A pilot seminar like no other (Youth exchanges and youth work for multipliers from Greek martyr communities)
There are more than 100 martyr communities in Greece. These communities are regarded as places of horror and suffered under the German Nazi occupation. All of them carry great significance to Greek Society, as they commemorate the traumatic experiences and the occupier’s atrocities during the Second World War. They represent and influence the collective memory among Greece, Germany and all of Europe.
These historical places in Greece are also really important for Germany, as they are seen as starting points for reconciliation. After various preliminary discussions the association FILOXENIA decided to offer a summer seminar for multipliers from martyr communities. The work of the Greek State in the field of youth has been limited even before the crisis and has been completely reduced with the crisis.
FILOXENIA aimed to pass on the necessary knowledge to multipliers, so that they could start their own youth projects and are able to act as the promoter of the local civil society to help shape youth work.
This seminar is a pilot project – it is the first one of its kind. STEP-IN was attended by twelve people from six victim communities (Kalavryta, Lechovo, Kleissoura, Kommeno and Ligiades). It consisted of two moduls: The first one took place between 12th and 15th November 2015 in the picturesque village Kryoneri Korinthias, where FILOXENIA is located.
It dealt with the use of Erasmus plus and included real-case scenarios, team building activities and also themed practical topics: organization of traveling, catering and youth exchanges, as well as dealing with young people from Greece and abroad.
The second module took place between 17th and 20th December 2015 in the martyr’s village of Lechovo (Florinas). The focus mainly layed on the use of the European Voluntary Service (EVS) and on deepening the topics of the first module.
In addition, the participants developed their own ideas for their communities and discussed the possibility of a joint civil society network via a website that could present the martyr’s villages on the one hand and the local civil society representatives of the martyr’s communities on the other.
The evaluation of both modules and the criticism expressed were positive and constructive. Criticism included a call for further training for multipliers in the field of
Support for youth programs and youth projects, large-scale training seminars with the involvement of other multipliers from victim communities so that the network of civil society partners can grow, and regular support for experts in their own projects until they can manage them independently.
To conduct the seminar, FILOXENIA assembled the following team: Panos Poulos (Dipl.-Pol. and Youth Advisor), Hana Sebestova (M.A. Arts and Youth Worker) and Charalampos-Babis Karpouchtsis (M.A.Pol. and Policy Advisor).
The multi-faceted team of FILOXENIA, led by Panos Poulos, felt that the seminar not only contributed constructively to the training of multipliers, but also offered new perspectives for victim communities.
The further development of training measures will lead to a successful transfer of know-how and enable the communities to help themselves. The pilot seminar was the first step in this direction, but further steps are needed. Finally, a functioning civil society will have a positive impact on local communities and will be able to create new perspectives for them.
The seminar was financed by the German-Greek Fund for the Future.
“A person is only forgotten when his or her name is forgotten” – Gunter Demning
The German artist Gunter Demnig initiated the project “stumbling stones”, which aims to commemorate the fate of people who were persecuted, murdered, deported, expelled or driven to suicide during the period of National socialism.
A stumbling stone (square brass plaques with rounded corners and edges) is inserted into the pavement in front of the victim’s last address of choice and shows their name as well as dates of birth and death.
About 60,000 stones were installed with the help of Gunter Demnig and his co-workers in more than 1,200 towns and cities throughout Europe by the end of 2016. They are considered to be the largest decentralized memorial in the world.
The Sikyonion Municipality in cooperation with the Mikoni Culture Center, the Greek Intercultural-Environmental Organisation FILOXENIA, the Berlin-Spandau youth center “Wildwuchs”and the Kryoneri Culture Association organised a large ceremony in Kryoneri Korinthias, during which seven stumbling stones were laid in memory of a saved Jewish family. The Kamhi family temporarily hid in the village during the German occupation in World War II and were accommodated in the house of a local family. With the help of the villagers, the family survived the war and emigrated to Israel.
Rivka Kamhi-Jakobi and her family, the families of the Righteous Among the Nations Athanasoulis and Dimopoulos, the participants of the Greek-German youth exchange “Memories of Europe”, the mayor Spiros Stamatopoulos, the president of the village Kostas Raftopoulos, the member of parliament Giorgos Psychogios and representatives of local authorities and a lot of interested villagers took part in the meaningful ceremony in the Amphitheater on July 22nd in 2022. Emotional speeches were given from Rivka and the representative of the Central Βoard of Jewish Communities in Greece Benis Natan.
The author Mariza Decastro presented together with the illustrator Hara Marantidou and the publisher Alexa Apostolaki her new children’s book “My Own People“(“Οι δικοί μου άνθρωποι”) which was inspired by the story of the Kamhi family. It was published by Kaleidoscope Publication in January 2022.
