Presentation of the project at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
The project “Memories of the Occupation of Greece” was presented to the public in Athens on February 2, 2017.
News from Jan 30, 2017
Following the welcoming addresses from patrons and partners, the project “Memories of the Occupation of Greece” was introduced. The main focus was on Rosa Asser-Pardo and Efi Papatheodorou, two contemporary witnesses interviewed for the project.
Efi Papatheodorou was born in Sitaralona (Aetolia-Acarnania) in 1938 and was the second child of doctor Thanos Papatheodorou and his wife Panagiota (née Papaioannou). During the occupation, her father supported the resistance, joining the National Liberation Front and later the Greek People's Liberation Army. For this reason, the family had to relocate from the partisan-controlled areas of Aetolia-Acarnania and live in hiding. Efi was confronted with many difficulties and lived with several Jewish families. After 1945, the family was politically persecuted on the basis of her father's activities and his leftist sentiments. Today, Efi Papatheodorou is one of the most famous actresses in Greece.
Rosina Asser Pardo was born into a Jewish family in Thessaloniki in 1933. In 1941, she and her family had to leave the city to escape the bombings. During the occupation, she witnessed the deportation of Jewish neighbors to Auschwitz. She herself was able to hide and escape the attacks of the occupying troops. She later studied law in Athens and Paris.