Menorah in flames, Holocaust memorial at Eleftherias Square, Thessaloniki, Greece
The Menorah in Flames is a bronze sculpture about 2.5 meters tall, set on a grey marble base on Eleftherias Square. From a distance it looks like a tree, but closer up it reveals a seven-branched candelabrum whose branches are human bodies turning into flames. Two plaques on the base carry inscriptions in Greek, English and Hebrew.
The memorial marks an event in 1942 when occupation forces gathered over 9,000 Jewish men at this location. This action led to the deportation of around 50,000 Jews from Thessaloniki to concentration camps.
The name references the seven-branched candelabrum, a core symbol in Jewish tradition. Inscriptions in several languages at the site speak directly to the history and meaning of this place for the Jewish community.
The sculpture stands openly accessible in the busy central square and is easy to reach on foot. The location is near shops and other central venues, making a visit easy to combine with other sightseeing in the area.
Nandor Glid, a Serbian Holocaust survivor who lost much of his family at Auschwitz, designed the sculpture but died in March 1997; his son Daniel Glid completed it. A plaque on the base records the February 2006 visit of Moshe Katsav, the first Israeli president to make a state visit to Greece.
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