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.
Related: Crete Remembers the Razing of the Village of Kandanos by the Nazis
