In October 1944 the German Wehrmacht troops withdrew from Greece. They left behind a country characterised by destruction, chaos and famine.
The results of the three-and-a-half year occupation were devastating:
– The loss of 10% of the population.
– Mass executions, including the murder of over 130,000 civilians, including women, children and the elderly.
– The seizure of food and fuel, leading to over 300,000 deaths from hunger and cold.
– The murder of 90% of the Jewish population (Sephardis and Romaniotes), with over 60,000 deaths.
– The destruction of over 100 localities.
– Forced loans of 476 million Reichsmark, (approximately 11 billion euros in today’s money), money which was never paid back.
Through their research, the historians Hagen Fleischer and Mark Mazower have shown how the country was systematically plundered and terrorised during its occupation.
The goal was the total subjugation of the Greek population.
In Germany these events are still relatively unknown. Only recently have the massacres carried out throughout Greece become a subject of discussion.
