A monument to the memory of a Jewish-Greek military man is to be inaugurated on Nov. 7 in Halkis, some 40 miles north of Athens. Col. Mordechai Frezis of the Greek Army was the first officer to fall in the Greek-Italian war of the 1940s. In this conflict, which started on Oct. 28, 1941, close to 13,000 Jews participated. Jewish losses on the Greek side amounted to 513 killed and 3,743 wounded in battle.
This little-known Jewish participation in a battle against fascism will be recalled during the memorial’s inauguration by representatives of local and national Greek government. The monument itself has been designed by a well-known sculptor, Michael Tombros, and was paid for by the Central Council of Jewish Communities in Greece. It represents Col. Frezis, who died on his horse when hit by an Italian bullet, while trying to lead an attack by his men.
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