A special ceremony was held on Thursdsay to bestow the honor "Righteous Among the Nations" of the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center to the family of Konstantinos Sfakianakis for his saving the life of Raphael and Bianca Ventura during World War II.

The event was organized by Israeli Ambassador Noam Katz, the Greek Ministry of Education, and the Georgios Zois School in Argyroupoli, at the theater of which it was held. 

The title "Righteous Among the Nations" recognizes non-Jews who took great risks to save Jews during the Holocaust.
"History assures us that even in the darkest moments of humanity, during WWII and the Holocaust, in face of absolute horror, there were bright examples of humanitarian acts by those who refused to remain inactive and saved their fellow human beings.

Their extraordinary courage and selflessness light the path we must all follow," Ambassador Katz said. 

Education Secretary General Giorgos Kalantzis said that "a school serves as the natural setting where this message must be conveyed, because it relates to the future. In order to understand how important what Konstantinos Sfakianakis and his family did was, we must remember some numbers too: 86% of Greek Jews were murdered during the Nazi occupation. The goal we must have for this, and the natural setting for such an event is a school, so that none of us every has to pick which side to be on." 

School President Alexandros Zois said, "The Sfakianakis family chose courage over terror. At a time when the world had lost its direction, Constantinos Sfakianakis chose to stand up and say 'I will not look away'. The title 'Righteous Among the Nations' is a reminder that ethos, solidarity, humanitarianism are beyond borders, religions, or nationalities."

Families attending

The honorary title was received by Sfakianakis' daughters Sofia and Marielli, who said that their father was vindicated for his actions then, and expressed the hope that others follow that path as well. 

Attending the event also was Iossif Venturas, son of Raphael and Bianca Ventura, who was separated from his family as his brothers in order to be saved from persecution. He was hiding in Ekali where he was raised by another woman. He remembers,

"Following liberation, Constantine Sfakianakis took care of me as well, when we reunited as family at his home in Aghios Panteleimonas. Today I feel particularly moved that his award is presented to Constantinos Sfakianakis, a man who remained in my memory throughout my life as a truly saintly human being."

Included at the event were musical and theater performances of the school.

(Photo, L to R: Sofia, Marielli Sfakianaki, Katz, Kalantzis)