The Razing of Anogeia ( el, Καταστροφή των Ανωγείων) or the Holocaust of Anogeia ( el, Ολοκαύτωμα των Ανωγείων) refers to the complete destruction of the village of

Anogeia Anogeia (Ανώγεια) is a municipality in the Rethymno (regional unit), Rethymno regional unit, Crete, Greece. The municipality has an area of ., excluding the former municipal departments Axos and Zoniana. Population 2,379 (2011). When exact ...

in central

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, ...

(

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 wi ...

) and the murder of about 25 of its inhabitants on 13 August 1944 by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

.Beevor, Antony. ''Crete: The Battle and the Resistance'', John Murray Ltd, 2005, pp.315-6. Muñoz, Antonio. ''The German Secret Field Police in Greece, 1941-1944'', McFarland, 2018, pp. 87-8. Kokonas, Nikos A., ''The Cretan Resistance 1941 - 1945'', 1992, pp 91-94, This was the third time Anogeia was destroyed, as the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

had destroyed it twice; first in July 1822 and again in November 1867, during the Great Cretan Revolt.

Background

Geography

The village of Anogeia (alternate spellings ''Anogia'' and ''Anoyia'') sits at an altitude of on the north slopes of Mt Ida, located west of

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Gree ...

and southeast of

Rethymno Rethymno ( el, Ρέθυμνο, , also ''Rethimno'', ''Rethymnon'', ''Réthymnon'', and ''Rhíthymnos'') is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants ...

. Anogeia residents are renowned for their rebellious spirit and, backed by the mountainous surrounding terrain, have a long tradition of resisting foreign rule and sheltering rebel fighters. At the time of the German occupation of Crete, Anogeia had approximately 4000 residents who were primarily occupied with

pastoral farming Pastoral farming (also known in some regions as ranching, livestock farming or grazing) is aimed at producing livestock, rather than growing crops. Examples include dairy farming, raising beef cattle, and raising sheep for wool. In contrast ...

. No permanent German garrison was established in Anogeia; however, roundups were carried out occasionally.

During the German occupation

Before the

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (german: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, el, Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (german: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis Powers, Axis Airborne forces, airborne and amphibious assault, amphibious ope ...

, residents of Anogeia laid boulders on Nida Plateau in order to prevent German aircraft and paratroopers from landing. Armed irregular groups of Anogeians participated in the battle, fighting in Heraklion and Rethymno. After the capture of Crete, Anogeia emerged as a stronghold of the local resistance. Anogeians sheltered British, New Zealander and Australian soldiers and assisted them to escape to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

. During the summer of 1941, Giannis Dramountanis (Stefanogiannis) along with Michalis Xilouris set up in Anogeia a resistance organization known as ''"Independent Group of Anogreia"'' ( el, Ανεξάρτητη Ομάς Ανωγείων "ΑΟΑ", consisting mostly of Anogeians. Several other village residents joined the local

ELAS The Greek People's Liberation Army ( el, Ελληνικός Λαϊκός Απελευθερωτικός Στρατός (ΕΛΑΣ), ''Ellinikós Laïkós Apeleftherotikós Stratós'' (ELAS) was the military arm of the left-wing National Liberat ...

. These resistance groups collaborated with SOE commander

Lt Col Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

Tom Dunbabin, providing intelligence and support. In early May 1944, the abductors of ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-s ...

Heinrich Kreipe Karl Heinrich Georg Ferdinand Kreipe (5 June 1895 – 14 June 1976) was a German career soldier who served in both World War I and World War II. While leading German forces in occupied Crete in April 1944, he was abducted by British SOE officers ...

led by Maj Leigh Fermor spent some time at Anogeia during their march to the south coast of Crete.Leigh Fermor, Patrick. ''Abducting a General'', John Murray, 2014, McDougall, Christopher. ''Natural Born Heroes: Mastering the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance'', Vintage, 2016, On 7 August 1944, a German detachment went up to Anogeia in search of

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

workers. Several dozen locals were taken hostage and forced to march towards Rethymno. At a location near Damasta, Anogeian guerrillas attacked and eliminated the German detachment, freeing all hostages. On the following day, in an attempt to save Anogeia from German reprisals, a group of Anogeians under the commands of Cpt Bill Moss carried out the

Damasta sabotage The Damasta sabotage ( el, Το σαμποτάζ της Δαμάστας) was an attack by Cretan resistance fighters led by British Special Operations Executive officer Captain Bill Stanley Moss MC against German occupation forces in World W ...

