Escaping the Nazis in Greece

The Greek city of Thessaloniki, or Salonica, was once known as the Jerusalem of the Balkans. It was previously home to a large and thriving Sephardi Jewish population whose ancestors had been expelled from Spain in 1492. However, the Nazi occupation of Greece from 1941 to 1944 almost completely wiped out that culture and community. More than 90% of the approximately 50,000 Jews living in Salonica in 1943 were deported to Auschwitz and killed. Yeti Mitrani was a young teenager at the time. She speaks to Maria Margaronis about her family's escape and her childhood. (Photo: Yeti as a child. Credit: Doris Mitrani)