By Christos Verganelakis and Kostas Lampropoulos
He didn’t seem particularly moved German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, when first the president of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou and then the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis they touched him openly and clearly the issue of German reparations for all kinds of atrocities committed by his compatriots in Greece during the Occupation.
To the President of the Republic the German president replied coldly that “for us, the issue of German reparations is over”, and he did not answer anything to the Greek prime minister, opting for something completely general in his objection…
It is a positive development, therefore, that Greece, officially and institutionally, is putting the major issue of reparations back on the tablebut the question is how much he can pressure Germany, which does not seem at all willing to open such a conversation.
Katerina Sakellaropoulou, welcoming the German president at the Presidential Palace, told him: “The Greek-German friendship is supported in honest dialogue and mutual respect. In this spirit, I would like to emphasize, based on the relevant decision of the Greek Parliament of 2019, the great importance that the issue of War Reparations and the Occupancy Loan, which remains pending, has for the Greek people.
Frank Walter Steinmeier, while he expressed his joy that his Greek counterpart invited him to participate in yesterday’s event in Thessaloniki, “a city with which many things connect me, especially regarding German responsibility, with the atrocities committed by the Germans before and during of World War II,” then cut it off: “We are of the opinion that legally this issue is considered to have ended, however we remain committed to our historical responsibility, not only regarding Thessaloniki but also elsewhere. Let’s discuss how we could create a Memorial for the people who were lost!
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, however, was quick with his wordswhen he received the president of Germany at the Maximus Palace, to “bring him back to order”, telling him directly that the issue of German-occupational reparations has not ended. “I would like to thank you, personally, but also as a Cretan, for the fact that you chose to visit my special homeland, the island of Crete, and to visit Kandano, to acknowledge with your presence the Nazi atrocities on the island, during World War II. I think it’s a very important gesture. As you know, for Greece the issue of reparations, and especially the forced occupation loan, these issues are still very much “alive” and we hope that at some point we will resolve them”.
The German president pretended not to hear: “I am particularly happy that Greece is back on track for economic growth, fueling our bilateral economic transactions, and that German companies are still not only present, but also investing here in Greece. I hope, therefore, that our bilateral relations, not only economic but also exchanges in the cultural field and between the two peoples, will develop in the coming years”!
“Peloponnisos” spoke about the issue of German reparations with the mayor of Kalavryton Thanasis Papadopoulos, the secretary of the National Council for Claiming Germany’s Debts to Greece Dr. Aristomenis Syngelakis, and the president of the Association of Victims of the Kalavrita Holocaust Charilaos Ermeidis.
Thanasis Papadopoulos: “The Shredder Answer”
“Germany’s position has been known for a long time, since the time when its former president, Johannes Rau, said during his visit to Kalavrita that he felt “pain and shame for what the regular army of the Wehrmacht did”. The late Kostis Stephanopoulos then replied to him at the Place of Execution that “you did your duty and now it is the turn of the German government to do the same”. When Rau returned to Germany, he sent us a reply that he had raised the issue of reparations with his government, and Chancellor Schroeder commented to him that the case was closed. In short, the Germans come to Greece every time to tell us that they are upset about what happened, but that’s it. Whatever legal actions we have taken fall on the appeals of the German side and cancel them. Only the International Court of Justice in The Hague remains. However, states and not private individuals apply there. The German side, with its presence at commemorative events, is trying to ease the whole process so that we don’t claim the self-evident.”
Aristomenis Syngelakis: “The baton to the youth”
“If the president of the Federal Republic of Germany wants to express in practice the remorse of the Germans for what happened during the Occupation, that’s fine. If not, we really don’t understand the point of his visit to Greece. We will continue our struggle, with the baton of claim passing to the younger generations. They can’t get rid of us that easily. The total reparations exceed 300 billion euros, without this compensation including the stolen archaeological and cultural treasures, whose repatriation we want. The German president sticks to Germany’s tough position. To explain to us, however, how the matter was closed and in what way. Until 2013, Germany was telling us otherwise. Something happened. Such a matter, however, is not closed by a unilateral decision. The compensations are legally active and judicially pursueable according to the former president of the Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos. We claim based on law and history.”
Charilaos Ermeidis: “No, it is not closed”
“All martyred cities would not like this pending situation to exist. Despite the difficulties, we even hold on and claim. The issue, however, is no longer about the Germans. They have dropped the ball on our table. When the President of Germany says openly and is not ashamed that the case is legally and morally closed, the question is what our people answer. Why does the Greek state not inform them of the decision of the Hellenic Parliament? How were the Germans positive about Poland’s corresponding claim? How is it possible that so many 10 years don’t come out and we go to Kalavryta, Distomo and only we hear them? Why aren’t the archaeological treasures stolen by the Germans returned? No, the matter is not closed. The Committee of the German Parliament itself has admitted that there is a debt to Greece. The Germans treat us as vassals, as their state. The Housing loan exceeds 1 trillion euros at today’s prices. Why don’t we sell it to a Fund to gnash teeth at the Germans? Why don’t we pass it to the budget of the Greek state?”
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