English description is written by V. Ritzaleos.
In 1940, the combined Jewish Community of Patras and Agrinio consisted of 265 individuals. During the German occupation, the order of 8 October 1943, for the Community’s members to be registered, was widely resisted. All the Jews of Agrinion fled to the mountains, while in Patras the Germans managed, mainly with the help of their local collaborators, to arrest and deport 213 members of the Community. 152 of those survived and returned after the war, but the Community was a mere shadow of its former self. Apart from the dead in the Holocaust, the number of surviving Jewish families gradually waned, mainly because many of them chose to relocate to other cities in Greece or ab road. Being declared inactive in 1970, the Community was officially dissolved in 1991. In 1984 the Jewish Community of Patras was dissolved for lack of members and the interior of its synagogue, along with its textiles and ritual objects was bequeathed to the Museum. These religious artifacts are extremely significant, invaluable and irreplaceable, since they come, for the most part, from synagogues and communities, which no longer exist.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives received the collection from the Jewish Museum of Greece via the United States Holocaust Museum International Archives Project in March 2009 [RG-45.0071; DVD-ROM, 1.81 GB, 2.751 digital images ]
No restrictions on access.
Reproduction is possible upon request. Restrictions on use. No publication without permission of the source archive.
Five archival boxes
Description is based on USHMM's website.
"Consists of correspondence files concerning the postwar activities of the Jewish community of Patras. Topics include restitution, commemoration of Holocaust victims, elections to the Board of the Jewish Community, burial permissions, maintenance of the Jewish cemetery, and disposal of the community’s property. There are also financial records, minutes of Board meetings, and a list of community members" (USHMM)
Αρχείο της Ισραηλιτικής Κοινότητας Πατρών