The German Massacre at Viannos, Crete Still Haunts Greece

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The Viannos massacre, known arsenic the “Viannos Holocaust,” was a wide extermination run launched by Nazi forces against the civilian residents of astir 20 villages located successful the areas of eastbound Viannos and westbound Ierapetra provinces connected the Greek land of Crete during World War II.

The massacres took spot implicit 3 days opening connected September 14, 1943. In total, much than 5 100 civilians were executed, and astir 20 villages were pillaged, looted, and burned to the ground.

Every spot of the atom and different cultivation crops increasing successful the fields, arsenic good arsenic the harvest which had already been brought successful for the year, was destroyed by the Wehrmacht soldiers.

This heartless slaughter was successful retaliation for the sidesplitting of German troops by a set of Cretan absorption fighters, who had been led by Manolis Bandouvas. After the Cretan guerillas killed 2 German soldiers successful a Kato Simi outpost and hid their bodies, their superiors sent an infantry institution to the colony to analyse their deaths.

Bandouvas and his men received announcement that the Germans were coming to retaliate and decided to support Kato Simi alternatively of giving successful oregon moving away. They ambushed the German institution and a fierce conflict past ensued.

In the end, the indomitable Greeks defeated the Nazi troops and forced them to retreat. The Partisans past fled into the mountains.

More than 200 German soldiers were deployed to Viannos

More than 2 100 Nazi soldiers were deployed to Viannos pursuing the unexpected decision of the German institution successful Kato Simi.

Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller, the German commandant of Heraklion, ordered troops of the 65th regiment of the 22nd Luftlande Infanterie-Division garrison portion to destruct Viannos and execute each males implicit the property of sixteen—as good arsenic everyone who was arrested successful the countryside careless of sex oregon age.

On September 14th, the Germans began to apprehension and execute people, often indiscriminately shooting them connected sight, successful 20 country villages. The atrocity went connected for the adjacent 2 horrendous days.

They burned houses and destroyed the precious harvest—everything that the radical had grown and gathered implicit the summer. It was the lone means they had of surviving the agelong winter. Such was the rage of Müller that helium adjacent forbade survivors from returning to their ruined homes and burying their dead.

The Holocaust of Viannos is 1 of the deadliest massacres

The “Viannos Holocaust,” arsenic it was aboriginal called, was 1 of the deadliest massacres during the agelong years of Axis concern of Greece, 2nd lone to the Massacre of Kalavryta.

Müller, who became known arsenic “The Butcher of Crete,” was brought earlier a Greek subject tribunal aft the warfare to relationship for his actions successful this and different atrocities helium had committed connected Crete.

After being recovered guilty, Müller was changeable by a Greek firing squad connected May 20, 1947, the day of the German penetration of Crete.

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