Lechovo, a village near by the small towns Kastoria and Florina, is located in the middle of the northern Greek mountains of Western Macedonia in a beautiful hiking region at an altitude of about 900 meters. It is known for the highly developed stonemasonry and bricklaying craft of its habitants. The village, like the entire structurally weak region of northern Greece, is severely affected by the economic crisis. In her movie “LECHOVO” director Anita Makris documented the situation of the local people: “When I entered this small village where the Greek side of my family comes from, I saw a place of endless emigration. This is a film about how to lose one’s job and the basis of one’s existence. Neglected places are trying to find ways out of a desperate situation. LECHOVO…stands for the loss of livelihood in the age of neoliberalism. But also how the people of Greece are trying to find ways out of that situation.”
Lechovo also suffered destruction and violence during the German occupation. To commemorate the crimes in the region and in the hope of a world in which solidarity and peaceful coexistence is possible, the cultural association Profitis Ilias initiated a hiking and mountain biking project, which aims to connect communities and to make the structurally weak region attractive for visitors: “Pathsof Peace“. There is also a small folklore museum in the village and the guesthouse Monopati.
Activities for Volunteers:
Community work ( supporting the cultural association Profitis Ilias with the preparation of cultural events in the village) Publicity work to disseminate information about cultural and tourist attractions of Lechovo and the “Paths of Peace” (via websites and social media) Translation work into German and English Help with the digitization of the historical archive of the village Maintenance and Repair of the “Paths of Peace” Accompaniment of visitors on excursions Help in the MONOPATI Youth Hostel, which is open to individual tourists and groups (for example: reception and housekeeping)
Requirements:
The inhabitants of the village are really friendly and open-minded, so the volunteer should be communicative and not shy about meeting new people. The volunteer should be practically oriented, enjoy landscaping and housekeeping activities and at the same time be interested in educational programs and content development.
Report from Durkje Salman in Lechovo (February 2022-February 2023)
Since February 2022 I have been volunteering in Lechovo. Lechovo is a small mountain village in the northern part of Greece. Life here may seem traditional and different from the rest of Greece, but the past year was an amazing experience. The volunteering project in Lechovo is completely new and I was the first volunteer to go to Lechovo. This meant that I helped build up the project and had to figure out what to do and what the community of Lechovo needed from me.
Over the past months I have been doing a lot of different work and projects. Some of the most important projects were the categorising of the English library, the digitalization of the museum objects and working on a website for Lechovo. These projects were very important for the preservation of the history of Lechovo, but also thinking about the future and the needs of the village.
Lechovo has a long history, with lots of culture interwoven into it. During the Second World War the Nazi occupation forces burned down parts of the village. Therefore, Lechovo is a so-called ‘Martyr Village’ and a good understanding of this is required from the volunteers. I helped with the remembrance of the Second World War events, and also wrote and talked about it for websites and documentaries.
Furthermore, my work centred around the cultural activities of the village. The village exists off a lively community with a lot of cultural traditions and celebrations. The Cultural Association ‘Profitis Ilias’, for which I also work, is in charge of the organisation of most of these activities. Meaning that over the past year I helped organise multiple celebrations, such as Carnival and the traditional Panagiria, worked with the traditional dancers of the village, and learned some Greek traditional dances myself, and learned a lot more about the importance of keeping their culture alive.
Except for these projects and the cultural activities, I also engaged in a lot of other (work related) activities. We organised multiple activities for and with the children, such as Christmas crafts, but also clean ups of the village, to make them more environmentally aware. For the youngsters we also organised an exchange with Berlin, in cooperation with the former Concentration Camp Ravensbrück, to incite awareness about the Second World War in Greece and other countries.
The project, and my work, have been centred around the history of the village and its culture. Therefore, the volunteer work was closely tied to the community, which means that I also became part of this community. This has been very rewarding, since the people are very welcoming and friendly. I learned a lot from my interactions with the people. Such a close interaction with the villagers is something that has made my past year in Lechovo extremely special and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Report from Luise Steeck in Lechovo (1.9.22-31.8.23):
Me and the other voluteer in Lechovo are working for the cultural association Profitis Ilias. As the new volunteer I still have to adapt to the village life, find a way to be helpful for the community and learn the Greek language.
The past weeks I did all kinds of work. Mostly we were working in the small museum of the village and digitalized the artefacts which are up to 500 years old. Additionally I worked for the community center and painted the fence of the local school. We also participated and helped at different cultural events the past days as the parade on οχι-day or the local pita festival organized by Profitis Ilias.
For the next weeks and month there a more activities planned. I started visiting some elderly people at home to help them with daily tasks such as going to the local mini market, which could be a challenge for them since Lechovo is a really mountainous place. This visit gave me the possibility to get to know their life history and I am looking forward to learn and talk more as soon as my Greek improves. We also want to offer different activities for the community as for example creative activities for kids and German lessons for everyone interested.
Lechovo is a beautiful place, especially right now in autumn the nature and the mountains around look amazing. The people are incredibly open and welcoming and always down for a chat. I already got to experience a lot of Greece and its culture during my time here, nights at the bar, talks with the locals, the pita festival, visiting the panigiris at the nearest cities or travelling to Thessaloniki and I am really thankful for that.
