An article published in the Journal of Modern Hellenism, Numbers 23-24/Winter 2006-2007 by Marcia Haddad Ikonomopoulos

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This paper describes the Romaniote Jews who lived in Greece for over 2,300 years.

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Uncle Oscar served in the Army during World War II.  He was stationed in India and China. He compiled an album of his time in the these countries.  

​The PDF of My Trip Overseas to the Orient is 119 pages.

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Jessie wrote his 1931 college thesis on the Confederacy and how they lost the war. He describes in great detail with many references to support his position in describing how the outcome of the war resulted in the North winning.

She was a linguist, a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse; she taught folk dancing; she was a poet, a writer. She took her family to Ioannina which she chronicled in a family diary.

​She also wrote about her parents.

Husband Sid wrote a book of WWII.

Michael Matsas covers the Greek Holocaust historically and integrates his own personal memoir and memoirs from interviews with Greek survivors of Auschwitz and those who hid during the occupation of Greece. A 2021 article in Hellanic News of America highlights the role of Greece causing the ultimate defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
His book The Illusion of Safety is available on Amazon.
See the YouTube video with Rhoda Elison Hirsch and Michael Matsas interview.
Michael Matsas is related to us through marriage into the Colchamiro family.

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The synagogue’s library houses an extensive collection of books on Greek Jewry, written in English, Hebrew, Greek, French and Italian, and it has the largest collection of English-language books on Greek Jewry in the world, all for sale though its website and gift shop. The link is to the synagogue & museum.

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During his time in India and China, Uncle Oscar took many photographs. This is a photo album of his time in India and China.

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This PDF of photos is 52 pages. A history well worth exploring 

Daughter of Jesse Colchamiro Elison, she wrote a short story about her Nona (Speranza Matza Colchamiro) for a college senior elective, "Creative Writing", The course was taught by the renowned author Philip Roth. This PDF copy of the story is with hand-written notes in the margins by Mr. Roth.

Sidney served in World War II and wrote a book about his experiences changing from civilian to warrior. In From Boots to Iwo Jima he recounts through letters to Terry his feelings and about being so far away from his family and what it meant to him.

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Granddaughter of Mollie and David Kaplan She is honored on Tufts website: At Tufts Dental, She Stood Alone. She Went on to Become Outstanding In a six-decade career, Esther Kaplan Colchamiro cared for those who needed it most by. In the late 1930s, most graduate and professional schools had little interest in educating women. An ambitious young woman from the Bronx sent off a raft of applications anyway. Tufts dental school offered her a chance In the fall of 1938 to enroll at what was then known as Tufts Dental College. See link Also A Memoir she wrote Jan.1983. As of this writing she is now 104 years old.
 

Rae Dalven was a Romaniote author. Best known for her translations and for her books and plays about the Jews of Ioannina. Rae Dalven was Professor and Chair of English Literature at Lady Cliff College. She was a professor of Modern Greek literature at NYU, where a prize is offered in her name.
Born: 4/25/1904, Preveza, Greece

Died: 7/30/1992, New York, NY

Books*: The Jews of Ioannina

*Book available at Kehila Bookstore, link to order.

Aunt Sarah was a prolific writer in her later years.  She published several books which are available on Amazon.com under Sarah Burakoff, which the button below will take you to.  Some of her books and others ebooks.  Either way, enjoy the writing of Aunt Sarah

Daughter of Oscar Colchamiro, who throughout her career as a social worker and therapist is accustom to helping people. This article as shown in the 2001 PDF copy of the story that appeared in the local newspaper in her town. It starts with a phone call from her husband Walter who was told the story from an employee of his muffler shop. It became a life-saving mission to fly an Ecuadorian teenager to U.S. to get life saving medical help.

Great granddaughter of Morris and Esther, she expresses her views about what is happening in 2021. Published as a Letter to the Editor in her local paper, entitled Riots and Rage; Happiness and Hope. A profound insight from such a young age of only a decade old.

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