The Oral History Archive (OHA) of the Jewish Museum of Greece began as a small and modest project. Its foundation was laid in 2001-2002 with the initial collection of twelve interviews, created for the Museum’s temporary exhibition, Hidden Children in Occupied Greece. By organizing and documenting these interviews, the Museum established the OHA, which has since grown to include more than 145 interviews. The archive primarily focuses on the life testimonies of Jews from communities across Greece.
Approximately 30% of the interviews document the experiences of individuals from pre-war Thessaloniki, while the archive also includes testimonies from Ioannina, Athens, Trikala, Volos, Larissa, Chalkida, and Zakynthos. In addition to Jewish voices, the OHA features interviews with Christian friends and neighbors of Jewish families, non-Jews who contributed to the rescue of persecuted individuals, and others who witnessed the events of the Holocaust firsthand.
As time gradually takes survivors away from us, preserving their living stories has become a crucial part of the Museum’s mission to bridge the historical narrative between past and present. These interviews not only reveal diverse aspects of the persecution but also situate those experiences within the broader context of their communities, as seen through the eyes of others who lived through that era.
These testimonies are priceless relics of human resilience and compassion—a vital legacy of memory to be passed on to future generations.
