The crime of the nazi in Distomo

Translated in english by the student Maria Kariali.

During the 4day excursion which the 3^rd grade of our school had in Delphi and Nauplion, we visited the historic Distomo in Boetia, where during the German occupation, a terrible war crime was committed on 10^th June 1944.

In the morning of 10^th June 1944, the Germans were assaulted by Greek rebels. Later, they were forced to retreat, leaving 15 dead people and at least 15 wounded behind. The German casualties amounted to 6 dead people  and 15 wounded.​

The Germans ordered by lieutenant Hans Zabel, took a revenge setting Distomo on fire. Their fury was so tierce that they didn’t make any distinction among women, children or the elderly.218 villagers ( 114 women and 104 men) were executed. 45 children and 20 infants were among  them.

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In Distomo, mr  Ch. Papanikolaou, resident of the village and director of the museum, was waiting for us to show us around this place which is still pulsing from pain and tears for the unfair loss of all these people. The visiting a place like that was both a shocking and unique  experience and an important lesson for the generations to come…

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