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Elementary School of Kalavryta

COUNTY: Achaea MUNICIPALITY: Kalavryta

Clouds
10.42ºC

Category

Museum

TL;DR

The Elementary School of Kalavryta houses the Kalavryta Holocaust Museum, where the German soldiers committed horrible crimes in 1943.

The Elementary School of Kalavryta that now houses the Kalavryta Holocaust Museum was erected in the early part of the 20th century. The building was founded by the national benefactor A. Syngros in 1897 as a bequest, in order to construct school buildings and charitable institutions. It is a typical model of a four-class school with neoclassical features. It has a big surrounding area and it is next to the Kalavryta railroad station building, which at that period was outside the village.

In 1943, it was completely burned down by the Nazi conquerors. It was restored according to its original design and it opened again in 1950. The school building played a crucial role during the German occupation, since it was transformed into a concentration camp from 1941 until 1943. On December 13, 1943 the Germans gathered the village’s families in the school, separated the men and the teenage boys, drove them to Kappis Hill and killed them. At the same time, they set fire on the building where women, children and the elderly were trapped and struggled to escape in order to save themselves.

In 1968, the Elementary School of Kalavryta was declared a scheduled building by the Greek state.