Ioannina is the capital of the northwestern region of Epirus with more than 100.000 inhabitants. The city was and is a center of Romaniotic Jews. They are Greek-speaking and their ancestors lived in Greece since the Hellenistic period. Since the 9th century there has been a Jewish community in Ioannina, which numbered more than 2000 members before the German invasion of Greece.
Kehila Kedosha Janina – the Jewish community of Ioannina – is alive and active to this day. It operates a synagogue and a museum and offers a variety of cultural and religious activities.
Above the town on a mountain range lays the village Ligiades, also known as the “balcony” because of its location. On October 3rd in 1943, the inhabitants of Ligiades went to the mountains to harvest walnuts. Back in the village mostly children and elderly people remained. In the afternoon, the first Division of the German Wehrmacht raided the village and carried out a massacre among those left behind. According to eyewitnesses the village burned for the whole night and the smoke could still be seen in Ioannina days later. Only the school and the church were not burnt down, which is the reason why the cultural centre is located there today. The Germans killed 82 residents, including 34 children under the age of 12 and only 5 people survived the massacre. They destroyed and burned the houses and made the survivors homeless. The Wehrmacht cited an assassination attempt by partisans on a German officer two days earlier as a pretext. German officer two days earlier. Lingiades is visible from everywhere and was probably chosen for this reason. Ligiades is just one of many Greek villages where brutal war crimes were committed against the civilian population during the German occupation. Today it belongs to the Association of Martyrs’ Communities in Greece. There is a memorial in the village where wreaths are laid and the names of those murdered are read out every year at a ceremony on 3 October. In the evening the documentary film “To Balkoni” will be shown for those who are interested in a small museum, which is runned by a cultural association and used as an educational place for seminars. The documentary film “To Balkoni” commemorates the victims of the Wehrmacht crimes.
Activities for Volunteers:
Work in the Jewish Community of Ioannina: Translation activities (German and English) Maintenance of the website of the Jewish Community Ioannina and social media Assisting with preparation of exhibitions and events Help with documentation and archival and research work in the Jewish Museum, Digitization of documents from the community archive Maintenance work at the Jewish Cemetery
Work in Ligiades: Supporting the cultural association at events Accompaniment of seminars and educational days with school classes or other groups Presenting the documentary film “To Balkoni” Help with the digitization of the historical archive of Ligiades Assisting with the development of the Ligiades Museum and Cultural Center
Requirements:
The volunteer should be a communicative, historically-politically interested person. We expect respect, openness and interest towards our confessional partners in the Jewish community. A part of the work can be to accompany visitors and groups – this requires someone who likes to speak in front of people.
Report by the first ASF volunteer Helen who is working in Ioannina and Ligiades (1.09.21-31.08.22)
“When I first got to Ioannina, I was not quite sure what to expect, since the projects I was told about were just starting to take place and so there were some organisation issues that still had to be solved. It took some time to get used to the new environment and to get a solid working schedule, so in the beginning I found myself being confused and sometimes frustrated but after a short while I started taking part in various projects. One of my main purposes here is to exchange cultural differences. Thus, I started giving German lessons twice and English lessons once per day, from Monday to Wednesday. But other than that I include information about traditions and general culture, to not only focus on the language but to create diverse conversations. On Thursdays and Fridays I spend my time in the office of the Cultural Center, where I research, write and publish articles for the website about the Jewish community of Ioannina and Ligiades that I am currently working on. Another project that I am currently working on is creating an interactive tour around Ioannina, featuring the most important parts of Jewish history there. Right now, the synagogue in Ligiades is closed for renovation, so there are not many activities taking place there. But I am really looking forward to explore this and other places connected to my work in the future. Further than that, I am very motivated to learn and also educate others about the history of Ligiades, because during some conversations with the locals, I noticed that not many of them know about its historical context. I feel like there is a lot of international apathy towards this issue and I see it as crucial to spread more awareness, regarding the political as well as the historical context connected to it.
In conclusion, I am very happy to be here and to be part of this project. Ioannina is a beautiful city and a great place to make long lasting experiences. Despite feeling a little bit lonely during the first weeks, I have made quite a few friends now and acquaintances, that I am getting along with well. The other volunteers and I also meet up regularly and it is good to have people to share your experience with. In addition to that, I have been taking Greek lessons for a few months now, which helped me a lot so far. Learning this new language is something I enjoy a lot and I am very glad to see a huge progress so far. I am looking forward to making even more memories, like exploring more of the country and getting new skills along the way.”
Report by the second ASF volunteers Yanes and Konstantin
The start in Ioannina was a bit bumpy. We were already informed in advance that the programme with the programme with the refugees was temporarily suspended by the municipality. On the way, it was explained to us that this was why we were both visiting the village of Lingiades and in the Jewish community of Ioannina. On the first evening we went directly to Lingiades, where we met Giannis, the president of Lingiades. He explained to us what our tasks would be and gave us the keys to the cultural centre. Our office is located in the cultural centre, which was originally the school of the village.
