consulate events
First Annual Commemoration Event for David Tiano
February 07, 2007
American Consulate General Thessaloniki
On February 7th the American Consulate General hosted an event in the Tiano room, commemorating its namesake, a Jewish employee of the U.S. Consulate who was executed by the Nazis on February 7, 1942.
When the US declared war against Germany in December 1941, Messrs Tiano, Karasso and Vafiades were all arrested by the German occupation forces and were sent to a concentration camp in Thessaloniki. Tiano was immediately executed, and Karasso and Vafiades were released after they had spent several months in prison. Heinz Kounio, a Holocaust survivor, spoke about the Holocaust in Thessaloniki, including his own experiences of being sent to Auschwitz. Several members of the local Jewish community were able to attend and commemorate this shared historical event.