Greek chief rabbi (1884?1945)
Zvi Hirsch Koretz
(
Greek
:
Σ?βη Κ?ρετ?
; 2 June 1884 ? 3 June 1945), also written as
Tzevi
or
Sevi
Koretz
, was an
Ashkenazi
Jew
who served as the
Chief Rabbi
of
Saloniki's
Jewish community
from 1933 to 1945. His role as president of the
Judenrat
during
World War II
has been called into controversy, with many accusing him of being a
Nazi collaborator
.
Biography
[
edit
]
Koretz was born on 2 June 1884 in
Rzeszow
,
Galicia
,
Austria-Hungary
. He would study in the
Higher Institute for Jewish Studies
in
Berlin
, where he received a
doctorate
in
philosophy
and
Semitic languages
, writing his thesis on "The Description of
Hell
in the
Quran
and its Prototypes in Jewish Literature."
[1]
[2]
Following this he would receive
semicha
from this same institution.
[3]
[4]
[5]
In 1927 he would marry a woman named Gita, a fellow native of Galicia, in
Hamburg
.
[6]
In 1933 Koretz, an
Ashkenazi Jew
who followed a 'liberal tradition,' was made
Chief Rabbi
of
Salonika
, a
Sephardic
community that mostly spoke
Ladino
.
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
His office was given, on the condition that he would be able to learn Ladino and
Greek
within three months, and after doing so he would begin to make a name for himself by working with the government on their behalf. His politicking would make him an ally to several prominent members of the military, government, and
the King
, among whom he would often make public declarations of support.
[5]
[11]
[12]
Despite his connections outside of the community, Koretz had many detractors due to him not practicing
Orthodox Judaism
and living lavishly. His first actions in office would make this apparent as his first priority had been to secure the community funds and establish a large salary for himself. His lack of familiarity with Sephardic traditions would result in much of the responsibilities normally held by the spiritual office being delegated to local rabbis.
[13]
Because of these strained relations he would bring several Ladino newspapers to civil court in 1934 for
defamation
, rather than the
Beth Din
, for attacks against his taking a large personal salary and desecrating the
Sabbath
. His choice to forgo the Beth Din, would raise questions of whether the institution needed
reform
.
[8]
[14]
While his predecessor focused the office on resolving matters of
halacha
for the community, his first communal acts would update census information for the government; this would go into effect in 1934 and would be the basis for neighborhood lists that would be handed over to the
Nazis
by Koretz.
[15]
[16]
He would receive letters of reassurance from
General Metaxas
that the
Jewish people
would continue to be welcomed in
Greece
during the 1930s and would successfully petition funding for two new
Jewish schools
in Salonika. In March 1937 Koretz was able to negotiate an additional 500,000
drachmas
for the local Jewish schools, however in June the community adopted measures to dismiss educators due to the threat of bankruptcy.
[3]
[17]
[18]
Despite the personal criticisms and ongoing financial struggles of the community, he was chosen to continue serving as the Chief Rabbi in 1938 at the directive of General Metaxas.
[8]
[13]
World War II
[
edit
]
World War II
saw Greece thrust into the conflict as they were
invaded in 1940
. During this period Koretz would write an appeal to the
American Jewish Congress
, relating to the international community and protesting how the
Axis forces
bombed
civilian
targets, such as the
local Hagia Sophia Cathedral
, in air raids, as well as heavily affecting the poor Jews of the city.
[19]
[20]
[21]
During the war he would also be called on by the
Archbishop of Athens
to assist in the memorial service for several Jewish military men who were killed during the conflict, notably among them being
Col. Mordechai Frizis
. Koretz would be honored as the first Jewish member of the
Parnassos Literary Society
following the memorial service.
[22]
After Greece was conquered, Koretz was to be charged by the
Nazis
for anti-German propaganda.
[23]
He was arrested in
Athens
on 15 April 1941 and deported to
Vienna
where he was held in a
gestapo
prison for nine months.
[3]
[24]
[25]
He was released the following January and would return to Salonika, where he continued to serve as Chief Rabbi of the community before being imprisoned again for coming into conflict with, then
Judenrat
president, Shabbetai Saltiel, despite the president previously approving him to continue serving the community.
[26]
[27]
[28]
Koretz would be released in 1942 at the insistence of local industrialists to take part in the negotiations to replace
Jewish slave laborers
with paid Greek workers. He was able to negotiate a deal where the Jews would be released from the camps in exchange for over 2 billion drachmas in
ransom
, an amount the Nazis considered the Jews liable for due to their participation in the Greco-Italian War. By liquidating the community's property,
the cemetery in particular
, they were able to successfully raise funds and free Jews who had been taken to do labor. That being said, because the Nazis had raised the demanded value and wealthier members of the community refused to provide the money the full demands were not met.
[1]
[20]
[28]
Koretz would use this new freedom to guide the community once more, issuing
halachic
guidance on how they might celebrate
Passover
, in the April of 1942, despite the ongoing famine the community was facing.
[29]
On 11 December 1942 Koretz was named Judenrat president, replacing Saltiel, he was the only remaining Jewish community leader who spoke
German
beside the former President, and would negotiate with the
SS officers
Dieter Wisliceny
and
Alois Brunner
over how the deportations of Jews were to be done.
[5]
[30]
[31]
He would also act against members of the
Greek resistance
, threatening to expose members who attempted to recruit young Jews.
[13]
In the face of growing pressure from the Nazis, Koretz met with
Prime Minister Rallis
when the Greek official visited the city on 11 April 1943. Minister Rallis remained evasive on the issue of deportations despite the rabbi breaking down in tears before him and asking him to intervene on the Jewish citizens' behalf.
[32]
[33]
Rallis would claim that the deportations were out of his control.
[1]
In August of 1943, Koretz, the other members of the Judenrat, and the Jewish police were deported to
Bergen-Belsen
.
[30]
[31]
Koretz would be liberated from the Nazis by the
Red Army
when the Soviets captured a train that was stranded in
Trobitz
while transporting Jews from Bergen-Belsen to
Theresienstadt
, this train would become known as
The Lost Transport
. He would die later, in June, from
typhus
, which he had contracted in the
concentration camp
, in
Trebitz
. He was buried in the Trobitz cemetery alongside other victims of The Lost Transport.
[4]
[21]
[34]
He would be survived by his wife and son,
Arieh
.
[6]
[35]
Legacy
[
edit
]
Koretz's role in the deportation and murder of
Salonika's Jewish community
has been one of contentious debate.
[15]
[36]
[37]
At least 94% of
Salonika's
Jewish
population was murdered during the
Holocaust
, a figure that many have claimed was caused by the
rabbi's
actions during the deportations.
[38]
These accusations would be primarily driven by survivors who accused him of being a
collaborator
due to his pushing the community to comply with the
Nazi
occupiers.
[39]
[40]
Some scholars have labeled Koretz as a collaborator and persecutor for having helped facilitate the deportations, handing over lists of Jews, and working to get the community to comply with the deportations. He would also tell the community that the deportations only meant that they would be relocating to
Poland
, where the Jews would be settled with a new life and work.
[24]
[30]
Others however have labeled him an unintentional collaborator; labeling the outcome a tragedy of weak leadership.
[36]
[39]
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[
edit
]
- ^
a
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c
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- ^
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- ^
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