February 4, 1955
TREASURE TROVES: Rhodes, 2 – The case of the Italian Jew Samuel Modiano, the sole surviving member – apart from possibly his sister – of his family who had been sent by the Germans to Auschwitz, has returned to his home here. After he arrived, he proceeded to dig in the garden of his family home and soon found a treasure buried by his parents during the German occupation of Rhodes. His act, however, had unfortunate consequences, as all those now living in homes inhabited by Jews prior to the war began digging in the yards and even in the walls of their houses, searching in the most unlikely places for treasure. The digging was so widespread that the Jewish community of Rhodes, which administers the property of Jews lost in the wars, feared that the foundations of the homes would be irretrievably damaged and perhaps lead to the collapse of some of the older homes. The president of the Jewish community, Mr Soriano, in an attempt to stop the treasure hunters, sent a letter to the press saying that the «treasure» found by Modiano consisted of just a few gold sovereigns. He appealed to the residents of the houses to stop digging and demolishing the houses.
