Why the Greeks HATED the German Occupation More Than Any Other Country in WW2 

As a Bulgarian I am not proud of the brutalities of the Bulgarian army towards the Greeks in WW2, and would like to say sorry to our Greek friends and neighbours, and to reassure them that, even though this is glossed over in Bulgarian high-school textbooks, Bulgarians generally know about the mistreatment of Greeks by the Bulgarian army in WW2 and agree that it was very wrong. I hope we continue to live in peace in the Balkans long enough so that we look into our violent past as a warning about what not to do to each other. With love and friendship, from Bulgaria.

My grandfather(British) fought with the Greek commandos . He always spoke of the greek people with great affection, and how brave they were. I visited Greece in the 90's. When I visited some of the villages that he was in, the elderly people there literally got emotional and treated me like family. The best people.

When you understand how Germany looted Greece, you understand that the treatment of Greece by the EU is totally ludicrous.

“Hence, we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks.” Winston Churchill

I think it is sad that the Greek resistance fighters have not received more attention. You hear about the Partisans of Yugoslavia and the Maquis of France but very little about the Greek resistance fighters.

I believe that the hardest thing to do is to find a Greek family that didn't have any victims from the occupation or the civil War. This still haunts Greece in every aspect.

My uncle, Edward Potocki, passed away a few years ago. The Greek Government sent a huge floral arrangement and thanks for his service to the Greek nation during WW2. He was an Engineer/Top gunner on a B-17. I know he had flown bombing missions over Ploesti but had no idea he was involved in assisting Greek resistance. What little I could find out was that his B-17 was used to ferry in resistance fighters and weapons into isolated Greek airfields. The exact number of missions I couldn't find out, but they were conducted a night. His participation in the war ended in 1943 when his aircraft was shot up by BF-109s and crashed on landing at base in Italy. Shot in the legs and a broken arm he spent the rest of the war in US hospitals till1946. He never talked about it because it was classified. That floral arrangement was over 8 feel long and 5 feet high.

My grand-grandfather was executed by the Nazis at his way home. The brother of my grandma-at the time a young monk in the Monastery of Mega Spilaion,which is close to Kalavryta- was executed by the Nazis and his body was thrown from a tall rock.They will always be remembered!

I was in Greece in february this year. One of the things that surprised me the most was how serious and meaningful WWII is for the country. Didn't have a tour in which that war wasn't mentioned, didn't appear in a monument or wasn't referenced by a street name. Truly my respect for those who don't forget their history

But the Greeks fought back even against impossible odds, like when the Greek pilot Marinos Mitralexis was attacking an Italian bombing raid, and his PZL 11 was outta Ammo, and went on a Kamakaze run into an Italian bomber, baled out himself and and took the survivors prisoner to march them to nearby Greek positions

The Greeks throughout history and time have given examples of resistance and have set the bar on numerous occasions.They deserve respect and to be remembered

My grandmother fought with the resistance in Greece. She was wounded in action.

An old woman still lights up the candles on the old cemetery at Crete. Among the dead there are German soldiers too. A man asked the old lady why she take cares the graves of her people's murderers and she just says because their mothers can't be here to do that. That is the mentality of the Greek people. The words of God are still living inside our souls... That's why we gave our lives for freedom

I really admire the Greek people. They are so courageous and generous. I went on a holiday in Greece and arrived very sick and remained very sick for about 10 days. The country was in an economic crisis, and the people were really suffering. they were very generous to me, an American. And they were very generous to the people coming in desperation from other countries. Greece and the Greeks got a bad rap during the economic crisis that was not deserved. It is a poor country, but a generous country and rich in culture history values, the important things. They can’t always fix up their streets or buildings, but at night all you have to do if you’re in Athens is look up and you will see the Parthenon.

Είμαι από Πελοπόννησο. Οι Γερμανοί, για αντίποινα, έκαψαν το χωριό της μητέρας μου. Δυστυχώς πληρώσαμε με πολύ πόνο και αίμα ως Έλληνες. Το χειρότερο όμως είναι ότι ελάχιστοι δοσίλογοιτιμωρήθηκαν, η Γερμανία δεν μας πληρώνει για το κατοχικό δάνειο που πήρε ούτε για τις καταστροφές που προκάλεσε! Δυστυχώς αυτοί που μας κυβερνουν εδώ και πολλά χρόνια είναι απόγονοι των συνεργατών των Γερμανών!

