#distomo

[filmap]

Attenberg Athina Rachel Tsangari. 2010

Building Ασπρα Σπίτια, Aspra Spitia 320 03, Paralia Distomou, Greece See in map

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[little-eccedentesiast]

[elladastinkardiamou]

Greece Remembers the Cold-Blooded Nazi Massacre at Distomo

The massacre at Distomo remains to this day one of the most heinous crimes the Nazis committed against innocent women and children, just months before the German occupying forces pulled out of Greece.

On June 10, 1944, Fritz Laufenbach, captain of the 2nd company of the 1st battalion of the 7th SS armored regiment, was ordered to move his troops from Livadia to Distomo, Steiri and Kyriaki in order to locate guerrillas on the western side of Helicon Mountain.

This move by the German soldiers was in retaliation for several troops who had been killed by the Greek Resistance. As bait, the Nazis had used two Greek civilian trucks filled with SS men disguised as villagers. The two trucks were moving ahead of the main phalanx.

At the same time, the 10th and 11th Amphissa companies of the 3rd Battalion were directed to Distomo to meet the 2nd company. The German troops met outside Distomo without finding any resistance fighters, save for 18 children hiding close to the village. Six of the children who tried to escape were executed.

[soliloquyinthedark]

The Byzantine Monastery of Hosios Loukas in Distomo, Central Greece, Greece

[filmap]

Attenberg Athina Rachel Tsangari. 2010

Factory Agios Nikolaos power station, Distomo 321 00, Greece See in map

See in imdb

[elladastinkardiamou]

The Museum of the Victims of Nazism is located at the entrance of Distomo, a town in western Boeotia close to Delphi and about 150km northwest of the Greek capital, Athens. The museum was founded in 2005, on the site of the old Primary School and it was inaugurated by the then President of the Hellenic Republic Carolos Papoulias, whose signature appears in the guest book.

At the entrance, visitors can see the photo of Maria Padiska , who has come to be known as the "woman of Distomo", and who passed away in March 2009 at the age of 84. Her image became a world symbol of grief since the publication of an article in LIFE magazine, "What the Germans did to Greece", on 27 November, 1944, pp 21-27. The photo caption read "Maria Padiska still weeps, four months after the Germans killed her mother in a massacre at the Greek town of Distomo".

The total area of the museum, which is roughly about 200 sq. meters, is divided into 2 levels. On the first floor, one can see photos of all the victims, and there is also a special area with photos of the ossuary, which is located intact at the special Mausoleum on the Kanales hill of Distomo. The museum also holds historical issues of newspapers and magazines of the time with related articles, photographs and documents.

Poetic scripts by the celebrated Greek poets Nikiforos Vrettakos and Andreas Tsouras, especially dedicated to the massacre of Distomo, hang on the wall.

A projection room for the screening of audiovisual material related to the Distomo massacre has also been set up on the ground floor, funded through a European programme.

[elladastinkardiamou]

Greece Remembers the Nazi Massacre at Distomo

The massacre at Distomo remains to this day one of the most atrocious crimes the Nazis committed against innocent women and children, only months before the German occupying forces pulled out of Greece.

On 10 June 1944, Fritz Laufenbach, captain of the 2nd company of the 1st battalion of the 7th SS armored regiment, was ordered to move his troops from Livadia to Distomo, Steiri and Kyriaki in order to locate guerrillas in the western side of Helicon Mountain.

This move by the German soldiers was in retaliation for some troops killed by the Greek resistance. As bait, the Nazis had used two Greek civilian trucks filled with SS men disguised as villagers. The two trucks were moving ahead of the main phalanx.

At the same time, the 10th and 11th Amphissa companies of the 3rd Battalion were directed to Distomo to meet the 2nd company. The German troops met outside Distomo without finding any resistance fighters, save for 18 children hiding close to the village. Six of the children who tried to escape were executed.

[elladastinkardiamou]

The Distomo Massacre. 10. June 1944

On June 10, 1944 the Nazi troops stationed in Greece performed acts of indescribable violence in the small village of Distomo.