The Malathyros executions ( el, εκτελέσεις στη Μαλάθυρο) refer to the mass execution by firing squad of 61 male civilians from the village of
Malathyros in
Crete,
Greece by
German forces on 28 August 1944 during
World War II.
Background
The village of Malathyros (also spelled Malathiros, el, Μαλάθυρος) is located at an altitude of , southeast of
Kissamos
Kissamos ( el, Κίσσαμος) is a town and a municipality in the west of the island of Crete, Greece. It is part of the Chania regional unit and of the former Kissamos Province which covers the northwest corner of the island. The town of Kissam ...
and southwest of
Chania. During the
Axis occupation of Crete, the village had a population of approximately 300 people who sheltered British
SOE SOE may refer to:
Organizations
* State-owned enterprise
* Special Operations Executive, a British World War II clandestine sabotage and resistance organisation
** Special Operations Executive in the Netherlands, or Englandspiel
* Society of Opera ...
personnel and aided
local resistance fighters.
Commander of the
German garrison on Crete at the time was General
Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller.
The executions
In the early morning of 28 August 1944, German forces surrounded Malathyros. Male villagers were dragged from their homes and herded to the school. For the entire day, they were interrogated to reveal the whereabouts of the British, but they refused to cooperate despite being tortured and brutally beaten. Near sunset, they were marched outside the village and shot in a nearby canyon. The village was
looted.
''“Ανάθεμά σας Γερμανοί κι εκάψατε την Κρήτη”: Αυτά είναι τα εγκλήματα της ναζιστικής Γερμανίας που ζητούν δικαίωση όπως τα κατέγραψε η πένα του Νίκου Καζαντζάκη'', Agonaskritis.gr, 25 Μαΐου 2018
archive
here
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Aftermath
The executions almost eradicated the male population of the village, leaving many women without any support in raising their orphaned children. No reparations
Reparation(s) may refer to:
Christianity
* Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for reparation
* Acts of reparation, prayers for repairing the damages of sin
History
* War reparations
** World War I reparations, made from ...
were ever paid to the families of the victims.
One of the hostages, Giannis Kartsonakis (Γιάννης Καρτσωνάκης), survived the execution and the following coup de grâce and was later ordained Orthodox priest.
A monument commemorating the victims has been erected in the village square. A memorial service is held annually at the church.
On 16 December 1998, Malathyros was declared a martyred village (Presidential Decree 399, ΦΕΚ A 277/16.12.1998).
See also
* Razing of Anogeia
*Skourvoula executions
The Skourvoula executions ( el, εκτελέσεις στα Σκούρβουλα) refer to the mass execution by firing squad of 36 civilians of which 22 women, at the village of Skourvoula in Crete, Greece by German Wehrmacht forces on 14 August ...
* Viannos massacres
*Holocaust of Kedros
The Holocaust of Kedros ( el, Ολοκαύτωμα του Κέντρους/Κέδρους), also known as the Holocaust of Amari ( el, Ολοκαύτωμα του Αμαρίου), was the mass murder of the civilian residents of nine villages lo ...
* Alikianos executions
References
External links
German occupation of Crete: Malathiros
(in German -
translate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malathyros executions
Mass murder in 1944
Nazi war crimes in Greece
1944 in Greece
Massacres in Greece during World War II
Massacres of men
Violence against men in Europe
August 1944 events
Crete in World War II
War crimes of the Wehrmacht