In Lingiades we are mainly working on the website, which is currently still offline. In addition there is a documentary film “To Balkoni” (The Balcony) in the (The Balcony) in the cultural centre of the village, which deals with the massacre and the memory of it. We are supposed to show this when study groups, e.g. pupils or interested people come there. The name alludes to the location of the village, as it lies like a balcony over Lingiades and probably also the reason for the terrible deed. Unfortunately, the village cannot be reached by public transport, which is why we were therefore driven up by the police at the beginning. However, after the second time we got the the message that the car that was supposed to take us up was broken. Since then we have been working on the website from home and only go up on special occasions. Panos of Filoxenia is in talks with the mayor of the town to organise a new programme.
The association FILOXENIA – Intercultural-Environmental Organization – was founded in 1995. It combines many years of intercultural experience with educational work in the fields of ecology, history and politics. FILOXENIA participated in numerous European and national programs and youth trainings and provided know-how transfer and support for youth structures in Greece. The association is based in the rural mountain community of Kryoneri Korinthias, to the southwest of Corinth. There is also the hostel and conference house “Elisson” located, where international work camps and seminars take place.
Kryoneri became internationally known when residents of the village where honored as “Righteous Among the Nations” by the Israeli Embassy in 2018. During the German occupation, villagers hid a Jewish family from Athens in their houses and in a nearby cave. FILOXENIA has set itself the task of remembering this history and has reopened the access to the cave via hiking trails. Important to mention is the well connected lively village community. There is a cultural association, a youth club, an olive oil cooperation and a variety of activities, such as mountain biking for children and youngsters in the area.
Activities for Volunteers:
Development of the Website “Memory Alive” Documenting the Role of the Greek Resistance in Rescuing Jews during the German Occupation 1941-1944 Maintenance of hiking trails in the area leading to the cave where a Jewish family was hidden in 1943-1944 Digitization of the village archive Support of FILOXENIA and the hostel “Elisson” (in terms of content and housekeeping activities) Work in the youth club Community work – participation in events
Requirements:
The inhabitants of the village are really friendly and open-minded, so the volunteer should be communicative and not shy about meeting new people. The work with FILOXENIA can be manifol. The association is small and does not have a lot of members, which is why a lot of activities happen on a voluntary basis. The volunteer should be practically oriented, enjoy landscaping and housekeeping activities and at the same time be interested in educational programs and content development.
Report by the ASF volunteers Anne Dahlhoff and Leon Kesper who are working in Kryoneri (1.09.22-31.08.23):
Leon Kesper and Anne Dahlhoff with an israeli couple hiking to the cave.
ένα θερμό χαιρετισμό
A warm welcome – That’s how it felt for Leon and me when we first arrived in Kryoneri. Not only by the summer temperatures, but also by the people and the environment. Leon (18) is from Dortmund. My name is Anne (18) and I am from Essen, Germany. Together we are in Greece with the German organization Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste (ASF). ASF also calls their voluntary services “peace services”. Their work is based on solidarity with their partners in Europe, USA, Israel and Great Britain. They support peace and respect for human rights.
Here in Kryoneri, we work together with the Organisation „FILOXENIA“, that has many years of intercultural experience in educational work in the fields of ecology, history and politics. Leon and I have a project based on Memory. During the nationalism, a Jewish family was hid in Kryoneri by the community. Every time German soldiers came to the village, the family hid in a cave nearby. Today, tourists can visit the cave. Leon and I guide them through the mountains and beautiful hiking trails to the cave. Clara, a short term volunteer and I were able to join a hiking group from Corinth for a day hike in the bush. The people were open-minded and fun to be around.
In the morning, we usually work in the office on different topics. Together, we improved the Matsani Website, which represents the village itself. We translated the greek information into an English version. Therefore, the website becomes more transparent for a wider audience. Leon also works together with an IT Expert and updates the website regularly.
Additionally, we use the time in the morning to prepare activities and games for the youth in the village. I created games, which are played in our weekly Tandem lessons. Every Tuesday and Thursday, teenagers between 12 and 14 come to the Youth Center to learn English and German. At the same time, we can improve our greek skills.
Furthermore, we painted the stairs at the office as well as old cupboards. Although we had some challenging moments, we enjoyed the variety and distraction. In the end, we were proud of the results and can now walk our own painted stairs every day. As a group, we restored and painted the school walls. Leon did graffiti and Clara and I repainted old drawings.
At the beginning of November, we helped an acquaintance of the village with the olive harvest. It was interesting to learn about the harvesting process and the hard work involved, as well as about the problems caused by climate change. We were exhausted after two days of work. Depending on how many olives can be harvested, the workers need several weeks. At the end we tasted fresh olive oil itself, with bread and a good pinch of salt.
Max, another long term volunteer in Kryoneri and I give standard dance lessons once a week. Max is the experienced one and I always learn the dances just before the next lesson. I always wanted to learn standard dance, and now I can learn and teach at the same time. I also offer table tennis once a week. This is also fun for me, because I can be active myself and connect with more people from the village.
