Massacre of Kalavryta
Encyclopedia
Kalavryta
Kalavryta is a town and a municipality in the eastcentral part of the peripheral unit of Achaea, Greece. It is the southern terminus of the Kalavryta - Diakopto Road and the eastern terminus of the Patras - Kalavryta Road. It is located approx...
, in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, by German occupying forces during World War II on 13 December 1943. It is the most serious case of war crimes committed during the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II.
In November 1943, the German 117th Jäger Division
117th Jäger Division
117th Jäger Division was a German Infantry Division of World War II. The division was formed in April 1943 by the reorganization and redesignation of the 717th Infantry Division. The 717th Division had been formed in April 1941...
began a mission named Unternehmen Kalavryta (Operation Kalavryta), intending to encircle Greek guerilla fighters in the mountainous area surrounding Kalavryta. During the operations, some German soldiers were killed and 77 of them, who were taken prisoners, were executed by the Greek guerillas. The Command of the German division decided to react with harsh and massive reprisal
Reprisal
In international law, a reprisal is a limited and deliberate violation of international law to punish another sovereign state that has already broken them. Reprisals in the laws of war are extremely limited, as they commonly breached the rights of civilians, an action outlawed by the Geneva...
operations. The order was signed by Karl von Le Suire
Karl von Le Suire
Karl Hans Maximilian von Le Suire was a highly decorated General der Gebirgstruppe in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the XXXXIX. Gebirgs-Armeekorps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross...
on 10 December 1943.
The reprisals began from the coastal area of Achaea
Achaea
Achaea is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Greece. It is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The capital is Patras. The population exceeds 300,000 since 2001.-Geography:...
in Northern Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
; Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
troops marched to the town of Kalavryta, burning villages and murdering civilians on their way. When they reached the town they locked all women and children in the town's school and ordered all male residents 12 and older to a hill just overlooking the village. There, the German troops machine-gunned down all of them. There were only 12 male survivors who were present on that day. One other boy of Kalavryta survived, but he was at school during the massacre
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
in a near-by town. The 12 survivors told their story of survival to him, saying that after the Germans went down the line with the machine-gun, their fallen bodies were covered with other dead bodies. This way, when the Germans went through again to pick off the survivors, the few lucky ones were not further injured or killed. Allegedly, the women and children managed to free themselves from the school after a Nazi took pity on them and let them escape while the town was set ablaze. The following day the Nazi troops burnt down the Monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
of Agia Lavra
Agia Lavra
Agia Lavra is a monastery near Kalavryta, Achaea, Greece. It was built in 961 AD, on Helmos Mountain, at an altitude of 961 meters, and can be described as the symbolic birth-place of modern Greece. It stands as one of the oldest monasteries in the Peloponnese.It was built in 10th century but was...
, a landmark of the Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
.
In total, more than 1200 civilians were killed during the reprisal operations. About 1,000 houses were looted and burned and more than 2,000 sheep and other large domestic animals were seized by the Germans.
Today the Place of Sacrifice is kept as a memorial site and the events are commemorated each year. Despite the fact that the Federal Republic of Germany has publicly acknowledged the Nazi atrocity at Kalavryta, war reparations have not been paid. On 18 April 2000, the then-president of the Federal Republic of Germany, Johannes Rau
Johannes Rau
Johannes Rau was a German politician of the SPD. He was President of Germany from 1 July 1999 until 30 June 2004, and Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1978 to 1998.-Education and work:...
, visited the town of Kalavryta to express his feelings of shame and deep sorrow for the tragedy; however, he didn't accept responsibility on behalf of the German state and did not refer to the issue of reparations which he could not as the position is largely a ceremonial one and does not afford the president the ability to do so.
See also
- List of massacres in Greece
- War crimes of the WehrmachtWar crimes of the WehrmachtWar crimes of the Wehrmacht were those carried out by the German armed forces during World War II. While the principal perpetrators of the Holocaust amongst German armed forces were the Nazi German 'political' armies , the regular armed forces represented by the Wehrmacht committed war crimes of...
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