Georgiadou Evangelia

Georgiadou, Evangelia Evangelia Georgiadou (b.1910), a housewife with two children, lived in Filothei, a suburb of Athens. She befriended Bianca Ventura, originally from Crete, who came to Athens in 1942, after the Germans occupied the island. Bianca and her husband Rafael had two children, Yvette (b. 1936), and Joseph (b. 1938) who were approximately the same age as Georgiadou’s. When the persecution of the Jews in Athens began, the Venturas were left penniless. Thus, they began hiding at the homes of various Greek friends all over Athens, but more and more aware as time passed that they were endangering their hosts’ lives. Consequently, they decided to split up. Bianca appealed to her friend Evangelia Georgiadou to hide her daughter Yvette. Georgiadou agreed to take the girl into her home, offering her shelter, despite being fully aware of the risk involved. Yvette stayed with Georgiadou and her family from the beginning of 1944 until the liberation in October 1944. She was welcomed warmly into the family and treated as Georgiadou’s third child. Georgiadou did not disclose the girl’s true identity to her neighbors and friends. Once, when the girl fell very ill, Georgiadou provided her with the maximum medical treatment but did not contact the girl's mother so as not to worry her. Bianca was unable to communicate with Georgiadou and, therefore, had no news about her daughter, yet was confident that Yvette was in good hands. Bianca Ventura and Evangelia Georgiadou remained best friends after the war, and continued to meet regularly for many years. On November 3, 1986, Yad Vashem recognized Evangelia Georgiadou as Righteous Among the Nations.