A Living History Lesson: The Powerful Testimony of “Hidden Child” Makis Matsas to Students of Saint-Paul and the 6th Lyceum of Volos - March 8 2025
On May 8th 2025, students from the Saint-Paul Franco-Hellenic School of Piraeus and the 6th General High School of Volos experienced a rare and deeply moving opportunity to engage directly with history. As part of the European educational program Neshama, which focuses on preserving Holocaust memory, the Honorary President of the Jewish Museum of Greece, Mr. Makis (Samouil) Matsas, shared a captivating personal testimony, shedding light on the lesser-known aspects of Greek Jewish survival during the Nazi occupation.
From Epirus to Occupied Athens. According to the historical records of the Jewish Museum of Greece, the family’s lineage is closely tied to the long-standing tradition of Greek Jewry, with deep roots in an old Sephardic community originating from Ioannina and Preveza. The family’s local ancestry spans centuries, with his grandparents, Samouil and Stamoula, preserving this heritage before his parents eventually relocated to Athens. It was in the capital city, in September 1937, that Makis Matsas was born, destined to spend his earliest years enduring the brutal realities of the German occupation. The Chronicle of Hiding and Survival. When the Nazi persecutions intensified, Makis Matsas was a mere three-year-old toddler. To evade capture and the threat of the ghettos, his parents made the crucial decision to flee Athens. Traveling on foot, the family navigated difficult trails to seek refuge in the rugged mountains of Central Greece. There, in the village of Dikastro in Evrytania, they found safety alongside the Greek partisan fighters.
Their survival relied on two critical factors:
- Identity Alteration: To protect their background from being compromised, they were provided with forged documents. The name “Makis” itself served as a cover, replacing his birth name for years.
- Greek Solidarity: Their salvation was made possible thanks to the bravery of ordinary Christian citizens who risked their own families lives to grant them shelter.
Following a grueling two-year ordeal, separated from many loved ones in the harsh mountain wilderness, he walked from Karpenisi to Lamia. There, they were received by Allied forces, allowing them to return to a liberated Athens in late 1944. In his post-war life, he established his own family, marrying Zafeiria Nachman and raising two children. A Life Devoted to Remembrance Upon reaching adulthood, Mr. Matsas transformed his personal trauma into a lifelong mission. He has dedicated his energy to the advancement of the Jewish Museum of Greece and the active fight against antisemitism. Under his leadership, the museum expanded its educational ties with the Greek Ministry of Education. Furthermore, as Chairman, he personally funded the inaugural pilot initiative that sent a group of Greek students and educators to the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland, paving the way for today’s educational field trips. Youth as “Ambassadors of Memory” The gathering with students from Saint-Paul and the 6th High School of Volos, who followed online, sparked a lively and dynamic dialogue. The teenagers belonging to the Neshama network raised essential questions regarding how daily fear was managed in the mountains and the psychological weight of an altered identity. Through this profound testimony, the students embraced their roles as future “ambassadors of memory” raising a unified voice against racism and bigotry.