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HANNAH International Conference: Challenging and Debunking Antisemitic Myths in Europe

We are proudly announcing that the HANNAH Final Conference took place in Athens organized by the Jewish Museum of Greece with almost 100 participants at the Ionic Center on 10 & 11 November 2022. The conference was moderated by the Director of the Jewish Museum of Greece, Mrs. Zanet Battinou and welcomed by Margaritis Schinas (EC Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life, via video message), George Kalantzis (General Secretary of Religious Affairs, Hellenic Ministry of Education), their Excellencies, Dr. Ernst Reichel, (Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany) and Artur Lompart (Ambassador of Poland), George Polydorakis (Head of Greek IHRA delegation), James Morrison (Political Consular of US Embassy) and Leon Saltiel (Representative at UN Geneva and UNESCO and Coordinator on Countering Antisemitism for the World Jewish Congress, via video message).

The Final Conference included a detailed presentation of the HANNAH project and its innovative outputs by all project partners (Myrto-Helena Pertsinidi from Jugend- & Kulturprojekt e.V., Miško Stanišić and Nevena Bajalica from Terraforming, Anna Wencel from the Galicia Jewish Museum, Vassiliki Chatzipetrou from Readlab, Alexandra Patrikiou and Eleni Kouki from the Jewish Museum of Greece, and Katja Grosse and Fabian Rühle from Centropa), as well as numerous activities, among which a screening of HANNAH documentary (Episode about Athens), a guided tour of the Synagogue and the Holocaust Memorial, a walking tour around the ancient center of the capital, and a guided tour at the Jewish Museum of Greece and the Acropolis Museum. Moreover, the participants had the pleasure of attending lectures on Greek Jewry and on aspects of antisemitism, as well as hearing fascinating life stories of two Jewish families throughout the 20th century. Finally, the winners of each country of the HANNAH Youth Competition were presented. With this multifaceted cultural program, the Final Conference in Athens, Greece, aimed primarily to highlight the local historical context and present the results of the HANNAH project, as well as to strengthen the fight against antisemitism.

At the end of the Conference, positive impressions regarding the quality of the lectures and the outputs of the program were expressed. Furthermore, great enthusiasm for the exhibition of the oral testimonies, held at the Jewish Museum of Greece, was expressed. Through this exhibition, all visitors have the opportunity to witness “a journey through time and history that encompasses memories, pride, tears, pain, anguish, death, but also respect and hope for life. A journey that hurts, every time one decides to repeat it”.