Thessaloniki to build Jewish school and new Holocaust Museum

Thessaloniki’s popular Mayor Yiannis Boutaris announced on Tuesday his intention to build a a Jewish school in the Baron Hirsch neighbourhood, the city’s old Jewish quarter.

Boutaris made the announcement during a meeting of the municipal council where he added that it will not be just for Jewish kids.

“It will be a school, not just for Jewish kids, and it will be done in the Hirsch area,” he said.

The Mayor explained that the city will provide the land and the city’s Jewish community will take over the construction of the building clarifying that completion will be achieved through a private- partnership.

During the municipal council meeting Boutaris also announced that construction of Thessaloniki’s new Holocaust Museum will be funded jointly by Greece, the German state, and the Niarchos Foundation.

Construction for the museum will start in January 2018 whilst the plot donated for its construction overlooks the railway station from which the Jews were deported in World War II.

“It will be a project of international prestige,” added Boutaris.