The construction of the Holocaust Museum of Greece officially is moving ahead following the signing of a pivotal agreement between the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki and construction firm METKA.
The €40 million landmark will be built on the site of the city’s old railway station, the historic ground from which Nazi forces deported more than 50,000 Jews to concentration camps during World War II.
David Saltiel, president of the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki, hailed the development as "a national project of memory and responsibility."
METKA CEO Dinos Benroubi stated that Thessaloniki will "soon acquire a modern beacon of memory and culture."
The museum is backed by a coalition of major donors, including the Greek government, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and Albert Bourla, the Thessaloniki-born CEO of Pfizer. Mr. Bourla contributed to the project through the Genesis Prize Foundation.
The building's design is a collaboration between Efrat Kowalsky Architects (Israel), Heide & von Beckerath (Germany), and Makridis & Associates (Greece).
Friday’s signing marks a decisive step in honoring the devastation of a community once known as the "Mother of Israel," transforming a site of tragedy into a permanent institution of education and remembrance.