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The Saul Modiano Nursing Home was founded thanks to a donation from Saul Modiano,
a native of Thessaloniki who died in Trieste in 1924.
It was inaugurated in 1932 and housed in a privately owned building in the Exochon area. Its purpose was to provide housing, food, and care for elderly Jews of both sexes.
The Saul Modiano Nursing Home operated continuously until the occupation. In 1943, its residents, sharing the fate of the rest of the Jewish population of Thessaloniki, were deported and exterminated in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. As a result, the nursing home suspended its operations until 1974. It was then that the administration of the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki, under the presidency of the late David (Dick) Benveniste, conceived the idea of reviving the institution because not only in Thessaloniki, but throughout Greece, the creation of a nursing home had become necessary.
Since the buildings of the nursing home had been demolished, the Community undertook the task of constructing a new building that would meet the most modern standards. The construction and furnishing work was completed in 1981, and the institution has been operating again ever since.
The nursing home accepts men and women who are members of the Jewish communities of Greece and are over the age of 65. It is housed in a six-story building. Each floor has seven single rooms, two double rooms, and a lounge. On the ground floor there is a synagogue, a dining room, and a large reception area. The institution employs the necessary administrative, medical, and support staff. The community doctor visits the institution and examines the residents once a week. Also once a week, a special teacher conducts occupational therapy. All Jewish holidays are celebrated solemnly at the nursing home, often with the participation of the ladies of the Community and the school students. Thus, in the few years since its reopening and thanks to the unreserved and multifaceted support of the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki, the “Saul Modiano” nursing home has established itself as a true “home for our parents,” a loving refuge where elderly members of the same faith live in a pleasant, dignified, and comfortable environment, and above all, among people who embrace them with love and interest.
