Salonika Diary in Yad Vashem Studies, Volume XVIII

Excerpts from the Salonika Diary of Lucillo Merci February-August 1943

Merci was an Italian liaison officer posted with the German army during the combined German–Italian offensive in Greece and worked in the Italian consulate at Salonika from September 1942 to September 1943. Following an introduction by Menachem Shelach (pp. 293–299), the article presents excerpts from his diary, selected by Joseph Rochlitz, relating to the persecution of Salonika’s Jews and the preparations for deportation after the arrival of SS representatives Dieter Wisliceny and Alois Brunner in February 1943, and the Italian policy of protecting the Jews, many of whom were Italian nationals.