Written by Konstantinos Konstantinidis Amfiktyon
The sacrifices of Greece in World War II were, according to the confession of all world leaders, of decisive importance for its victorious outcome. And this lasted throughout the war and not just a few days
Greece’s sacrifices throughout the war constitute a real Holocaust and are proportional to its population and its economy the largest among all allied countries except the Soviet Union
The Sacrifices of Greece were totalitarian and include all “Being” ” presen”, ” past”, “tomorrow ” action” “matterial” “spirit” “blood”, “food” , “life” and the Psyche of the Greek itself . Nothing was left outside of this holocaust unaffected It affected the hundreds of thousands of dead, but also the living who survived and those who were to be born after the occupation and those who followed it, sealed miserable who will never become normal and happy people for life
A. Human casualties
-War dead 1940-41: 13,327
– Executed by the occupying troops (Italian, German and Bulgarian) : 56,225
(one of them is my father who was executed by the Germans in Sidirokastron Trifilia)
– Deaths in German concentration camps: : 105,000.
– Dead from bombings: 7,120
– Deaths during the Battles of the National Resistance against the occupying military forces: 20,650
-Death in the North African Desert War: 1,100
-Deaths from loss of merchant ships 3,500
-Deaths from hunger during the Occupation: 600,000
-Losses from subfertility and poor related conditions: 300,000
Total losses of Greece during WWII
– 1,106,922
B. Financial (Material) damages
The economic destruction of the country was complete, for example 140,000 houses were completely destroyed, while 100,000 suffered partial destruction.
The Germans seized the country’s economic reserves from the Bank of Greece in the form of a loan, amounting to an amount calculated after the war at $11 billion dollars, they demanded and received monthly payments from the Bank of Greece for the sustenance of the German Army of occupation amounting to 25 million marks. they also caused the complete destruction of the Merchant Navy, etc
In order to understand the magnitude of the sacrifices and holocaust of Greece of 7,300,000 inhabitants, I mention for comparison that the losses of the USA, which numbered 180,000,000 inhabitants during WWII, were 400,000, while Turkey, which it was originally an ally of the axis (of Germany – Japan) and later neutral, not only did it not offer anything to the allies’ struggle, but instead it harmed them. At that time when Greece was bleeding, Turkey with a law imposed unaffordable taxes on its Greek citizens in order to seize their properties. Those who were unable to pay the exorbitant taxes were sent to labor camps in Anatolia – the infamous “tambourine camps” from which very few ever returned.
The contribution of Cyprus to the war was also exceptionally great. If one thinks that only in the cemeteries of the Cypriot fighters that exist in Africa (El Alamein) are buried 550 Cypriot Volunteers who fought in the British Army. The contribution of the Greeks of Cyprus to the common struggle on the desert fronts and to other missions in Europe and England is estimated at 20,000. Finally, during the war, the leaders of the allied countries had declared:
1/ The then Vice President of the USA Harry Truman (the later president) in February 1944 declared: “We will never forget the injustices committed against Greece when the day of judgment comes”
2/ Victory’s father Winston Churchill during the war had proclaimed that “let Greece be quiet, she will take everything that belongs to her, she will acquire her territories in full and she will live proudly and heroically among the victors…”
3/ England’s Foreign Minister Anthony Eden said: “If, thanks to the victorious resistance of Greece, Hitler’s Mediterranean plan had succeeded, Germany’s attack against it would have had completely different results. The heroes who have painted with their blood the holy land of Northern Epirus will be our guides with the Marathon Warriors and will illuminate the world throughout the ages…”
4/ General de Gaulle during the war also said: “The struggle of Greece and its achievements create for them indisputable rights…”
5/ The Soviet Union through its official radio station (TAS) declared in April 1942: “Greeks, we are grateful to you and the time is approaching when, in cooperation with the British, we will repay you for the sacrifice, with Greece dominating the Mediterranean. The same agency in another message proclaimed: “You fought unarmed against armored and won. Small vs. Big and you prevailed. It is not possible to do otherwise, because you are Greeks. We bought time to defend. As Russians and as people we are grateful to you…” Similar declarations were made by all the leaders of the allied countries who urged Greece to become a holocaust with promises, but for obvious reasons they are not mentioned.