Leon has soccer training twice a week with local team called Aetos Kryoneri. There, he gets to know many young people from the village and can improve his language skills. On the weekend, he always has a game. So far, they have always been friendly matches, and in mid-November the real season starts. Leon and I go to Pilates and Aerobic twice a week together with the other volunteers. Our Trainer Anna is excellent at her job and knows how to push us to our physical limit. Most of the time we have sore muscles on the following days, but we enjoy it anyway.
In our free time we normally try to do trips around the country, relax on the veranda, sing and dance together, play chess, watch a movie together or spend an evening at the local tavern.
At the beginning of our time we had greek lessons once a week with the president of FILOXENIA, Katerina, and now continue practicing with a local every Wednesday during office work. Panos, the manager and general person in charge as well as Sia, our mentor, help us with our program and always try to get the best out of us.
We are very thankful for the experiences we made so far and are looking forward to upcoming projects, interesting encounters and unforgettable experiences.
Report by the first ASF volunteer Marlene who is working in Kryoneri (1.09.21-31.08.22):
An important concern of FILOXENIA is that this story shouldn’t be forgotten and that it should receive more attention outside the region, on which my activities are based to a large extent. The main task of my voluntary service is to develop the websites “Matsani” and “Memory Alive”, on which I document the history of the village and the civil courage of the villagers. In order to obtain the necessary information, I have access to different text sources and also the great opportunity to speak with contemporary witnesses or their descendants. Most of the time I work independently but I can always contact the person in charge if I have any questions.
During the first two months, I mainly worked on small translations on the website “Matsani”, which represents Kryoneri as a whole village with all leisure activities, clubs and restaurants. At the moment, my focus is on capturing Kryoneri’s moving story and its background on this website. In the course of the year, I will also report on various projects in which volunteers deal with the occupation in Greece.
Another part of my service is the digitization of the village archive, which contains documents that are more than 100 years old. And I also take care of the development and maintenance of the hiking trails that lead to the cave where the Kamhi family hid temporarily.
Almost every day I meet the youngsters from the region– in groups of two, we exchange cultural differences and everyday situations in English, German or Greek and learn languages in a playful way together. A “language tandem encounter” takes about an hour and is prepared by me.
In addition, I plan various leisure activities and events for young and old inhabitants of Kryoneri together with other volunteers. In Kryoneri there are regular international exchange projects, which intensively liven up the village and are a cultural enrichment. The Hostel Elisson is an important place of contact for volunteers and offers space for encounters of all kinds. My colleagues and I also stay here.
Now during the summer my everyday life changes a bit. Besides working in the office, I spend a lot of time with the groups and youth exchange programs that come to Kryoneri. Most of the time this is connected with showing them the Karamanos Cave or talking to them about historical and cultural topics. I am looking forward to every new group that arrives because I get to know the most different people and it always remains varied. Apart from that, the other volunteers and I offer various leisure activities for the young people from the village, such as painting a wall, tie dying or different kind of sports. During my free time I really enjoy to swim in the Gulf of Corinth or to explore Greece.”
The small town Kalavryta is located 30 kilometers from the northern coast of the Peloponnese in a mountainous region characterized by tourism. This area is known for many ski slopes and beautiful hiking paths. Kalavryta is one of the recognized martyr communities of Greece. In mid-October 1943, the Greek Ressistance succeeded in capturing a reconnaissance force of the 117th Hunter Division of the German Wehrmacht near Kalavryta. As an “atonement measure” almost all kalavritan men and boys over the age of 12 were shot. The houses of the town were robbed and set on fire. More than twenty surrounding villages were destroyed as well. In the course of the “Unternehmen Kalavryta” almost 700 civilians were murdered. Today, a memorial on the outskirt of Kalavryta commemorates the massacre. In the center of town there is the “Municipal Museum of Kalavritan Holocaust” since the year 2005. The museum has been housed in a former school where women, children and elderly people were imprisoned during the massacre of the male population in 1943. It documents the history of crime with photographs, film and literature. Many information are also available in German.
The Orthodox Church runs a nursing and senior citizens’ home. Residents are also descendants of the victims of the massacre and many elderly people from the region who don’t have families or whose families don’t have the possibility to accompany them at home.
Activities for volunteers:
Visitor service, reception, guided tours in the museum Archive and library work, translation Assistance in the preparation of the exhibitions and events Probably one day a week: assistance and visitation services for the elderly people at the Kallimanopouleio nursing and senior citizens’ home
Requirements:
The memories of the massacre and the demands for reparations from Germany are very present nowadays and also controversially discussed in the community. The mayor of Kalavryta has also been Chairman of the Association of Greek Martyrs’ Communities for many years. Some people are still skeptical to work about working with Germans. But the museum and the senior citizens’ home, on the other hand, show great interest in working together. The volunteer needs to be respectful, sensitive and reserved to the breaks and lines of conflict in the community. They should endure any aversions without taking them personally. We are looking for a communicative, historically-politically interested person to work in the museum. A large part of the wok is office work ( with computers, scanners etc.). Volunteers can be used to accompany visitors an groups – this requires people who like to speak in front of groups. For the visiting services in the senior citizens’ home it is essential to be patient and to have the ability to listen to the life experiences of elderly people.