Ευχαριστούμε γι αυτό το βίντεο. My family suffered a lot from the Germans, my grandfather's brother, Christos Zangas, was executed on May 1, 1944 in Kaisariani along with 199 other patriots. Thank you for this video. Greetings from Greece!

Credit to the RHS Georgios Averof, when ordered to surrender to the German occupiers the crew of the old armored cruiser promptly gave them the finger, sailed out to link up with the Royal Navy and continued the fight. She survived the war and still can be visted in Greece today.

My grandfather was a young lawyer, 24 years old, fresh graduate of the Athens Law University with only 1 year as an acting attorney under his belt when the war broke out. Due to his higher education he was instantly put into officer school and in 6 weeks became a Captain of the Hellenic Armed Forces. He fought in the north, repelling the Italian invasion on our borders with Albania. He had 700 men and 6 tanks under his command, that was his battalion. Whenever I asked him to tell me stories from the war when I was a child, he only told me 1 thing: "You're too young for me to tell you stories of the war. The only thing you need to know is that I lost noone. 700 sons were given to me, 700 sons I returned to their mothers." It was only in my late teenage-early adult life that I understood the gravity of his words. He died at the age of 98, back in 2014. R.I.P grandpa. My grandmother on the other hand was a whole different story. She was a 12-year old girl when the war broke out, on her home island of Kefalonia (tutorial island from Assassin's Creed: Odyssey if you've played that game). She used to jump in the back of Nazi trucks to steal food. She, unlike my grandfather, had no qualms telling me stories of the war. How her whole family would huddle in the cellar of their home when the carpet-bombing was going on. How her mother (my great-grandmother) had to sell all her fortune, her jewelry and her paintings, in order to buy a sack of potatoes to feed her family. How the family villa was confiscated by the Nazis, used as headquarters while they were there, and then how they promptly bombed it to smithereens when they left so noone could use it again, leaving my great-grandmother and her 6 kids (my grandmother and great-uncles) homeless. She always used to say the Italians were nice to the kids. They would break out their mandolins during the evening and play music, for the kids. We all know how Italians love their music and their singing. But the nazis? They would kick kids around. Joke about the fact they had nothing to eat. Literally destroy leftovers so the Greeks wouldn't find ANYTHING to eat in the trash. She used to tell me half the Italian soldiers who were there did not even know WHY they were attacking their, quite similar culturally, neighbours. But the nazis? Whole different ball-game.

Respect for the Greek. Their history can be accounted to thousands of years and yet they are still there despite all the bad times they had.

It is important to note that Greeks exhausted all their resources fighting the Italians. When the Germans invaded, 200 000 Greek reserves did not even have boots, clothes, or food to be sent to the front. Germans did not achieve victory on the battlefield due to their military prowess, but due to Greece's poverty.

My family are from Klisoura in northern Greece. The attrocities committed there are still felt today. My grandmother told me some horror stories, stories she never forgot for the entirety of her life. No child should have witnessed what she did.

We Filipinos fought bravely against the Japanese even during occupation, in a similar manner, to the point the Philippines can be considered Japan’s version of the Vietnam War. Of course though, many innocent Filipino civilians were killed (often raped in disgusting ways too) by Japanese brutality, I had little idea of the Greek resistance against the Nazis prior to watching this video, but once I did….. Well I can’t really put into words my sympathies, praises, and admiration to the Greeks, though I can say that it also takes me back to the bravery the ancient Spartans showed when the Persians invaded, and I’d like to think it was passed down even to the Greeks of the 1940s :) To Greeks reading this comment with love and praise from the Philippines, I can’t understate how much we understand very well the pain you all went through during the occupation, and personally I can’t help but give high loving praise to your resistance against the brutality of the Germans! I would’ve given you a comforting hug for that…. Also, may all Greeks who died fighting against the Nazis rest in peace, they have done far too much for Greece today. ❤️

I love Greece. I have been there often. I love the landscapes, the islands, the people, nature, the history, the culture, the cuisine, the climate. This video just adds to my admiration. May 2023 I was on Crete. I visited the German cemetery at Maleme, the Allied cemetery near Souda bay, the grave of Elfterios Venizelos and the small war museum at Theriso. Very impressive. Europe is in forever debt to Greece and the Greeks

The power of the indomitable human spirit up against seemingly impossible odds is beautiful. I nearly shed a tear watching this video.

