The Jewish community of Ioannina, Greece, is a microcosm of the Greek-speaking Jews of the Balkans. Jews lived in this lakeside city from at least the fifteenth century, alongside Greek Christians and Ottoman Muslims. This talk traces the long history of this unique community, from its earliest records in the Byzantine period through the centuries of Ottoman rule, to liberation and integration into the modern Greek state in the early twentieth century. The devastating impact of the Holocaust and the community's history in the decades that followed will also be explored.

Walk with Dr. Fromm through the streets of Ioannina, past and present, visiting the marketplace to see how Jews made their living and exploring the neighborhoods where they lived. Discover the many cultural expressions surrounding life-cycle events and selected holiday celebrations.

Today, the Ioannina Jewish community is greatly reduced in size. Yet its members and descendants remain deeply committed to preserving their heritage and history. Drawing on Ioannina's rich multicultural past, Dr. Annette B. Fromm will show how this plural society shaped the city's unique Jewish community and its distinctive cultural traditions.