74 years after the people of a small Greek village, led by the local priest, hid her and her family from the Nazis, Rivka Jakobi returned to meet the descendants of her rescuers. After her first visit on June 7th 2017, she came back with her ten children and dozens of grandchildren on September 6th 2017, for a ceremony.
In the morning at 10.30, the members of the Kimhi and Jakobi families from Israel, (more than 70 people in two coaches and a van), 4 relatives from Athens and the head of the “Filoxenia” organization Mr. Panos Poulos met at the Kryoneri Observatory with the president of the Municipal Department of Kryoneri Mr. Costas Raftopoulos. Together they went to the nearby church of Rapsomati, which is one of the places where the men of the village and the Jewish family hid whenever Germans came to the village. There, Mr. Poulos, Mr. Raftopoulos and Mrs. Rivka Kimhi-Jakobi spoke about what had happened in that area, but also in general about the efforts of the village to hide the Jewish family.
Then they went to the “Karamanos Cave” whose damaged access path was cleaned by the group of volunteers of “Filoxenia” with the instructions of Mr. Poulos, where again Mr. Poulos and Mrs. Rivka Kamhi-Jakobi spoke about the specific area and her experiences from the events of that time. Ms. Ravit Kimhi, daughter of Yechiel Kamhi, also spoke.
Before noon, everyone went to the church of the village, which during the Occupation functioned as a school (single class with teacher Father Athanasoulis). There, the pastor of the church, Panagiotis Theodorou, warmly welcomed the members of the Kimhi and Jakobi families and Mrs. Rivka spoke about her experiences from the teachings of Father Athanasoulis with her 8 year old brother Yechiel. She recounted the time where other students said to him (as an “usual insult”) “Jew!” and how the priest scolded them, and punished them to sit fasting in the corner!
Then they all went to the house of Mr. Dimitris Dimopoulos, where his father Athanasios hid the Kimhi family and were welcomed with great emotion and cordiality. Mr. Dimopoulos was a classmate of the children (Rivka and Yechiel) at school.
Early in the afternoon, everyone from Rivka Kimhi – Jakobi’s family was given lunch.
Finally, at 18.30, the inauguration ceremony of the amphitheater took place, which was reconstructed at the expense of the Yechiel Kimhi family (Yechiel passed away on March 10, 2017) and Rivka and Benny Jakobi, as a donation of gratitude to the village. Present were the priests (of Kryoneri and the neighboring village) municipal councilors etc. The event started with a warm welcome by the president of the Municipal Department of Kryoneri Mr. Raftopoulos and the Mayor of Sykionia, Mr. Spyros Stamatopoulos. Then the granddaughter of Father Athanasoulis, in a very moving atmosphere, sang the famous “Song of Songs: how beautiful is my love” (from the “ballad of Mauthausen” by I. Kampanelis-music by M. Theodorakis). After that, Avraham (Avi) Jakobi, Rivka’s eldest son, recounted the rescue story and expressed the family’s warm thanks. Panos Poulos also briefly mentioned the chronicle of the opening of the path by the volunteers of “Filoxenia”. Then Rivka spoke, referring to the act of salvation by quoting a verse from the Torah, describing it as an effort of the Good – typically saying that God did not create all good people in a blissful society but allowed them to create and to gain goodness. This is what the people of Macani did in those difficult times at the risk of their lives. Then, honorary diplomas were given to the families of the grandchildren of Father Athanasoulis and Dimopoulos (in whose house the Kimhi family had hidden). The Mayor thanked him, and then the commemorative plaque was presented and its text was read by Mr. Raftopoulos, who along with the Municipality, thanked the Kimhi and Jakobi families for the donation.
The ceremony closed with the National Anthem of Israel, played by seven-year-old Ori, Avi’s little son with a trumpet, and sung by the whole family, while the entire amphitheater stood in reverence.
In general, the whole event (visits to the places of that time, and the opening ceremony) took place in an emotionally charged atmosphere, which was very human and moving. Both the June 6 and September 6 visits have been videotaped by a professional filmmaker and when the various shots are edited into a single documentary, that will be released in Israel and in Greece. Also, a small book has been written in Hebrew with the history and other memories of the family from those years, which will be translated and published in Greek.