Phaedra Karakotsos lived in Thessaloniki with her husband Giorgios and their son Philon. Giorgios Karakotsos ran a medical practice and the family had Jewish acquaintances.
After the city’s German occupation in April 1941, the local population was oppressed and Jews were persecuted. In April 1943, the family was approached by acquaintances, who told them the Jewish Pardo family wanted to escape from the ghetto and were looking for a place to hide. Soon after, the children left the ghetto in secret while Phaedra Karakotsos waited for them nearby. Their parents came the next day. The Karakotsos family hid the Pardos in their home for 18 months. There were several searches but they were always warned in time.
Out of the windows, both families watched Jews being driven to the station and deported. Phaedra and Giorgios Karakotsos were among the few people in the city who took in a Jewish family and saved them.