George Seremetis

George Dimitriou Seremetis (Greek: Γεώργιος Σερεμέτης) (1879 in Skamnia Elassonas - 1950) was a Greek lawyer and the mayor of Thessaloniki appointed by the Nazis.

Seremetis was born in 1879 in Skamnia Elassonas, then ruled by the Ottoman Empire. Shortly after his birth, the city of Larissa was liberated and his family moved there. In 1897, George Seremetis started his studies at a law school of the University of Athens. He graduated in 1902. He was a lawyer in Larissa for ten years.

He moved to Thessaloniki in 1913 when the city was liberated from Ottoman rule. From 1914 to 1922, he participated in the administration of the Thessaloniki bar association and from 1922 to 1926 he served as general secretary of the bar association. In 1922, Seremetis married Calliope Tatti and raised two children.

From 1926 to 1945, he was elected president of the Thessaloniki bar association by a large majority. He later succeeded with the help of D. Vlachos to establish a "Lawyers' Fund of Welfare" (Greek: Tαμείο Προνοίας Νομικών) in Thessaloniki.

In 1943, the nazi mayor Konstantinos Merkouriou of Thessaloniki was dismissed by the Nazi authorities. Thessaloniki was at that time occupied by the Axis forces. The Nazi regime then appointed Georgios Seremetis Mayor of Thessaloniki.[1][2][3][4] In March 1943, Seremetis, as Mayor, renamed the streets of the city that bore Jewish names.[5][6][7][8][9][10] During his tenure as Mayor, in April 1943 the destruction of the Jewish cemetery of Thessaloniki was completed[11] He then sold the tombstones to contractors for use as materials in various projects.[12]

He resigned 2 days before the liberation of the city from the Greek forces. Shortly after the liberation, he served again for a while as the bar association president, but later resigned due to ill health. He died in 1950 of a heart attack.

References

1. Θεσσαλονίκη: Τα φαντάσματα είναι πάντα εδώ..., 3 Ιανουαρίου 2019, avgi.gr
2. ΕΓΓΡΑΦΑ-ΦΩΤΙΑ ΓΙΑ ΣΥΝΕΡΓΑΤΕΣ ΤΩΝ ΚΑΤΑΚΤΗΤΩΝ: Η μαύρη ιστορία της Θεσσαλονίκης, Ελευθεροτυπία, 13 Μαρτίου 2014
3. Εφημερίδα των Συντακτών, Ξεκρεμούν τους διορισμένους, Απόστολος Λυκεσάς, 09.06.2015
4. Στις ΗΠΑ αποκαλύπτουν τους ναζί τους. Εδώ τους τιμούμε, 30 Οκτωβρίου 2014, www.avgi.gr
5. «Τα εγκλήματα κατά της ανθρωπότητας δεν αντιμετωπίζονται με ανέξοδες ηθικές καταδίκες», 9.01.2016, efsyn.gr
6. Κατέβηκαν τα πορτραίτα των δωσίλογων, 11/04/2014, www.alterthess.gr
7. Αποκαθήλωσαν τα πορτρέτα των δωσίλογων Δημάρχων Θεσσαλονίκης, 12/04/2014, VORIA.gr
8. Δήμος Θεσσαλονίκης: Συνεχίζεται η μάχη του... πορτρέτου, ΕΦΗΜΕΡΙΔΑ ΜΑΚΕΔΟΝΙΑ, 16/06/2015
9. Οι «άγιοι» κατοχικοί δήμαρχοι, www.avgi.gr, 15 Απριλίου 2014
10. ΕΓΓΡΑΦΑ-ΦΩΤΙΑ ΓΙΑ ΣΥΝΕΡΓΑΤΕΣ ΤΩΝ ΚΑΤΑΚΤΗΤΩΝ, Του ΣΑΚΗ ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΑΚΗ, 13 Μαρτίου 2014, ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΟΤΥΠΙΑ
11. Η ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΗ ΜΙΛΑΕΙ ΓΙΑ ΤΟ ΈΝΟΧΟ ΜΥΣΤΙΚΟ ΤΗΣ ΑΡΠΑΓΗΣ ΤΩΝ ΕΒΡΑΪΚΩΝ ΠΕΡΙΟΥΣΙΩΝ, ΚΕΝΤΡΙΚΟ ΙΣΡΑΗΛΙΤΙΚΟ ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ
12. Και επίσημα οδός Αλμπέρτου Ναρ, 28.03.2018, Απόστολος Λυκεσάς, Εφημερίδα των Συντακτών

Sources

• Armenopoulos, p. 47 of 1993