The Jewish presence in the capital of the Peloponnesus, was established by the Jews who arrived in Patras from Syria, during the reign of one of Alexander’s successors, Seleucus I (323-281 BCE). In the 15th century, the Community grew with the arrival of Spanish and, later, Italian refugees.
Before World War II, the Jewish Community of Patras had 265 members, 161 of whom lived in the city itself, while 40 more families were in the nearby town of Agrinion.
During the Occupation some Jews managed to hide in villages near the city. However, 113 people were exterminated in the German camps, with a mere four people surviving to return.
Gradually the community’s members moved elsewhere, and it was officially dissolved in 1991. Before the synagogue was knocked down in 1984, its interior was removed and is now housed in the Jewish Museum of Greece.
