Transcription
January 21st – Customs and Traditions of Didymoteicho
ANITTA PINTO: Good morning, Mr. Tarampoulos. We have here Mr. David Tarampoulos from Didymoteicho, to tell us what he remembers from his childhood.
DAVID TARAMPOULOS: I’m glad that Thessaloniki is taking an interest in things beyond its own region. Didymoteicho truly was a city which, beyond its great history, also has a particular history when it comes to the Jews. The relationships between the Jews of Didymoteicho and the cities of Turkey and Bulgaria were very close.
ANITTA PINTO: Commercial?
DAVID TARAMPOULOS: Both commercial and familial. My grandmother was from Adrianople. My other grandmother used to go vacationing in Varna, Bulgaria. She didn’t go to Alexandroupoli — she went to Varna.
ANITTA PINTO: Could you please tell us the names of your mother and father?
DAVID TARAMPOULOS: My mother’s name is Soultana, from the Alkapéz family, and my father was Joseph Tarampoulos. I was named after my grandfather, David Tarampoulos, who was also a merchant in Didymoteicho. He traded agricultural products and did business with Turkey.
Mrs. Astro Tarampoulos’s father used to bring fish from Constantinople. My grandfather did the same before the war. At the same time, he had the agency for Fina, or Pourfina. He was an agent and sold petroleum products in the region.
That’s the story of my parents and my ancestors.
ANITTA PINTO: In your home, do you remember them speaking Greek?
DAVID TARAMPOULOS: They spoke Greek, and when they wanted to speak in secret, they spoke Ladino. That’s how we ended up speaking Ladino too. I cultivated it, and now I speak it more like Spanish.
At some point, because of work, a Jewish man from Peru came to Thessaloniki, and we began collaborating. He spent three months in Thessaloniki, three months in Paris, and three months in Lima. We agreed that for business we would speak English, and at all other times Spanish. So I corrected many of the Ladino words we used here, which were influenced by Greek and Turkish.
ANITTA PINTO: Your parents, during the war…
DAVID TARAMPOULOS: Both my mother and father were in the camp. My father lost his entire family — he was the only one who survived. From my mother’s family, her mother and the twins were lost in the camp. The three sisters survived, and they are still alive today.
ANITTA PINTO: Which camp?
DAVID TARAMPOULOS: Birkenau.
ANITTA PINTO: And your father?
DAVID TARAMPOULOS: He was also in Birkenau. He more or less escaped — he managed to get out earlier. He had made a vow: if he survived and returned to Didymoteicho, he would marry the first woman who learned that he had come back alive.
The three sisters returned to Thessaloniki. My father found out, called them to Didymoteicho, and married the eldest one — my mother. He fulfilled the promise he had made.
When people returned from the camps, our house became the place they came to first. From there, each person began rebuilding their life.
ANITTA PINTO: Since both your parents were in the camps, did you experience post-traumatic stress at home?
DAVID TARAMPOULOS: My father was optimistic and tried to overcome it. We experienced it more through my mother. It left lasting marks — even now. She is 100 years old.
When they returned, my father found the house. He had hidden gold sovereigns in certain spots. He didn’t find the ones in the basement, but he found some in a bedroom cupboard, behind a wooden screen. With those — and by buying a lottery ticket — he won 20,000 drachmas. He used to tell us that God never abandons you.
Then he started trading again.
We celebrated all the Jewish holidays — Pesach, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur. There were about five or six families in Didymoteicho, very close-knit because we all shared similar histories. We gathered in each other’s homes and celebrated together.
I’ll never forget Hanukkah — Thessaloniki would send us Hanukkiot, and as children we would wait for them eagerly.
My aunt, my mother’s youngest sister, Julia Sasson, got married in our house. The rabbi came from Thessaloniki, and the wedding took place in Didymoteicho.
ANITTA PINTO: Any other memories from your childhood?
DAVID TARAMPOULOS: They were good years. We had friends — both Jewish and Christian. We were like siblings. I had a friend, Dimitris Chatzipoulidis. I called his mother “Aunt,” and he called my mother “Aunt Soultana.”
Before the war, there was a proper Jewish community — progressive, with a school and a historic synagogue. Unfortunately, the synagogue was demolished and the Holocaust memorial was built in its place. I was saddened by that — it had a beautiful mosaic.
The Jews of Didymoteicho have roots going back to the 15th century. It was always a well-organized community with strong ties to Adrianople.
There are two cemeteries. Recently, I saw a grave from 1930 with the name Tarampoulos — it was my grandfather’s brother.
There is also a much older cemetery. An effort is underway to bring it to international attention. It is considered one of the four most important Jewish cemeteries in Europe. It has preserved graves and a history that should be examined by rabbis.
In the spring, a journey will take place in Didymoteicho starting from the cemetery, in collaboration with the Jewish Museum of Greece and, I believe, the Holocaust Museum in Washington.
I’m very glad we are engaging with this. And I sincerely thank you for taking an interest in Didymoteicho. It is a border region, and we have a duty to support and uphold such places in every possible way.
