Fathers of Israeli, Greek Premiers Rescued by Each Other’s Countrymen from Nazis During World War Ii

Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou of Greece and Prime Minister Shimon Peres of Israel are each indebted to the other’s countrymen for little known incidents which occurred in the darkest days of World War II.

It was Palestinian Jews who rescued Papandreou’s father, George Papandreou, from the Nazis in German-occupied Greece more than 40 years ago. And it was the Greek underground, of which the elder Papandreou was a member, which rescued Peres’ father, Itzhak Persky, from the Gestapo in Greece at about the same time.

The rescue of Papandreou was related to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency by a former Haganah officer who was in Greece during the war and later became a high ranking official in the Israeli Foreign Ministry. The rescue of Peres’ father has become a family legend which the present Premier has related many times.

‘ILLEGAL’ SEA-LIFT

According to the ex-Haganah officer, a small team of Palestinian Jews was operating an “illegal” sea-lift in the eastern Mediterranean during the war to rescue Jews who managed to reach the Greek island of Evia, not far from Athens. A local Greek shipowner supplied the vessels which transported the escaped Jews from Evia to lzmir, in Turkey, a neutral country.

In lzmir, they were taken care of by Raphael Barkis, a wealthy Greek Jew, until they could be handed over to Aliyah Bet, the underground Jewish immigration organization, for transfer to Palestine or another safe country in the Middle East.

On one occasion, the Master of a Greek rescue ship informed the head of the Jewish escape team on Evia that he had a “very important passenger” to spirit out of Greece who, however, was not Jewish. He was embarked nevertheless. His name was George Papandreou, a prominent anti-Nazi resistance fighter with a price on his head. After his rescue by the Haganah he joined the Free Greek Forces fighting with the British army in North Africa.

PERES’ FATHER ESCAPED FROM GERMANS

Peres’ father, Itzhak, was also a volunteer fighter with British forces. He was taken prisoner by the Germans but managed to escape and found his way to Greece. He hid out there, being transferred from one monastery to another to avoid detection by the gestapo. His benefactors were the Greek underground which set up a special rescue team to help the Jewish soldier from Palestine.

Peres himself told the story to the JTA here. The man in charge was Michaelis Zoustis, now 75, who assigned four underground members to protect his father. They were known only by code names: Babis; Charalambos; Stathis; and Lakis the Lawyer. After a year, they managed his escape from Greece. Peres’ father died two years later in Palestine.

PERES INDEBTED TO GREEK PEOPLE

Peres said he would never forget what happened during those years. “I shall feel always indebted to the Greek people for having saved my father’s life,” he told this correspondent. Unfortunately, Papandreou has never expressed his gratitude to the Palestinian Jews, at least not publicly. Although a Socialist, like Peres, the Greek leader has been cool toward Israel.

Of the Greek rescue team, two have not been heard of since leaving for America after the war and another died a year ago. Zoustis is believed the sole survivor. Speaking to this correspondent, he complained bitterly that the Israel government has failed so far to honor the EAM — the wartime Greek underground — which, he said, saved more Jews than any other. It was in fact, the second largest anti-Nazi underground in Europe, exceeded in size only by the Yugoslav partisans headed by the late Marshal Tito.