On this day, on December 13, 1943, during the Axis occupation of Greece, the Wehrmacht's 117th Jäger Division carried out the Kalavryta Massacre, resulting in the near-extermination of the male population and the destruction of the town. The massacre is also known as the Holocaust of Kalavryta.
The massacre took place as a mass reprisal for the execution of 78 Nazi German soldiers, who had been captured as prisoners of war by Greek rebels months earlier in October. Upon happening on the scene, German military officials set in motion "Operation Kalavryta." General Karl von Le Suire ordered the execution of every male throughout the town.
On December 9, the Germans entered Kalavryta and encircled the town so that no one could escape. In order to calm down the residents, the German Commander assured them by misleading them into believing that no one would suffer anything and that their goal was the extermination of a certain group of rebels.
The Germans initially proceeded to burn down houses belonging to rebels.
On December 13, before dawn, the bells of the central church rang and German officers and soldiers ordered all residents to gather at the primary school, ordering them to take one blanket and a day's worth of food.
The separation of families immediately took place in the school building. The women and children were locked in the school and the men from 14 years of age and above were led in columns to a nearby field which was carefully chosen as it would be impossible for anyone to escape due to its shape. The men of Kalavryta were forced to watch their property, houses and the entire city burn, and their women and minor children locked in a school building engulfed in flames.
The German Commander, to reassure and mislead the assembled men, gave his word of military honor that they were not going to be killed. However, the men were seeing chaos unfold all around them, as the entire town was in flames.
The Germans started organizing their stolen loot and money taken from the houses, the shops, the warehouses and the banks. Everything of value was taken from Kalavryta.
Then, out of nowhere, a secret signal was given by the display of flares from a nearby hotel. The Germans immediately turned their weapons on the assembled crowd and machine gunned them down. In all, 13 men survived only because dead bodies fell on them during the killings.
Meanwhile, in the locked school building, the women and children experienced moments of agony and terror, as the flames had fully engulfed the school building. The women worked together and broke the doors and windows and managed to escape right before being burned alive. They ran from the building and when it was safe to do so, began searching for their loved ones.
They went to the field and found the horrific and inhumane site. Men, fathers, sons and brothers lay dead, covered in blood.
For days, utilizing only their bare hands in the freezing temperature, some women buried their men in the field in makeshift graves, while others dragged their dead to the cemetery.
The women of Kalavryta, emerged as heroic figures, struggling for the rest of their lives under difficult conditions, to raise their children alone and rebuild the city from the ruins.
According to Greek and German archives, the overall victim count of those killed throughout Kalavryta between December 9 and 13, 1943, is in the range of 677 and over 696.
May their memory be eternal.
The massacre took place as a mass reprisal for the execution of 78 Nazi German soldiers, who had been captured as prisoners of war by Greek rebels months earlier in October. Upon happening on the scene, German military officials set in motion "Operation Kalavryta." General Karl von Le Suire ordered the execution of every male throughout the town.
On December 9, the Germans entered Kalavryta and encircled the town so that no one could escape. In order to calm down the residents, the German Commander assured them by misleading them into believing that no one would suffer anything and that their goal was the extermination of a certain group of rebels.
The Germans initially proceeded to burn down houses belonging to rebels.
On December 13, before dawn, the bells of the central church rang and German officers and soldiers ordered all residents to gather at the primary school, ordering them to take one blanket and a day's worth of food.
The separation of families immediately took place in the school building. The women and children were locked in the school and the men from 14 years of age and above were led in columns to a nearby field which was carefully chosen as it would be impossible for anyone to escape due to its shape. The men of Kalavryta were forced to watch their property, houses and the entire city burn, and their women and minor children locked in a school building engulfed in flames.
The German Commander, to reassure and mislead the assembled men, gave his word of military honor that they were not going to be killed. However, the men were seeing chaos unfold all around them, as the entire town was in flames.
The Germans started organizing their stolen loot and money taken from the houses, the shops, the warehouses and the banks. Everything of value was taken from Kalavryta.
Then, out of nowhere, a secret signal was given by the display of flares from a nearby hotel. The Germans immediately turned their weapons on the assembled crowd and machine gunned them down. In all, 13 men survived only because dead bodies fell on them during the killings.
Meanwhile, in the locked school building, the women and children experienced moments of agony and terror, as the flames had fully engulfed the school building. The women worked together and broke the doors and windows and managed to escape right before being burned alive. They ran from the building and when it was safe to do so, began searching for their loved ones.
They went to the field and found the horrific and inhumane site. Men, fathers, sons and brothers lay dead, covered in blood.
For days, utilizing only their bare hands in the freezing temperature, some women buried their men in the field in makeshift graves, while others dragged their dead to the cemetery.
The women of Kalavryta, emerged as heroic figures, struggling for the rest of their lives under difficult conditions, to raise their children alone and rebuild the city from the ruins.
According to Greek and German archives, the overall victim count of those killed throughout Kalavryta between December 9 and 13, 1943, is in the range of 677 and over 696.
May their memory be eternal.
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