Eugénie Pardo lived with her husband Chaim and their three children in Thessaloniki, Greece’s largest Jewish community. Chaim Pardo was a businessman and had run an electrical installation company since the 1930s.
In 1940, when Germany’s ally Italy attacked Greece, Chaim Pardo’s business suffered bomb damage. After the German invasion in April 1941, anti-Jewish measures were introduced. Chaim Pardo was dispossessed in 1942 and the family lost their livelihood. Soon afterward, they had to move into the city’s ghetto and wear the yellow star. Concerned by the deportations of Jews from Thessaloniki, the Pardos escaped to their friends the Karakotsos family in April 1943. They lived in hiding in the home of Phaedra and Giorgos Karakotsos for 18 months. The Pardos evaded arrest on several occasions. Eugénie Pardo’s mother-in-law, who had to remain in the ghetto, was deported.
After their liberation in October 1944, their home was occupied and their belongings had been looted. They later found a new home and Eugénie Pardo’s husband was able to reopen his business.
Identity card for Eugénie, Rosina, and Denise Pardo, issued by the Greek Security Police on March 15, 1941. Source: Evraiko Mousio tis Ellados, Athen
Chaim Pardo and his wife Eugénie with their daughters Lily (standing) and Rosina in Thessaloniki, around 1935. Source: Privatbesitz/Private
The Pardos with the family of Eugénie’s brother Gaston Beraha (center, standing). Left: Chaim and Eugénie Pardo, next to them Lily and Rosina, Thessaloniki, 1938. Source: Evraiko Mousio tis Ellados, Athen
Rosina Pardo (left) with her mother Eugénie and sister Denise, Thessaloniki, October 26, 1948. Source: Privatbesitz/Private
