It was in April 1941, when the Germans invaded Greece. For the next three and a half years, the country will live on one of the darkest pages of its history. Thousands of Greeks die from hunger, hardship, and torture by the conquerors. Hitler's Nazis during the years of occupation constantly show their repugnant face, but also their vengeful fury to a people who, while suffering and having to fight with hunger and survival, never stopped trying for their liberation.
Kontomari and Kandanos: The two villages that experienced the atrocities of the Nazis
And this resistance of the Greeks irritated the Germans, especially when they counted hundreds of their dead. From April 1941 until October 1944, when they withdrew from Greece, the Nazis carried out barbaric reprisals for the resistance activities of the Greeks, often assisted in their dark work by their Italian and Bulgarian allies. Their mass crimes against the civilian population spread throughout the country, from Northern Greece to Crete as the horror unfortunately did not overtake anyone. Dozens of towns and villages experienced the massive Nazi atrocity, and today the "Network of Martyr Towns and Villages" exceeds 100, while applications from other places martyred during the Occupation are pending.
Kontomari: The first village where civilians were executed en masse
The German invasion of Greece in 1941 reached Crete. On May 20, the Battle of Crete began, with the Cretans - having on their side, the allies - showing an unprecedented resistance, even using agricultural tools in battle. The battle ended on 1 June and the casualties were high for both sides, only the Germans came out badly wounded and to their prestige, with the debacle of their paratroopers who were almost decimated and practically did not take part in any other mission until the end of World War II. The humiliation of Hitler's invulnerable war machine was great. And the Nazis are committing an atrocity that shocks Europe. Student, the island's military commander, ordered reprisals against the civilian population. And the village of Kontomari is the first "victim" in the black and long list that will follow in the coming years, which knows the vengeful fury of the Germans. Or rather the atrocities of the conquerors.
It is also the first in Europe where the Nazis carried out mass execution of the civilian population during World War II. Kontomari, whose history goes back to the Venetian occupation, belongs to the municipality of Platanias. It is 18 km west of the city of Chania and is within walking distance from the historic village of Maleme, with the majority of residents today engaged in agriculture, livestock farming, or tourism. In this small village, the conquerors put into practice their first inhuman plan. On June 2, they surrounded Kontomari, gathered all the inhabitants in the square, and then transferred 26 men, aged 18-50, to an olive grove. The head of the detachment, Lieutenant Horst Trebs, announces that they will be executed in retaliation for the deaths of German soldiers.
Trebbs gives the signal and the execution begins. Of the 26 men, 24 fall dead, while two manage to run, trying to escape, badly wounded. They escape, but only one survives. This atrocity was even captured by the camera, frame by frame. Wehrmacht propaganda correspondent Franz Peter Weixler was with the contingent when he entered the village, photographing all the moments of horror. The documentary photographs were well kept in the archives of the German army until 1980 when they were first identified and published by journalist Vassos Mathiopoulos. Trebbs was soon after decorated for his "bravery" in wiping out a civilian village. The village of Kontomari today
Kandanos: The first village founded by the Germans
The humiliation of the Germans in the Battle of Crete, as we said, was great and their vengeful fury did not stop at Kontomari. The next day, there was the village of Kandanos, where they executed 180 residents, while they made sure to burn it to the ground. This is one of the most serious war crimes of the Germans in Greece, while Kandanos is the first village in Europe that the Nazis exposed. The name is Kandanos comes from the ancient "Kantania" which means "city of victory". And its inhabitants fought bravely and decisively to defeat the enemy. With few and inappropriate weapons they defended on May 23, 1941, in Floria, and on May 24 and 25, 1941 more organized with more forces in the Kantanos gorge. Their struggle was unequal but they inflicted heavy casualties on the Germans. And this heroic resistance, the conquerors decided to avenge it in the most odious way. On 3 June, a force of the 3rd Parachute Battalion under Lieutenant Horst Trebes arrived in the village to retaliate for the deaths of 25 German soldiers during the fighting for the capture of Kandanos. They executed 180 of the inhabitants, burned them to the ground, tried to demolish every stone of a building, and forbade the inhabitants to return to their homes during the occupation. To justify their atrocity, they put up signs in Greek and German on the destroyed Kandanos that read: "Here was Kandanos. It was destroyed in atonement for the murder of 25 German soldiers." After Germany's capitulation, General Kurt Studded was arrested by the British and in May 1947 he was tried by a military court for the war crimes of the Wehrmacht in Crete and sentenced to five years in prison. He was released for health reasons in 1948 and died at the age of 88 in 1978. Watch a documentary about the historic village of Kandano
