The 1913 visit to Corfu of a Maltese businessman

Abstract

My recent articles on the first Maltese inhabitants of Corfu have attracted quite some attention. One must keep in mind that the descendants of the nineteenth-century Maltese are today fully integrated in the Corfiot society, but they still keep their Hellenised Maltese surnames. Indeed, when Corfu fell to the Nazis in September 1943, the German commander reported to the headquarters (HQ) in Ioánnina, on the mainland, that 562 Anglo-Maltese still inhabited the island. After a few days, the commander reported that the Maltese were descendants of preceding generations and were fully integrated in the Greek community and, thus, to be considered as Greeks. This evaluation was to save them from being deported to the infamous labour camps in Germany. [excerpt]