The Women of Reform Judaism Sisterhood of Temple Judea hosted an event highlighting the author and guest speaker Yvette Manessis Corporon, a Greek Orthodox Christian who told the audience a story of her new book “Something Beautiful Happened,” about the journey of researching her family who 70 years ago saved Jews from the Holocaust on the remote Greek islands of Erikousa and Corfu.
The book is both a very personal memoir and an ambitious account of the untold story of courage. After the passing of her grandmother, her “Yia Yia,” Corporon became fascinated with stories her grandmother had shared of hiding at great peril to herself, a Jewish family who were about to be rounded up and sent to concentration camps and sure death.
Decades later, Corporon wanted to know what eventually happened to this family and others. She set about researching the history, traveling from New York to Los Angeles, Greece and Israel.
After coming up with many “dead-ends” in her research, Corporon persisted and her story finally was complete, culminating in a happy and fulfilling meeting on the island of Corfu of a large group of the survivors, their children and grandchildren, the offspring of the Jews who were saved by the heroism of the Greek people who courageously and at their own peril stood up to the Nazis and saved thousands of Greek Jews from death.
It was a story of evil, hardship, fear and death, and ultimately a story about the importance of kindness and courage to stand up for what’s right no matter the cost.
This program was sponsored by the WRJ Sisterhood of Temple Judea of Manhasset, Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Book Council.