Report from the ASF Volunteer Jonathan Drewes in Kalavryta (1.9.22-31.8.23)
Arriving in Kalavryta
“I hope this is the right train. I better get off again. Am I going in the right direction?” were my thoughts as I sat on the train in Kiato and I was to begin my journey to Kalávryta, my project location for the next year. But after 15 minutes of waiting, the time had come and the train started moving. The scenic ride (mountainous landscape on the left and the Mediterranean Sea on the right) was very beautiful and took away some of my nervousness. Arriving in Diakopto, Dimos, a colleague from the museum, picked me up. On the way to Kalavryta we drove through the mountains and canyons while it was already getting dark. After some quick grocery shopping for the necessities I entered my apartment for the first time.
Jonathan Drewes, volunteer from Germany working in the Municipal Museum of Kalavryta.
First working day
The next day Dimos picked me up from home and we drove to the museum. Here I met the other three staff members and got a detailed tour of the museum. I was also shown what the daily routine tasks are, some of which I will also take on, such as reading and entering temperatures and humidity in the rooms or turning the TVs in the exhibition on in the morning and off in the evening.
Daily life and my job at the museum
I’m getting more comfortable with taking care of everything on my own (cooking EVERY DAY is more challenging than I thought, though!). Plus, I quickly realized how lucky I am with my balcony, which gives me a really good view of the city and mountains. It’s very chilly here in the morning, but as the day goes on, it gets warmer and comfortable (much to my confusion about what to wear). The colleagues at the museum are very kind and helpful and I feel well taken care of there. Currently, at work, I’m still studying literature about Kalávryta’s history, especially that during the German occupation with the books in the museum library, taking notes on it, and will give my first guided tour in English next Tuesday.
Time in Patra and setting up the traveling exhibition
Also, two weeks ago I was in Patra for four days setting up the traveling exhibition “Kalavryta: a city through history before and after the holocaust” at the Achaia Clauss winery together with Savvas from the museum and his father. The center of the exhibition are photos, mainly from the 20th century, which, along with accompanying texts in Greek and English tell about the eventful history of Kalávryta. Here the focus lies on the massacre that the German soldiers committed on the 13th of December 1943 in Kalávryta against the civilian population. For the four days we stayed with Savvas’ parents, where I was very hospitably received and ate a lot of good food. I enjoyed the time in Patras a lot and I am very happy that I had the opportunity to get to know Patras.
Report by the first ASF volunteer Paul who is working in Kalavryta (1.09.21-31.08.22)
“After my arrival, I was slowly introduced to the theme of the museum and had to do simple tasks such as putting up posters, small translations and everyday work in the museum. Gradually, I became more involved in the work. After a short time I was able to prove my knowledge of the local history and gave my first guided tour for a group of German educational travelers. But also inter personally, I had very good experiences and was welcomed by everyone with open arms and a lot of helpfulness. I get along very well with my colleagues and we also do leisure activities together, such as trips to the seaside, or to Patras, the nearest city, as well as evenings in the local bars or eating together.”
ASF volunteer Carleen sitting in front of a bimah in the Etz Hayyim Synagogue
Until 1999, Etz Hayyim was a desecrated house of prayer, which remained the only Jewish monument in Crete after the destruction of the Jewish community in 1944. It stood as a monument to the National Socialist extermination of 2,300 years of Jewish life in Crete. From 1996 to the year of its re-inauguration in 1999, the building has been carefully restored. The philosophy behind this work is summed up in the Hebrew ’Am Israel Hayy’ – ’The people of Israel live’. The synagogue is run by an association that focuses on the cultural heritage of the destroyed Jewish communities of Crete. The association also organises a variety of cultural events and educational programmes. Here, for example, lectures, readings and musical events take place. The Synagogue Association is networked with other denominational, political and historical working groups and is committed to fighting against anti-Semitism, racism and other forms of group-based hostility to humanity.
Activities for volunteers:
Visitor support, assistance at events, attendance service Cooperation with a volunteer of the Austrian Memorial Service In combination with Etz Hayyim: Support for the initiative “Young Citizens of the World Chania”, which builds a small documentation centre based on the consequences of the German occupation on Crete and an open library (http://www.creative-intercultural-dialogue.org/neoi-polites.html)
Requirements:
Etz Hayyim is a small institution of international renown. “Young Citizens of the world” is a small political-artistic initiative with a very familiar working environment. The volunteer needs a reliable, independent personality and should be able to cope with chaotic situations. Respect for the confessional partner is also a basic requirement. This project is appealing for someone with an interest in Jewish history, culture and religion.
Report by the ASF volunteer Thora Bilz who is working in Chania (1.09.22-31.08.23)
Thora Bilz, volunteer from Germany, working in the Etz Hayyim Synagogue in Chania.
