Two events are scheduled on Jan. 29 in the northern port city of Thessaloniki in honor of the victims of the Holocaust, with the first organized by the city's Jewish community in a central square where Jewish males from around the district were ordered by Nazi forces to assemble in the summer of 1942.

The assembly was a prelude to their conscription into forced labor brigades.

The second event will be held at the American College of Thessaloniki in the evening, and is dedicated to the memory of the children exterminated during the Holocaust of WWII, including 10,000 Greek Jewish children of Thessaloniki.

According to reports, French Interior and Regional Development Minister Nicolas Sarkozy is amongst the international dignitaries expected to send a message for the event. Sarkozy's maternal grandfather emigrated from Thessaloniki's once thriving Sephardic Jewish community to France in the first quarter of the 20th century.

The Greek government will be represented by Macedonia-Thrace Minister Nikos Tsiartsonis.

Source: Athens News Agency

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