When I was accepted to this program, I thought about all of the ways that I could use what I learned about in my classroom. Being in Athens was amazing and stopping in Volos felt mind blowing. The scenery and landscape were the most beautiful I have ever seen.
But I was feeling a little lost. I hadn’t made the personal connection that I had expected. When we met family of survivors the day before, I still hadn’t felt the connection I was hoping for.
Right before I left for Greece (and I mean, right before), I remembered that my Uncle Cookie was Greek. So I messaged my mom who messaged my cousin to get me his basic information. He was from Ioannina. And his family name was in the synagogue. That is all she told me.
The synagogue itself looked small from the outside. It was simple and white and blended in to the surrounding buildings. Inside it was cool and simple and the seats were in rows facing the middle. The ark was on one side of the synagogue and the bima was on the opposite side, different than I am used to, but recognizable all the same.
But what I found in that synagogue and in the small town of Ioannina was so much more than a name on a wall. Instead of finding one name on a plaque as I thought, I found name after name after name. Each of them a member of my family who did not make it home after the Holocaust. They were part of the 1,832 (94%) of the thriving and ancient Jewish Romaniot population of Ioannina.
I approached the fabulous Allegra, member of the Jewish Community, and waited to ask her more about the names. As soon as I told her the last name, she pointed to herself. She too was a Matza! And to add to the excitement and emotion of the day, there was another American family visiting and he was kind and brave enough to get up in front of us and tell his story and that of his mother, a Holocaust survivor from Ioannina. As I was speaking to Ed and Deborah, the couple from America, at the end of our time at the synagogue, we realized that we were also connected. Ed’s grandmother’s maiden name was also Matza!
I finally found my connection. And 2 new cousins. And an invitation to Yom Kippur at the Old Ioannina Synagogue. Which I may take them up on.
Lilia Pries is a teacher at Ryan Gloyer Middle School.