With white balloons in their hands, bearing the slogan “ Never Again”, hundreds of citizens, along with representatives of the state, the Thessaloniki Jewish Community, various institutions, and academic bodies, participated in a memorial march for the Jewish citizens of Thessaloniki who were victims of Nazism. The march proceeded from Plateia Eleftherias to the Old Railway Station, from where the first train departed on March 15, 1943, to the Nazi death camps.

“‘Never Again’ is not just a slogan; it is an official promise to honor the past, preserve the truth, and ensure that hatred never prevails, so that we can protect our shared future,” said the Israeli Ambassador to Greece, Noam Katz.

From March 1943, and within just a few months until August of the same year, during the occupation, over 96% of Thessaloniki’s socially, economically, and culturally active Jewish community-approximately 50,000 people-were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and exterminated for the first time in history through a premeditated, systematic, and organized plan by the Nazis.

The memorial march concluded at the Old Railway Station, where a commemorative event honoring the victims of the Holocaust took place. In their statements, representatives of local government, the Thessaloniki Jewish Community, and the academic community emphasized the importance of preserving historical memory and remaining vigilant against racism and antisemitism.