The Razing of Vorizia ( el, Καταστροφή των Βοριζίων) refers to the destruction of the village of

Vorizia The Razing of Vorizia ( el, Καταστροφή των Βοριζίων) refers to the destruction of the village of Vorizia () in Crete (Greece) by aerial bombardment and the murder of five of its inhabitants on 27 August 1943 by Axis occupatio ...

() in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

(

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

) by aerial bombardment and the murder of five of its inhabitants on 27 August 1943 by German occupying forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.Beevor, Antony. ''Crete: The Battle and the Resistance'', John Murray Ltd, 2005, pp.145. Καζαντζάκης, Ν., Καλιτσουνάκης, Ι. και Κακριδής, Ι.Θ. ''Έκθεσις της Κεντρικής Επιτροπής Διαπιστώσεως Ωμοτήτων εν Κρήτη''. Σύνταξις 29/6 - 6/8/1945. Έκδοση Δήμου Ηρακλείου, 1983
excerpt

Background

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-J16050, Flugzeuge Junkers Ju 87

The village of Vorizia (or ''Voriza'') is built on the south slopes of Mt Ida, located approximately south of

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban A ...

. Its residents are primarily occupied with

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

tree cultivation and pastoral farming. During the German occupation of Crete, residents of Vorizia participated or provided aid to the

resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

. The first resistance group in the region was established in June 1941 by

Georgios Petrakis Georgios Petrakis ( el, Γεώργιος Πετράκης; 1890 – 1972), better known as Petrakogiorgis (also transliterated as Petrakoyiorgis, Petrakoyeorgis, el, Πετρακογιώργης), was a Greek businessman, partisan, and politicia ...

(Petrakogiorgis) and five men from Vorizia.

The razing

On 15 August 1943, the resistance group of Petrakogiorgis clashed with a German force. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Petrakogiorgis and his band managed to escape after fierce fighting that lasted the whole day. The partisans lost seven men whereas the Germans thirteen. This conflict came to be known as the

Battle of Trahili The Battle of Trahili ( el, Μάχη στο Τραχήλι) was fought on 15 August 1943 between Cretan partisans and German occupying forces during World War II. It took place near the village of Vorizia in south-central Crete, when German for ...

, owing its name to the area it took place.Η μάχη στο Τραχήλι στις 15 Αυγούστου 1943, Πατρίς onLine, 24 Αυγούστου 2012
archive
here
/ref> In

reprisal A reprisal is a limited and deliberate violation of international law to punish another sovereign state that has already broken them. Since the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions (AP 1), reprisals in the laws of war are extremel ...

for the help of locals to the partisans, General

Müller Müller may refer to: * ''Die schöne Müllerin'' (1823) (sometimes referred to as ''Müllerlieder''; ''Müllerin'' is a female miller) is a song cycle with words by Wilhelm Müller and music by Franz Schubert * Doctor Müller, fictional character ...

ordered German forces to surround Vorizia on 27 August 1943. The villagers were led to the churchyard, three of them were summarily shot that day and two the next day. Later on, the others were driven out of the village and seven

Ju 87 The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from ''Sturzkampfflugzeug'', "dive bomber") was a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Cond ...

''Stuka'' dive bombers appeared, dropping a total of 21 (presumably 50 kg) bombs. Following the bombing, the village ruins were doused with petrol and set on fire.

Aftermath

As a result of the bombing, Vorizia was completely destroyed and its residents were forced to seek shelter in nearby villages. After the war, the Greek state built a new settlement near the destroyed one. Nevertheless, the locals did not agree to relocate and chose to rebuild their village on the ruins on the destroyed one.

References

External links

Βορίζια, 27 Αυγούστου 1943
, greekholocausts.gr. Archive
copy27 Αυγούστου 1943: Βομβαρδισμός και εκθεμελίωση των Βοριζίων
e-mesara.gr. Archive
copyGerman occupation of Crete: Vorizia
(in German -
translate

Νέα Βορίζια: Ενα ιστορικό χωριό-φάντασμα στις πλαγιές του Ψηλορείτη
from iefimerida.gr {{DEFAULTSORT:Vorizia Razing Conflicts in 1943 Nazi war crimes in Greece 1943 in Greece August 1943 events Crete in World War II

Background

The razing

Aftermath

See also

References

External links