Germany Apologizes for WWII Massacre in Crete

By Free Republic | Created at 2024-10-31 22:52:24 | Updated at 2024-11-07 02:52:46 6 days ago

Germany Apologizes for WWII Massacre in Crete
Greek Reporter ^ | October 31, 2024 | Tasos Kokkinidis

Posted on 10/31/2024 3:09:09 PM PDT by nickcarraway

The Germany President pictured here with his Greek counterpart flew to Crete on Thursday to apologize for the German atrocities in Crete. Credit: German Presidency President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier has asked the people of Kandanos in Crete for forgiveness on behalf of Germany for the massacres committed by the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War.

“We cannot undo the suffering. We will never be able to properly make up for it. But we must keep its memory alive to ensure that what happened once does not happen again”, he said at a commemoration ceremony.

Visiting Kandanos on Crete which was almost destroyed by German forces in June 1941, the German President added: “The photos give us an idea of what happened in this place, but pictures and photos can only ever convey in part the full dimension of the horror.”

The village was burned to the ground and Nazi troops massacred all its 180 residents. It was one of the worst atrocities committed by the occupiers and has haunted Crete and Greece for decades.

Steinmeier spoke to survivors of the massacre as some demonstrators shouted slogans demanding “justice” and war reparations from Germany.

The massacre site of Crete is a “German shame”

As Steinmeier noted during a ceremony at the village Kandanos was one of the first Cretan villages to be razed to the ground by German soldiers, members of the Wehrmacht, during the Second World War.

“The 3rd company of the 55th Motorcycle Battalion, a paratrooper platoon and two groups of the mountain pioneers committed horrific, brutal crimes,” he said.

“They burned down the houses. They killed the livestock. They shot all the villagers they encountered, primarily women and old people. The only people who managed to escape were those who happened to be away from the village or were just able to get away in time.

“It is with a heavy heart that I, as President of the Federal Republic of Germany, have come to this place. But I cannot come here, to Crete, without visiting this site of German shame,” Steinmeier stressed.

Speaking in Greek, the German president added: “Και γι΄ αυτό θα ήθελα σήμερα να ζητήσω συγχώρεση στο όνομα της Γερμανίας.” (I would like to ask for your forgiveness today on behalf of Germany.)

“I ask you, the survivors and descendants, for your forgiveness for the heinous crimes perpetrated here by Germans. I ask for forgiveness for the fact that over many decades my country failed to punish these crimes. That after the war it initially turned a blind eye and remained silent.”

Greece on Wednesday raised again the issue of German reparations for WWII with Steinmeier.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, “These issues remain alive and we hope that at some point we will resolve them.” The German guest replied that legally for Germany, the issue is considered closed.

TOPICS: History; Local News; Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: crete; germany; worldwarii

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1 posted on 10/31/2024 3:09:09 PM PDT by nickcarraway

To: nickcarraway

How about Malta and a few other places?

2 posted on 10/31/2024 3:10:09 PM PDT by Sequoyah101 (More important than why there was nobody protecting the AGR roof, how did Crooks know that?)

To: nickcarraway

I’m more worried about their fault in pushing the EU to import millions of Islamic savages that will ultimately destroy Europe.

Do something about that current crime, Germany.

3 posted on 10/31/2024 3:12:41 PM PDT by MeanWestTexan (Sometimes There Is No Lesser Of Two Evils)

To: nickcarraway

The Battle of Crete was one of the biggest British foulups of the war.

4 posted on 10/31/2024 3:15:33 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)

To: nickcarraway

Someone has to say it.

I did NAZI that coming!

5 posted on 10/31/2024 3:18:29 PM PDT by TigersEye ("Fascist" is what communists call American patriots. - I voted, 10/15/24 - MAGA)

To: MeanWestTexan

It’s easier to apologize for the historical misdeeds of others than to apologize for one’s own mistakes. The first doesn’t require any real change.

6 posted on 10/31/2024 3:39:54 PM PDT by kosciusko51

To: Sequoyah101

7 posted on 10/31/2024 3:40:04 PM PDT by No name given ( Anonymous is who you’ll know me as )

To: kosciusko51

Yep. This is meaningless without a real action.

8 posted on 10/31/2024 3:42:05 PM PDT by MeanWestTexan (Sometimes There Is No Lesser Of Two Evils)

To: MeanWestTexan

Do something about that current crime, Germany.

Migration is not solely "Germany's crime."

Post WW2 Western "deNazification" pressured Germany into proving it's no longer racist, making them adopt some of the first "hate crime" laws, having their schools pound "anti-racism" into the heads of every German child.

Hollywood and the BBC (among others) have for decades produced an endless stream of German accented villains in entertainment, further pressuring Germans to prove they're no longer like that.

Then there are all the "anti-racists" in Britain, France, and other countries, who (without any German pressure) are welcoming migrants and punishing those who object.

Then there's the American Global Empire and its NATO and CIA, which further pressures Europe to open its doors, threatening a color revolution against countries (e.g., Hungary) which refuse.

No, this is not solely Germany's crime. Not even mostly German's crime.

9 posted on 10/31/2024 3:44:59 PM PDT by Angelino97

To: Angelino97

No question the allies forced the Germans to take in millions of Non-Germans so that another Hitler would never rise again.

10 posted on 10/31/2024 3:46:33 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)

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