The Jews of Rhodes and the Shoah: the testimony of Sami Modiano

This round table will focus on the tragedy of the Jewish community of Rhodes during the Second World War, through the prism of a survivor, Sami Modiano, who shared his own experience of these events in his latest book "C'est pour cela que j'ai vécu", trans. Sabine Sarah Weiss (Paris: Le Manuscrit, 2025).
Un homme âgé en chemise se tient devant des pancartes où sont inscrites des listes de noms
Été 2012, Musée de la synagogue de Rhodes. Sami Modiano montre les noms des membres de sa famille dans la longue liste des déportés © Modiano, Per questo ho vissuto, Rizzoli, 2013‎

Three speakers, Daniel Amram (M2, Hebraic and Jewish studies, Inalco), Dra Odette Varon-Vassard (Holocaust historian, collaborator of the Jewish Museum of Greece) and Prof. Dra Chiara Nannicini Streitberger (expert in the literary analysis of testimonies , Université UCL-Saint Louis Bruxelles), will address various historical and literary aspects that will help us place the Jewish community of Rhodes in the wider context of the events of the Second World War, as well as before and after it. After brief presentations by the speakers, there will be a dialogue and a question-and-answer session.

Program

  • 6:00-6:10 pm - Dr. Zeljko Jovanovic (CERMOM, Inalco) and Dr. Simon Perego (CERMOM, Inalco). Simon Perego (CERMOM , Inalco): introduction and presentation of the talks
  • 18h10-18h30 - Amram Daniel (masterant [M2], Inalco): "La communauté juive de Rhodes : une histoire encore méconnue"
  • 18h30-18h50 - Dra. Odette Varon-Vassard (Jewish Museum of Greece): "Les cheminements de la mémoire de la Shoah : Sami Modiano et les Juifs de Rhodes"
  • 18h50-19h10 - Prof. Dra Chiara Nannicini Streitberger (Université UCL-Saint Louis Bruxelles): "Élaborer l'écriture de la mémoire : le cas de Sami Modiano"
  • 19h10-19h30 - Discussion (questions/comments)