When I first walked through the wooden door of Etz Hayyim synagogue, I thought “What a beautiful and comforting place”. The nearly two months I have spent in Chania since were an adventurous, interesting and eventful time. In my first week I watched my colleagues give tours, talked to visitors and begun to read into Jewish life and history on Crete. It was a perfect quiet start before the exciting time of Jewish holidays followed.
The first holiday we celebrated was the Jewish New Year: Rosh Hashanah. We welcomed the year 5783 by hosting a big dinner attended by 100 people. While the guests took part in the service, we prepared tables and got the food from a nearby restaurant. There are certain symbolic foods served at a Rosh Hashanah dinner. For example: Eating a fish head on Rosh Hashanah symbolizes the desire to be “heads, not tails” in the new year. It was so interesting to listen to the rabbi explaining these costumes and trying these traditional foods. On the following day I heard the powerful and loud sound of the Shofar for the first time. A shofar is a ram’s horn that is blown on Rosh Hashanah (the day of the (shofar) blast).
In the next week we celebrated Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement and holiest day of the Jewish calendar. There were various services I listened to, I got to witness the fasting and its breaking and, in the end, got to hear the shofar again that symbolizes the end of the holiday. The next two weeks Sukkot and finally Simchat Torah followed. Sukkot is the harvest festival. We built up the Sukkah hut and I decorated it with fruits. In the next few days prayers that were marked by processions with the lulav (palm branch with myrtle and willow) and etrog (citron) were held in this hut. Simchat Torah was the end of our holiday marathon. It is celebrated with singing, dancing, and merry processions of people carrying Torahs.
While I really liked the services and Torah readings and am so glad that I got to know all these Jewish traditions, the thing I enjoyed most about the holidays was talking to Jewish people from all around the world. We had so many different people joining us for the holidays that were open to share about their lives and the history of their families. It was so interesting, and, I think, very special.
The last two weeks I became a member of the tour-giving team of the synagogue. I gave tours in English and German, talked to visitors and took care of the Etz-Hayyim book shop. I look forward to all the interesting projects coming this winter and am grateful that I get to spend one whole year at this beautiful place!
Report by the first ASF volunteer Carleen who is working in Chania (1.09.21-31.08.22)
“My working day begins at ten o’clock with the preparation of the synagogue for visitors, e.g. preparation of items for sale. Afterwards, the team discusses the tasks for the day at breakfast together. I am currently working with Theo, my Austrian co-volunteer from GEDENKDIENST, on a historic city rally for a youth exchange with students of the FU from Berlin, where young people from Chania and the students get to know each other. During our working hours the synagogue is regularly visited by people of different nations, to whom we show the premises and also give short guided tours according to their interest. That is why I invested time in the first few days to study the history of the place and the Jewish community of Crete.
Every Friday evening the Sabbath is celebrated in the synagogue, where I help with the preparation and follow-up, as well as participating in prayer. Even if this is not part of my working hours, it has always been exciting and beautiful experiences for me so far, because one is received in a friendly way by the community and thus gets first impressions of Jewish culture. During the first weeks, I also had the opportunity to get an insight into the Jewish holidays of Yom Kippur and Sukkot. To better follow the prayers Theo and I participate in Hebrew Reading lessons.
I also renew our website, write articles for our newsletter or help with all kinds of current projects. Apart from all that I also take part in community events like Passover. Due to that, I have learnt a lot about Jewish culture and I hope to further enrich this knowledge in the next months!”
In the west of Crete, where the destructive “Battle of Crete” raged in 1941, there is the Orthodox Academy of Crete (OAC). In 1968 Irinäus Galanákis, then Metropolitan of Kissamos and Selinon, and his student Dr. Alexandros Papaderós founded the OAC. Its aim is to promote dialogue between people of different faiths and religions as well as between science, culture and faith. The OAC is under the spiritual patronage of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The OAC began its work during the dictatorship of the Greek military junta courageously. It was built on the site of the neighboring monastery of the Panagía Odigítria, which – like all of Western Crete – had to suffer severely under the German occupation. Remembrance, encounter and education are still important services offered by the OAC to promote peaceful coexistence. It is currently one of the most important conference centers in Greece. Its activities include an Institute of Theology and Ecology.
Activities for volunteers:
Library (Cataloguing of books in German and English) Reception service, taking care of visitors Assistance at conferences and art projects (in winter with Greek school classes) Housekeeping activities / hotel and kitchen Support of the neighboring monastery of Gonia at events Possibly visiting services in a retirement home of the Orthodox Church of Kastelli (Annousákeio), where 70-80 elderly people live (www.annousakeio.gr/en/)
Requirements:
It is a denominational (Christian-Orthodox) project. Volunteers should be interested, open and respectful towards their partners. The activities are varied. Volunteers are needed who are active (even in the household or in the kitchen) and who are interested in educational work, theological questions, interfaith and inter religious dialogue. The OAC is a relatively large institution, hierarchically organized and depending on the workload it can also be confusing for volunteers in the OAC. We are looking for independent people who are reliable.