Thank you for making this video, for telling the hardships and the struggle of the Greek people.

Damaskinos of Athens, the Regent of Greece during the occupation published a letter denouncing the Nazi's from taking Greeks 'the Jewish Greeks' stating that "Today we are... deeply concerned with the fate of 60,000 of our fellow citizens who are Jews... we have lived together in both slavery and freedom, and we have come to appreciate their feelings, their brotherly attitude, their economic activity, and most important, their indefectible patriotism" When the SS commander threatened to have him shot, he responded "According to the traditions of the Greek Orthodox Church, our prelates are hanged, not shot. Please respect our traditions!" Man was a fucking legend.

1) there is no Greek family where the younger generations have not heard horror stories about WWII. I remember one from my father, who back in 1942 was just 11 yrs old. He was along with other kids of his age stealing stored food from the occupying forces in the port of Piraeus. Once he was caught red-handed and given such a hard spank by the German guard that he could not sit on his bum for days. But the story I wish to share with you, for the memory of my late father (may his gentle soul rest wherever it is) is this: he and his bro managed to sneak in their house two stolen cartons of German milk cans which were placed under the table in the dining room for lack of other space. Table with table cloth running half the height of the table. Hardly the boxes put in place, heavy knocks at the door - German patrol of 3-4 soldiers storm in the house to inspect (God knows for who or what). Family of 6 and my grandfather's old mother who has laying in bed, weak, 7 persons in total. As the soldiers were going from room to room, they spotted the old lady, said sth like ''mutter? mutter?'' to my grandfather, and eventually left. They never noticed the cartons!! My father thought it was some miracle from heaven. Every time he told me the story, he would end it with the phrase ''if they had found we would have been all executed on the spot''. Another tragic vignette: a young lad had been caught stealing, fell in the street while trying to run away. German car run on him, he died under the wheels, in front of the eyes of my father. When Germans occupied Greece, they took a ...loan from the Gr national treasury; ever since Greece has tried to recuperate this amount + interest rate. I have heard of present day calculations, anything between 50 to 250 billion euros, depending on how you calculate it (I have no clue which calculation is correct or what would be a realistic amount). Germans will never pay this back. They have tried various arguments over the years, from an alleged ORAL agreement between Adenauer and Karamanlis back in the '50s to ''you got Marshall Plan aid, and it was more than your fair share of post war compensation''. Germany will never pay this back. 2) about starvation: Greece had the 2nd highest percentage of civilian deaths during WWII, due to starvation with 2.6% (Russia had 2.9%). Unlike Russia however, Greece would never scorch crops to stall invading forces and there is no such thing in Greece as ''Russian winter'' :) To deal with starvation, black market flourished as always during war situations, and people would sell an apartment for 25lt of olive oil. It became so rampant and properties switched so many hands that after the war, courts would decide thus: either the black market hawk would pay for the true value of the apartment and keep it, or the (ex-)owner of it could get his apt back by paying the going price of the 15lt of olive oil. 3) about stealing ordinary citizens' (slim) savings: German soldiers were upon arrival to Greece all equipped with a Greek ''version'' of Deutchmarks. It was simply massively produced paper cut to look like currency. Soldiers would walk in a bakery (for example), pay with this fake money and get shortchange in drachmas which was not fake money. So, cunningly, they would buy bread and receive extra money before walking out of the shop! 4) the most ferocious resistance Germans faced was on the island of Crete. It probably and partially explains why so many younger Germans visit the island. Cretans fought even with rakes against Wehrmacht paratroopers. Apologies for the long message and greetings from Athens/Gr.

My father was in the Dodecanesian Regiment of the Greek Army and fought at the Albanian front holding the line. He is one of the heroes Churchill refers to. My mother's house was taken at gunpoint by the Nazis. She was given her three youngest siblings and had to hide further up the mountain in their summer cabin, until the Germans left the area, nine months later. Both of my parents homes were pillaged. My father's was stripped of all marble. My mother's home had all the livestock, goats, chickens, rabbits, basically anything edible, had been taken. There was nothing left to eat when they returned. They both immigrated to the U.S. in 1947. My mother died two years ago at 103 years old. A week never went by when she did not remember the war and wanted to discuss some aspect. My father died in 1990. He refused to speak about the war. Not only did these atrocities stay with them for the rest of their lives, but they have been passed on to the next generation. I visited the Holocaust Museum in Kalavryta last year and stood on the hill where the town's men were murdered. Sadly, we learn nothing from history, because we continue to repeat the past. May their memories be eternal.

