​​The Romaniote Jews are first mentioned in the history of the city of Ioannina, in the 14th century. They have lived in Greece since the Hellenistic times and embraced the Greek language. In the beginning of the 20th century, the community consisted of approximately 4,000 people, which gradually reduced due to the Balkan Wars and emigration. 

​On 28 October 1940, Greece rejected the Italian ultimatum which demanded free passage of troops and the occupation of strategic sites. This was the beginning of the Greco-Italian War. Ioannina was the first Greek city involved in World War II and the headquarters of the Greek Army were posted in the city. The male population of the Jewish community fought at the frontline of the Greek Albanian borders, while many women served as nurses. 

​In April 1941, Greece was fighting against both the Italian and German armies. It then signed an armistice and was forced under triple occupation by Germany, Italy and Bulgaria. In 1943, Italy surrendered the control of Epirus to the Nazis, who soon begun cataloguing Jewish citizens and making assets.  

​Those who anticipated the impending persecution attempted to escape with the help of the Christian clergy. Some survived by hiding in Christian homes or by joining Greek Resistance groups in the mountains. However, the Nazi’s "Final Solution" plan was enforced upon the Jews of Ioannina in March 1944. 

​On 25 March 1944, the anniversary of the Greek War of Independence of 1821, the Romaniote Jews of Ioannina were ordered to gather at the Military Hospital of Its Kale Castle and on Mavilis Square by the lake. 1870 people were loaded onto 97 lorries and transported first to Trikala and then to Larisa. From there, together with Jews from these two cities, they were deported by train to the concentration camps of Auschwitz – Birkenau. Almost all were murdered. Only 112 survived the death camps.  

​The Holocaust of the Romaniote Jews of Ioannina almost wiped out an ancient community but did not manage to erase its heritage.