Boxcars used to deport Thessaloniki’s Jews to Auschwitz being restored

Two railway boxcars used to transport Thessaloniki Jews to their deaths at the Nazi extermination camp at Auschwitz during the German occupation are being restored at the initiative of a 93-year-old former Hellenic Railways (OSE) director whose uncle, aunt and cousins were among those deported to the camps.

Savvas Koen, who is Jewish, decided to undertake the cost of repairing the two boxcars during a visit to Thessaloniki Railway Museum a year ago, where he was informed about their existence by site managers.

"Last June we went on a trip to Thessaloniki with the Athens Friends of the Railway Association, of which I am a member. And, among other things, we visited the Railway Museum. There, I learned the story of the two wagons, with which the Germans transported the Jews from Thessaloniki's old railway station to Auschwitz, and I was moved. I thought a small...