As a Greek born in Turkey and thus subject to Ottoman rule, Mr Bodossakis understood the historical importance of rescuing the official documents of the Greek Nation, which were being stored in unsuitable conditions, scattered in warehouses in five separate locations in Athens.
Thus, in 1976 he made a grant to cover the cost of constructing a new building to house the General State Archives. The value of the grant was equivalent to €4,000,000 at current prices. The Ministry of Culture laid the foundation stone for the building in 1982 and the project was completed in November 2003. The General State Archives are thus housed in a modern, state-of-the-art building of 7,000 square metres, with 3 levels of underground storage area and a 70-seat reading room.
In addition to the original grant, the Foundation made a further substantial grant in 2003 to contribute to the final stages of the project. Since then, the Foundation has frequently funded various initiatives of the General State Archives, as well as the upgrading of its systems.