Report by the first ASF volunteer Malena who is working in Kolymvari (1.09.21-31.08.22)
“During the first month I mostly worked on the reception, helped in the kitchen and took care of the Social Media accounts. Many international groups came in September and October, so I had the opportunity to join some excursions around the island ( for example boat and snorkel tours or exploring hidden beaches) and to meet different kind of people.
Now in winter most of my work takes place in my office where I sort documents and billets but I also have some things to do in the in-house library. Two times a week I participate in Greek lessons in Chania together with Carleen ( who is also an ASF volunteer) and other students.
I really enjoy living right by the sea and to have the possibility to explore the Crete nature. Sometimes I am a bit bored because I didn’t really get to know some Young Greek people yet but I am sure that will change in summer and I am looking forward to the next months of my voluntary service.”
The nature around the Orthodox AcademyThe nature around the Orthodox Academy
Volunteering for Memory in Greece – A cooperation between Filoxenia and Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste
For many people in Germany, Greece is known as a holiday destination and the Greek hospitality attracts thousands of German tourists every year. But most of them, however, don’t have the following knowledge: During the German occupation of Greece between 1941 and 1944, one out of ten people of the Greek population were murdered. The plundering of the country led to a terrible famine. Hundreds of villages were destroyed in arbitrary retaliation and their population was wiped out almost entirely. The country’s Jewish communities were robbed, their members forced into hard labor and almost 90% of Greek Jews were deported to extermination camps and killed. Since its beginnings, Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste has always been committed to take action against forgetting and for a recognition of Germany’s war guilt towards Greece. The main focus lays on encounters with people in Greece, who still economically and mentally suffer the consequences of the destructive occupation. In June 2019, the Greek government officially requested further negotiations on reparation payments from the German Federal Republic. The Greek Parliament had already passed a resolution in April demanding up to 290 billion euros. However, as with previous claims, the Federal Government is of the opinion that all claims had already been settled. The bilateral relationship between the two countries had deteriorated steadily since 2008, and their respective interpretations of the debt and euro crises and their consequences, polemically fuelled by politicians and the media, rekindled old stereotypes and the issue of reparations. Germany remains under an obligation to make future-oriented contributions to resolving these conflicts and making reparations. It is not enough to wait for decisions and actions by the Federal Government. We, as civil society, also feel obliged to do so. The first work assignments of Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste took place in the martyr communities of Kándanos and Livadás (Crete) and Sérvia (West Macedonia) during the 1960s. These first contacts led to many important relationships and friendships, so that, over the years, exchange programs (between Wolfsburg and Kalavryta) and various summer camps could be organised. In addition, Aktion Sühnezeichen has been cooperating with the Orthodox Academy of Crete for a long time now. Since January 2019 Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste supports the demands of the association “Respect for Greece” on “German War Guilt and Obligations to Greece”. The full text of the declaration can be found here: www.asf-ev.de/respekt-fuer-griechenland In September 2021, Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste finally started a long-term project volunteer program in Greece. As a cooperation partner on the Greek side, the FILOXENIA association supports the development of the program. The first five volunteers were sent from Germany to Greece in September 2021 and we plan to further expand the projects in the following years. The development of this program is supported by funds from the German-Greek Future Fund.
Many people in Germany see Greece only as a holiday destination and the Greek hospitality attracts thousands of German tourists every year. But most of them, however, do not know:
During the German occupation of Greece between 1941 and 1944, about one-tenth of the
Greek people were murdered. The plundering of the country led to a terrible Famine.
Hundreds of villages were destroyed in arbitrary retaliation, wiped out their population. The country’s Jewish communities were robbed, their members forced into hard labor and almost 90% of Greek Jews were deported to extermination camps and killed.
Aktion Sühnezeichen has always been committed since its beginnings against forgetting and
for a recognition of Germany’s war guilt towards Greece. The main focus lays on the encounters with people in Greece, who still economically and mentally suffer with the consequences of the murderous occupation.
Already in the 1960s the first work assignments of Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste took place in the martyr communities of Kándanos and Livadás (Crete) and Sérvia (West Macedonia).
These first contacts led to many important relationships and friendships, so that, over the years, exchange programmes (between Wolfsburg and Kalavryta) and various summer camps could be organised. In addition, Aktion Suehnezeichen has been cooperating with the Orthodox Academy of Crete for a long time now.
Since January 2019 Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste supports the demands of the association
“Respect for Greece” on “German War Guilt and Obligations to Greece”. The full text of the declaration can be found here: www.asf-ev.de/respekt-fuer-griechenland
In September 2021, Aktion Suehnezeichen Friedensdienstefinally started a long-term project
Volunteer programme in Greece. As a cooperation partner on the Greek side, the FILOXENIA association (https://filox.org) supports the development of the programme. The first five volunteers were sent from Germany to Greece in September 2021 and we plan to further expand the projects in the following years.
The development of this programme is supported by funds from the German-Greek Future Fund.
