History of the Jews in Thessaloniki

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The history of the Jews of Thessaloniki reaches back two thousand years. The city of Thessaloniki (also known as Salonika) housed a major Jewish community, mostly Eastern Sephardim, until the middle of the Second World War. Sephardic Jews immigrated to the city following the expulsion of Jews from Spain by Catholic rulers under the Alhambra Decree of 1492. The community experienced a "golden age" in the 16th century, when they developed a strong culture in the city. Like other groups in Ottoman Greece, they continued to practice traditional culture during the time when Western Europe was undergoing industrialization. In the middle of the 19th century, Jewish educators and entrepreneurs came to Thessaloniki from Western Europe to develop schools and industries; they brought contemporary ideas from Europe that changed the culture of the city. With the development of industry, both Jewish and other ethnic populations became industrial workers and developed a large working class, with labor...

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