, killing around 30 German soldiers and destroying an armoured car.

The proclamation of the destruction

Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller's Order 13 August 1944

Soon after the news of the Damasta attack reached ''

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of ...

Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller __NOTOC__ Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller (29 August 1897 – 20 May 1947) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He led an infantry regiment in the early stages of the war and by 1943 was commander of the 22nd Air Landing ...

, the commander of

who one year earlier had orchestrated the

Viannos massacres The Viannos massacres ( el, Σφαγές της Βιάννου / Ολοκαύτωμα της Βιάννου) were a mass extermination campaign launched by German forces against the civilian residents of around 20 villages located in the areas of ...

, he issued the following order:Moss, Stanley W. ''Ill Met By Moonlight'', Orion, 2014, .

The razing

In the early morning of 13 August 1944,

battalions of the 65th

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

/ 22 Luftlande Infanterie-Division with a strength of around 2000 men moved towards Anogeia.Ανώγεια - 13 Αυγούστου 1944, Πατρίς onLine, 13 Αυγούστου 2004
archived here
part 1part 2part 3part 4
/ref> Sentries installed in nearby villages noticed them and notified the people of Anogeia, allowing men to flee to the mountains for safety. Upon entering the village, the German forces gathered the women and children and then forced them to march to the village of Perama. There, approximately away, women and children were dispersed in nearby villages of the Mylopotamos region. Around 25 villagers, including women, elders and disabled, who refused to abandon their homes, were summarily shot. The village houses were then systematically pillaged, burned and finally dynamited.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
Panagiotakis, G. ''Documents From The Battle And The Resistance Of Crete; 1941-45''. 3rd ed, 2007, The pillage and destruction continued for a total of 23 days until early September, turning Anogeia into piles of rubble. During every night, the Germans retreated to the nearby village of Sisarha ( el, Σίσαρχα).

Pack animal A pack animal, also known as a sumpter animal or beast of burden, is an individual or type of working animal used by humans as means of transporting materials by attaching them so their weight bears on the animal's back, in contrast to draft ani ...

s were requisitioned to transport the loot to Sisarha, where it was loaded to trucks that transported it to the cities. According to a report compiled on behalf of the

Greek state 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 ...

in the summer of 1945, out of the 940 houses of Anogeia, none stood intact. The newly built school was also destroyed and the three churches had been turned into stables. Shepherd huts around the village were demolished and all

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to ani ...

(mostly sheep and goats) were seized.Ο αρχηγός της Α.Ο.Α. Χριστομιχάλης Ξυλούρης και το ολοκαύτωμα των Ανωγείων, Πατρίς onLine, 27 Αυγούστου 2008
archive
here
/ref>

Aftermath

The pillage of Anogeia lasted from 13 August to 5 September 1944. Around 2500 women and children were displaced from the village. Having lost all their belongings, they were forced to live in absolute poverty and managed to survive only thanks to the solidarity of the residents of nearby villages, who in many occasions housed them for years. In 1945, Müller was captured by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label= Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

. In 1946, he was tried by a Greek court in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

for ordering atrocities against civilians. He was sentenced to death on 9 December 1946 and executed by

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are ...

on 20 May 1947. Anogeia has been declared a ''martyred village'' with the Presidential Decree 399 (ΦΕΚ 277/16.12.1998). Today, an engraved

commemorative plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

with Müller's order stands in the central square.

References

External links

"Διατάσσομεν την ΙΣΟΠΕΔΩΣΙΝ…"
Anogi 08/08/2014. Archive
copyΤο χρονικό του Ολοκαυτώματος των Aνωγείων τον Aύγουστο του 1944
greekholocausts.gr. Archive
copyGerman occupation of Crete: Anogia
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Anogeia Razing Conflicts in 1944 Mass murder in 1944 Nazi war crimes in Greece 1944 in Greece August 1944 events Crete in World War II War crimes of the Wehrmacht Razed cities