A personal testimony by David Taramboulous about Jewish life in Didymoteicho. He speaks about his family’s roots, with close ties to Adrianople and Varna, the commercial activities of his ancestors, and the use of Sephardic (Ladino) at home alongside Greek. He recounts the traumatic experience of his parents during the war at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the losses suffered by the family, and their return to Didymoteicho, where their home became a gathering place for survivors. He remembers the Jewish holidays celebrated by the few remaining families, Hanukkah traditions, weddings, and the close coexistence with their Christian neighbors. He also reflects on the former synagogue that was demolished, the historic Jewish cemeteries of the town, and current efforts to highlight the centuries-long Jewish presence in Didymoteicho. A narrative about memory, resilience, and the preservation of identity in a border region with deep historical roots.
Transcription
January 21st – Customs and Traditions of Didymoteicho
ANITTA PINTO: Good morning, Mr. Tarampoulos. We have here Mr. David Tarampoulos from Didymoteicho, to tell us what he remembers from his childhood.
DAVID TARAMPOULOS: I’m glad that Thessaloniki is taking an interest in things beyond its own region. Didymoteicho truly was a city which, beyond its great history, also has a particular history when it comes to the Jews. The relationships between the Jews of Didymoteicho and the cities of Turkey and Bulgaria were very close.
ANITTA PINTO: Commercial?
DAVID TARAMPOULOS: Both commercial and familial. My grandmother was from Adrianople. My other grandmother used to go vacationing in Varna, Bulgaria. She didn’t go to Alexandroupoli — she went to Varna.
ANITTA PINTO: Could you please tell us the names of your mother and father?
DAVID TARAMPOULOS: My mother’s name is Soultana, from the Alkapéz family, and my father was Joseph Tarampoulos. I was named after my grandfather, David Tarampoulos, who was also a merchant in Didymoteicho. He traded agricultural products and did business with Turkey.
Mrs. Astro Tarampoulos’s father used to bring fish from Constantinople. My grandfather did the same before the war. At the same time, he had the agency for Fina, or Pourfina. He was an agent and sold petroleum products in the region.
That’s the story of my parents and my ancestors.
ANITTA PINTO: In your home, do you remember them speaking Greek?
DAVID TARAMPOULOS: They spoke Greek, and when they wanted to speak in secret, they spoke Ladino. That’s how we ended up speaking Ladino too. I cultivated it, and now I speak it more like Spanish.
At some point, because of work, a Jewish man from Peru came to Thessaloniki, and we began collaborating. He spent three months in Thessaloniki, three months in Paris, and three months in Lima. We agreed that for business we would speak English, and at all other times Spanish. So I corrected many of the Ladino words we used here, which were influenced by Greek and Turkish.
ANITTA PINTO: Your parents, during the war…
DAVID TARAMPOULOS: Both my mother and father were in the camp. My father lost his entire family — he was the only one who survived. From my mother’s family, her mother and the twins were lost in the camp. The three sisters survived, and they are still alive today.
ANITTA PINTO: Which camp?
DAVID TARAMPOULOS: Birkenau.
ANITTA PINTO: And your father?
DAVID TARAMPOULOS: He was also in Birkenau. He more or less escaped — he managed to get out earlier. He had made a vow: if he survived and returned to Didymoteicho, he would marry the first woman who learned that he had come back alive.
The three sisters returned to Thessaloniki. My father found out, called them to Didymoteicho, and married the eldest one — my mother. He fulfilled the promise he had made.
When people returned from the camps, our house became the place they came to first. From there, each person began rebuilding their life.
ANITTA PINTO: Since both your parents were in the camps, did you experience post-traumatic stress at home?
DAVID TARAMPOULOS: My father was optimistic and tried to overcome it. We experienced it more through my mother. It left lasting marks — even now. She is 100 years old.
When they returned, my father found the house. He had hidden gold sovereigns in certain spots. He didn’t find the ones in the basement, but he found some in a bedroom cupboard, behind a wooden screen. With those — and by buying a lottery ticket — he won 20,000 drachmas. He used to tell us that God never abandons you.
Then he started trading again.
We celebrated all the Jewish holidays — Pesach, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur. There were about five or six families in Didymoteicho, very close-knit because we all shared similar histories. We gathered in each other’s homes and celebrated together.
I’ll never forget Hanukkah — Thessaloniki would send us Hanukkiot, and as children we would wait for them eagerly.
My aunt, my mother’s youngest sister, Julia Sasson, got married in our house. The rabbi came from Thessaloniki, and the wedding took place in Didymoteicho.
ANITTA PINTO: Any other memories from your childhood?
DAVID TARAMPOULOS: They were good years. We had friends — both Jewish and Christian. We were like siblings. I had a friend, Dimitris Chatzipoulidis. I called his mother “Aunt,” and he called my mother “Aunt Soultana.”
Before the war, there was a proper Jewish community — progressive, with a school and a historic synagogue. Unfortunately, the synagogue was demolished and the Holocaust memorial was built in its place. I was saddened by that — it had a beautiful mosaic.
The Jews of Didymoteicho have roots going back to the 15th century. It was always a well-organized community with strong ties to Adrianople.
There are two cemeteries. Recently, I saw a grave from 1930 with the name Tarampoulos — it was my grandfather’s brother.
There is also a much older cemetery. An effort is underway to bring it to international attention. It is considered one of the four most important Jewish cemeteries in Europe. It has preserved graves and a history that should be examined by rabbis.
In the spring, a journey will take place in Didymoteicho starting from the cemetery, in collaboration with the Jewish Museum of Greece and, I believe, the Holocaust Museum in Washington.
I’m very glad we are engaging with this. And I sincerely thank you for taking an interest in Didymoteicho. It is a border region, and we have a duty to support and uphold such places in every possible way.