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ThessalonikicorfuKastoriaIoanninavolosThe Holocaust inzakynthosAthensrhodesIIOANNINAEvidence dates the presence of Jews in Ioannina to 70 CE. The IoanninaJews formed a Romaniote community, composed of Greek Jews alreadysettled in the city before the influx of Sephardim in the fifteenth and sixteenthcenturies. Unlike other Jewish communities of the period, the Jewsin Ioannina preserved their Romaniote culture and continue to maintainthat culture and special liturgy today.Initially, Ioannina was occupied by the Italians, and Jews did not experienceany discrimination until Italy surrendered in September 1943.After the Germans took over, Jewish leaders adopted a wait-and-seepolicy, hoping that the Germans would leave them alone as well. TheGermans told members of the communities that what had happenedin Thessaloniki would not happen in Ioannina because the IoanninaJews, as Greek speakers, were not akin to the Ladino-speaking Jews ofThessaloniki.U n i t e d S t a t e s H o l o c a u s t M e m o r i a l M u s e u m 7