Orestiada Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Country
Greece
Region
Eastern Macedonia and Thrace
District
Evros
Settlement
Orestiada
Site address
The cemetery is said to have been located at the end of 40, Ekklision Street. Today, this is the site of an operating Christian cemetery and a court house.
GPS coordinates
41.50010, 26.52078
Perimeter length
The exact perimeter can not be delineated and requires further research.
Is the cemetery demolished
yes
Type and height of existing fence
No fence
Preservation condition
Demolished and overbuilt Jewish cemetery
General site condition
The cemetery was demolished and built up. The time of destruction is not yet known. Presumably, the courthouse building was constructed over the Jewish cemetery. It is supposed that the operating Christian cemetery is today also situated on the former site of the Jewish cemetery.
Number of existing gravestones
No tombstones preserved.
Date of oldest tombstone
Date of newest tombstone
Urgency of erecting a fence
Fence is not needed
Land ownership
Municipality
Preserved construction on site
Drone surveys
No
Historical overview
Orestiada was annexed by Greece in the 1920s. In 1928, it was home to 139 Jews. In 1940, this number increased to 197. Orestiada was a German occupation zone. In 1943, a series of German attrcoties against the Jews began. On 4th May 1943, the Jews were told to report to the synagogue, from where they were sent to the death camps. However, some Jews managed to take refuge in Greek villages and the surrounding countryside. They worked until the end of WWII. After the war, a few Jews was in Orestiada. In 1945, only 3 Jews remained.
The Jewish cemetery in Orestiada was established in the 20th century.