According to the distinguished jurist and internationalist, author Mr. Thalis Mylonas, when such promises are given during the bloody war by the leaders of the countries, they do not have the character of just a declaration, but have the character of a legal promise, i.e. they have created a legal obligation , a ‘transactional’ promise. The author believes that only the strategy of “Molon lave” and power saves Greece. On the contrary, the docile policy of surrender and appeasement implemented by all the post-political Governments, with the last one of Mr. Mitsotakis-Gerapetritis, infuriates the “beast” and instead of a recession, it makes continuous provocations, territorial demands and with the threat of the use of force achieves the detachment of sovereign rights and not only. (“Molon lave”, Grigori Publications, 2023) This is how we reached the point where Greece looks like a protectorate and for every issue concerning the Aegean receives the agreement of Turkey The demand for War Reparations and the Occupation Loan should have been fulfilled after the war, which has not been done until today because our country acts as an instrument of the great powers and not as a real democracy where the people have the last word? There are, of course, other factors that had a negative impact on this matter, the following:
a/ The interminable division Before the end of the war, Greece was plunged into the interminable Civil War. After the civil war it was morally weakened and tarnished so that no government had the authority to assert our national claims. Then the Greeks were divided into Anglophiles, Communists and Germanophiles (they were those who had collaborated with the conqueror during the occupation). [If he spoke then someone for North. Epirus, the leftists would call him a fascist and he would pay for it with his head from the communists. If any patriot spoke of claiming Cyprus from the British, the “nationalists” would consider him a communist. With such insanity which government could manage it then and claim our National rights?] . The Civil War thwarted the Union of Cyprus with Greece and of course the British would not have found a better opportunity to not fulfill their promises. Of course, the war allied governments gave way to leftist ones and they forgot all the promises.
b/ The leaders that emerged after the Civil War were either dependent on the English victors or trusted by the German conquerors, or finally belonged to families that had strong ties to Germany. The communists were docile instruments of Moscow. This made it difficult to demand the return of the war loan, war reparations and the return of archaeological treasures from Germany. [When K. Karamanlis initially refused to hand over to Germany the butcher and persecutor of the Greek-Jews of Thessalonica Max Merten, the German magazine “Spiegel” hinted at him in a sort of accusation, that he had been a collaborator of the Wehrmacht in Thessaloniki, together with the daughter of his friend Takos Makris called Afroula ,who worked as a secretary at Komandatur Thessaloniki] With such leaders who are blackmailed, intimidated or dependent due to individual interests from foreign centers, some with scandals, others with betrayals, others with irregularities etc. they do not they can promote the interest of Greece and Cyprus
c/ The division of the World into two blocs (West-East) and the Cold War, completely changed the map of the world. The new division map of Germany stood as a reason for the NON-return of war reparations until the reunification of Germany. As for our demand in the Northern Continent this collided with the imposition of a communist regime in Albania under the auspices of Moscow first and later Beijing.
Appeal to the German Courts and not only. So until today, while Israel has been compensated for the crimes against the Jews almost entirely, we have received nothing. Our respective Governments for vote-seeking reasons raise the issue in discussions with the German Governments but NO ONE has used existing remedies for the payment of the money. The “political interest” dominates, i.e. the individual interests of our German leaders. According to legal circles, it would be the first step if a Greek Government filed a lawsuit against a German company that harmed Greece during World War II at the Munich Court of First Instance. If he was not paid, he would gradually appeal to the German Supreme Court, and if he was rejected again, he could appeal to the European Court and then the International Court of Justice in The Hague. In the meantime, the German Government would have been convinced that it should sit down at the negotiating table and provide a political solution to the chronic problem.
Registration of the loan in the Budget Immediately after the submission of a lawsuit against the German Companies, the Greek Government should register the German Loan in the State Registry. Then Greece would not have the penultimate position among European countries as the second poorest country, but it would be a prosperous country. This would of course also happen with other Patriotic Governments which would take advantage of the Greek wealth-producing resources, such as the Hydrocarbons in the Ionian Sea, Crete, etc. Today, of course, there is another part of the ruling class that takes orders or cooperates closely with Turkey or have mutual economic relations. This is expressed by ELIAMEP and its main representative is Professor Christos Rosenstein or Rozakis. In general, in order to have smooth relations with Turkey, they want to assign half of the Aegean to it, share it, and essentially Greece to act as a protectorate of Turkey. In general, they have achieved this for decades through the key positions they hold with all Governments, with Costas Simitis (Aaron Avouri) as its main spokesperson.
But with “ Will” and “If ”, change does not come except with the conscious vote of the Greek citizen for the honest politician and the party that will implement its commitments to the people and will not mock or steal from them
According to jurists, leaders’ promises are signs of law and never lose their value. But what remains most powerful and is never barred until its full payment is:
1/ The Occupancy Loan amounting after the war to Eleven (11) billion dollars
2/ War Reparations and particularly those related to war crimes, genocide of civilians and blood, such as those referring to the sacrifices of the Greek people
3/ The Return of the stolen Archaeological Treasures, an event that does not expire no matter how many centuries pass (12/4/24)
END
