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It’s uncertain when the first Jews arrived in Corfu. However, the first official interaction with a Jews was documented in 1148. Ever since then, the Jewish community of Corfu kept growing, yet the population declined prior to World War 2.
Life in the Jewish Quarter of Corfu wasn’t great, especially since Christians didn’t necessarily agree with others mixing in. However, things improved in terms of education and work with time, allowing Jews to gain more benefits.
Two different Jewish communities were mixed in the same area, yet they maintained different traditions and rules. Even the languages they spoke were different. Despite a series of attempts to get everyone under the same roof, they remained separated.
There were three synagogues and a midrash in Corfu. After the Nazi regime bombed the island and took over, only one synagogue was left standing. It’s still up and running today, yet it offers limited service and it’s mainly a tourist attraction.
Each Jewish community in Corfu had its own cemetery. Today, there’s only one new Jewish cemetery. Fortunately, it preserves around 100 gravestones. It’s said that remains from an old cemetery were buried in a grave within this new one.
The first major antisemitic incidents in Corfu occurred in 1891, when the Jewish community was accused of murdering a young girl for a ritual. It was proven to be nothing but misinformation. Between 17 and 22 Jews died in those incidents.
Almost the entire Jewish community from Corfu was massacred during the Holocaust. Most Jews were sent to concentration camps, with many of them walking straight into gas chambers. Only a few survived and even fewer returned to Corfu.
Greece was one of the countries with the highest murder rates during World War 2. Around 90% of its entire Jewish population was massacred by the Nazi regime during the Holocaust, including both large and small communities.