Short Stories

Esther and Sabetai Kamhi

The Story of Esther and Sabetai Kamhi

Esther and Shabetai Kamhi lived with their father, Lieto, their mother, Elvira, and their sister, Mazalto, at 36 Ptolemeon Street. Theirs was not the only family living there. Twenty-one Jewish families lived on the same street, the children attending primary and secondary schools. None of these families survived. The two siblings were students at the 7th primary school. During school year 1942 – 1943 Shabetai was 13, Esther was 9. That year the school had 67 Jewish students of those only 3 children survived. On February 6, 1943 all the Jews in Thessaloniki were obliged to wear the “yellow star” and issue a new identity card with an individual number. Shabetai’s number was 41404, Esther’s 41402. Their father was an employee. In that same year he had to declare the family’s assets. This was probably a poor family, owning just two beds and five pairs of shoes. None of them survived.