Greek President Karolos Papoulias unveils the statue of
Jewish Greek war hero Col. Mordechai Frizis.

Bloomfield Township Gallery Restaurant owner Stefanos
Becharas addresses the crowd at the dedication.

The Jewish colonel rallies the Greek
troops against the Nazi-allied invaders.

Honoring A Hero:
Mission Accomplished

Local restaurateur completes quest to build statue of Jewish Greek colonel.

Bill Carroll
Special to the Jewish News

I

n 1940, as the German and Italian axis powers began
their brutal domination of Europe at the start of
World War II, a Jewish colonel in the Greek army led
a major military victory against Italy's attempted invasion
of Greece.
It took 70 years to adequately recognize Col. Mordechai
Frizis' heroic deed, but thanks largely to a one-man
crusade by local restaurateur Stefanos Becharas, the mis-
sion was accomplished Sept. 26 when people throughout
Greece rejoiced at the unveiling of an equestrian statue of
Frizis.
During the five-year project, Becharas formed a Friends
of Col. Frizis Committee, helping to raise $400,000, main-
ly in the Jewish communities of America and Greece, to
pay for the statue. Joining him were his friends Telmer
Constan of Troy and David Neary of Royal Oak.
Owner of the popular Gallery Restaurant in Bloomfield
Township, Becharas spent $40,000 of his own money in
three trips to his native Greece to aid in overseeing the
project.

Customers Contribute
Some of the funds came from his customers, many of
them members of the local Jewish community, plus vari-
ous social and philanthropic groups. The Detroit Jewish
News had first reported on Becharas' efforts, and the word
spread through other newspapers, magazines and televi-
sion.
"I'm fortunate to have so many Jewish customers who I
owe my success to; I'm thankful for their generosity after
I told them of Frizis' heroism, which, until recently, was a
little-known story," said Becharas.
The gala dedication ceremony was held in Chalkis, an
Athens suburb, and was attended by Greece's top mili-
tary and political leaders. President Karolos Papoulias
unveiled the 22-foot-high, marble and bronze statue of
Frizis astride his trademark white horse. While riding his
horse to rally his troops, Frizis, 47, was shot and killed by
strafing Nazi planes.
Becharas was given a place of honor on the dais next to
Greece Vice President Theodore Pangalos, and delivered
remarks to the crowd. Representing the Frizis family were
his son and daughter-in-law, Jacob and Esther Frizis, and
his grandson, Rabbi Mordechai Frizis.

Also attending were Arye Mekel, Israel's ambassador to
Greece, and Greek Jewish leaders David Saltiel and Solon
Maissis. The Nazis annihilated about 70,000 of the 85,000
Greek Jews; only about 5,000 Jews remain in Greece now

Significant Victory
Frizis' big victory occurred when his ill-armed forces
repelled the well-armed Italian fascists invading Greece
from Albania, killing hundreds of them.
"The victory was significant because Hitler then had
to send Nazi troops to invade Greece to make up for
Italy's failure Becharas explained. "This diverted a lot of
German manpower and resources away from Germany's
battles with England and Russia, and let those countries
hang on until America entered the war in 1941. It took
Germany three months to overrun Greece, longer than
any other country they occupied."
Becharas, whom many people think is Jewish because
he uses some Yiddish expressions and tells customers
Jewish jokes, ended his remarks at the dedication cer-
emony with a resounding todah rabah (thank you very
much)! 111

November 11 • 2010

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