Under the occupation of Hitler’s Germany, 300,000 Greek nationals were killed from April 1941 to September 1944. The Nazis committed numerous massacres in parts of the country, including Lyngiades, Distomo, Kalavryta, Kandanos or Viannos. Athens billed Germany on Tuesday, for reasons including the “material destruction” of landmarks, “the dismantling of factories” as well as victims’ compensation and the repayment of a garrison loan from the State Bank.
Greece has also demanded the return of archaeological treasures.
The long list of claims includes a compulsory loan, which Greece had to grant to the German Reichsbank during the war, as well as payments for war crimes and damages.
The country as demanded a net amount of £152billion (€171.4 billion) for the claims on the background of destruction of the Greek infrastructure during the war up to 2014.
Athens also asked for around £29.9billion (€33.8 billion) for further losses of state resources – including oil and agriculture – between 1940 and 1944.
Greece had demanded billions in repatriation and compensation from Germany
In addition to the demands of the Greek state, the report also mentions individual claims for the first time.
The Commission mentions two possible variants: either a compensation for the relatives of 120,000 people who were killed by war or in death camps. A compensation of £620 (€700) euros for 15 years would amount to a total of (£13.3billion) €15.1 billion.
Another variant for individual compensation also mentions all civilians who died during the occupation.
According to figures from the Paris Conference of 1946, 558,000 died and 880,000 were injured.
Compensation for 15 years at €700 per month for the dead and five years at €700 per month for the injured.
This would amount to a total of £95billion (€107.2 billion).
According to Greek sources: “In the verbal note, the Greek government is demanding that Germany negotiate how to resolve the issue of outstanding reparations and compensations for the First and Second World Wars.”
The German Foreign Office told BILD newspaper: “The verbal note is currently being examined. The resolution underlying the verbal note of the Greek Parliament is currently available only in Greek. “
“The resolution underlying the verbal note of the Greek Parliament is currently available only in Greek. “
However, Professor Heinz A. Richter - a historian with a specialisation in Greece - criticised the demands.
He said: “Whenever politically and financially it does not go well in Athens, this outrageous nonsense comes back on the agenda!”
Meanwhile, CDU Bundestag MP Klaus-Peter Willsch said reparation to the country had already been paid.
Mr Wilsch said: “This has been settled and sealed with contracts with Greece. Greece was given electricity by Germany after the war, the largest power plant was built in the country.”
In mid-April, a large majority in the Greek parliament voted in favour of a resolution obliging the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ Government to enforce Greek compensation claims “with all necessary diplomatic and legal action”.
On Wednesday, the world commemorated the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy in 1944.
Additional reporting by Monika Pallenberg.