Hala Eleni

Hala, Eleni Eleni Hala lived in Kifissia, a suburb of Athens with three of her children –adult daughters, Katina and Zitsa, and teenaged son, Spyros. Her husband was in the United States at the time. In spring 1944, she agreed to shelter a Jewish teenager, 14-year-old Solomon-Raymond Angel in her home, at the request of her brother, in whose home the boy's father was hiding. The Angel family had come to Athens from Thessaloniki in November 1940, during the Italian-Greek war. In September 1943, following the Italian surrender to the Allies, and the German occupation of Athens, the Angel family decided to look for a place to hide. At first Solomon Angel went to live with Konstantinos Kefalas*, where he stayed until March 1944,when his mother and brother, who were in hiding elsewhere were betrayed and deported to Auschwitz. His brother perished there; his mother survived. Solomon Angel was transferred elsewhere for a short time, and then sent to the home of Eleni Hala, where he remained for three months. Solomon was presented as Eleni's nephew from Ithaki Island, where she had relatives. In July 1944, Solomon and his father made an attempt to escape from Greece, but they failed. Solomon returned to Hala until the Kefalas family came to Kifissia for summer vacation and took him back with them until the liberation in October 1944. During the Greek civil war between the nationalists and communists, the Angels had an opportunity to show their gratitude to Mrs. Hala. They rescued her son, Spyros, who was wanted by the communists. On August 25, 1988, Yad Vashem recognized Eleni Hala as Righteous Among the Nations.