Our Community in cooperation with the History Centre of the Municipality of Thessaloniki and the Department of Culture organized the presentation of the book “G.S. Makampi of Thessaloniki, 1908-2010”.
The album was realized after a proposal of the I.K.Th. to the Mayor of Thessaloniki and is part of a series of corresponding publications of the History Centre that have been made so far for almost all the sports clubs of the city. The multi-year and particularly difficult research effort for the documentation of the history of the Makampi club was undertaken in cooperation with the K.I.Th., by the Assistant Professor of International Law of the University of Western Macedonia, Nikolaos Zaikos.
Through the pages of the book, which is the fruit of this research, not only the history of the club is presented but also the important path of the Jewish athletes who glorified the colours of clubs such as Acoch, Hercules, Aris and the national teams of our country. The book includes over 300 photographs, most of which are unpublished.
The presentation of the book, which took place in the crowded hall of the Megaro Billy, was welcomed by the Prefect of Thessaloniki, Mr. Mr. Vasilis Papageorgopoulos, the Deputy Mayor of Culture Mr. Vasilis Gakis, the President of the ICTH Mr. David Saltiel, the President of Makabi Mr. Eliezer Aruch and the author Mr. Nikolaos Zaikos.
The President of the ICTH, Mr. Saltiel, and the President of the Makabee, Mr. Aruch, underlined the unbreakable ties that have linked and still link the Association with the ICTH. They also referred to its rich past up to the Holocaust and the course of its recovery after the end of World War II. At the same time, they emphasized the fact that this book honors all Greek Jewish athletes and is a rare document of the more than one hundred year old history of the Makabi. In closing, they thanked the author for the dedication he showed during his many years of involvement, having as his only reward the moral reward of reviving and recording the stories of the athletes.
For his part, the author mentioned and thanked warmly all those who stood by his side, each one helping in his own way the research on the subject that began tentatively in 2002. He pointed out that for him, his sole objective in publishing this book is to highlight the personalities and achievements of athletes such as Allegra Gatenio and Leon Pacy, who in our days, unfortunately, were not remembered by anyone despite what they had contributed by competing in the country’s arenas and stadiums.