Despite the favorable verdict of the Greek courts, the descendants of the victims of the German massacre in Greek Distomo have not received any compensation to this day. The barbarism of the Germans in 1944 crossed all borders, and the expectation for justice continues. Politicians are the brakes, but the Greeks see hope in what the Polish government is doing.
distom is a small town in Boeotia in central Greece, which today has a population of just over 3,000. inhabitants. Nearby is the Orthodox monastery of Osios Lukas with its medieval mosaics. It is one of the most important monuments of Byzantine architecture in Greece, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
However, Distomo is primarily a synonym German crime that happened here on June 10, 1944. For several hours, German soldiers from the 4th SS Panzergrenadier Division, commanded by SS-Hauptsturmführer Fritz Lautenbach, they went door to door brutally murdering villagers in retaliation for the actions of the Greek guerrillas.
On June 10, 1944, the Germans murdered at least 218 Distomo residents, including women and 6-month-old children. Their possessions were destroyed and the village set on fire. German troops then murdered people in the surrounding areas.
The barbarism of the Germans. A 2.5-year-old girl was bayoneted
Witnesses of the massacre who managed to avoid death recalled the atrocities of the German occupiers. “They murdered my 2.5-year-old sister. They bayoneted her while my mother held her in her arms. They killed my adoptive mother and grandfather” – wrote Giannis Basdekis, who survived the massacre, in his memoirs. “They shot my 6-year-old brother Giorgos in the head, the bullet went right through. He survived – with a broken jaw and several teeth” – added.
Today, on the hill overlooking Distomo, there is a mausoleum commemorating the victims of the crime, with the names of the murdered inscribed. Every year, ceremonies commemorating the massacre of the local population are also organized here.
However, the descendants of the victims to this day, they have not received any compensation from Germany, despite the positive decision of the Greek courts. As people involved in the case said, the obstacle is not only the position of the government in Berlin, but also the lack of a decision by the Greek Ministry of Justice, whose consent is necessary for the execution of the sentence.
They see hope in the Polish government
Although the vast majority of Greek society supports demanding reparations for war losses from Germany, there is pessimism among domestic activists about the involvement of the Greek government. However, they see some hope in the recent actions taken by the Polish government.
Greek lawyer Christina Stamouli emphasizes that in her country the government is not very willing to act on the issue of compensation from Germany, and it is mainly civilians who are determined to fight. He emphasizes that already in 1995, the inhabitants of Distomo made claims, the court decided to recognize them, but the whole thing requires the consent of the Ministry of Justice. And successive governments did not want to enter into conflict with Germany…
“When the Distomo case was decided in the Greek courts, Kostas Simitis of the socialist PASOK party was already at the head of the government, and he was reluctant about the whole thing,” Stamouli said.
Despite the favorable decision of the courts, the descendants of the victims of the German crime in Distomo have not been able to obtain any compensation to this day. However, according to Stamoula, they are still in a better position than the inhabitants of other towns where the Germans committed crimes: at least they lived to see a court decision in their case against the Germans.
“All politicians in Greece say they support the issue of compensation, but hardly anyone does anything about it,” says Stamouli.
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