synagogue
Bochor Menasche de Moushon
Hadji Yehuda Notrica

May their blessed souls rest in peace!

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