Hello, Greek person with relatives from Soufli here. I was so surprised to hear this specific story from my grandmother's hometown being mentioned in your channel because it hits so incredibly close to home, literally. I'm neighbours with an old woman, Miss Marika, whose father was one of the eight victims of the shooting. Thank you for making this video, those people died for a cause and they are not forgotten! i'm in tears, cheers.

I think most Americans, myself included, have always had a great affection for Greece and it's people. Democracy and Western civilization itself can all be traced back to Ancient Greece. 👍

As a Greek born and raised in Ioannina I felt all the emotions this video can provide. I don't have many stories to share. Still, one thing that my grandmother made sure I would remember was how adamant my family, my great-grandfather's side especially were in treating the Germans equally. She said that they would burn two of the German stations for every house the soldiers tried to destroy in my village. And that would go on for days until the Germans decided to leave. My grandparents are all gone now but this memory remains in my mind. Greeks may forgive but they do not forget, as a nation we have endured invasions and slavery to other countries, economic struggles, and ridicule but at the end of the day, we still put a smile on and continue. You could say this way of living is in our blood. Cause it is. Thank you for this video, for sharing the history, and for shedding some light!

Great respect to the Greeks for never giving up the fight for their country's freedom! All the best from Poland. We know what you went through.

Many years back in 1974 I was in Crete for a holiday, we rented a 4x4 and went off the beaten track up into the mountains with another couple of Brits, after some time we came to a small isolated mountain village and decided to stop at the center of the village, there were a few small bars or cafes but although all the doors were wide open there was absolutely nobody in sight. We decided to rest under the shade of a large Olive tree in the middle of the square enjoying the peace and quiet and still wondering what was going on. After a while we began to hear some music in the distance, little by little it grew louder until finally into the square came the village priest followed by the whole village with band of music included. Most of the people had spotted us under the Olive tree and after the ceremony had finished two women approached us and tentatively asked us if we were German, we effusively replied no and that we were English, they both smiled broadly and hurried off towards the bar which was by now full of locals, a few minutes later they came out carrying a large tray loaded with food and drink, quite a number of locals said hello and shook our hands, we were astonished and really felt they were genuinely pleased to see us, we eventually understood from them that it was their liberation day from the Germans and in a true show of Greek hospitality, even though we insisted they wouldn´t accept payment for the food and drink.

I am a French citizen living in Greece for the last 15 years, when you travel around every 50 km there is a Martyr village besides the organized a famine that killed 150,000 souls was a big % of the population back then. France was Mickey mouse compared to Greece. Respect!

My grandpa was part of the resistance in the Albanian mountains, I will never forget the horrific stories he told me as a small child of the circumstances and the toll it took on them. Depleted of everything, drinking water next to bodies with frost bites and gangrene and the only thing that kept them fighting was their sheer willpower. We really were one of the smallest countries in the axis's path, but fought as hard as we could resulting in great delays in their arrival to Russia and it's not well known at all.

My grandfather was born in 1935 in Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. As a young teenager I would ask him to tell me the stories of growing up during the German occupation, although he was just a young boy, not even 10 years of age. The things mentioned in this video are extremely accurate with how he described it to me. The Germans came and took away all of their food, and they would go hungry, he used to slam the cupboard doors at home in his village and cry to his mother (my great-grandmother) about how he wanted bread to eat. She could only tell him in response that there was no bread to eat. During the Italian invasion through Albania, his father (my great-grandfather) was sent to fight for his country against the Italians. Luckily, he returned home with his life. My great-grandfather had already been living a rough life, as he was a migrant from Asia Minor, being kicked out of his village during the population exchange, himself and his sibling being sent to various places in Greece. My great-grandfather would stand atop his hilltop village of Afalonas where he would later watch Axis ships come and go from the Gulf of Geras. My grandfather would tell me about how they, as children, used to jump on, cling to, and ride on the back of the Nazi vehicles when they came through the country roads to take their local produce such as olive oil. Then my grandfather would tell me about the most darkest stories. In the town of his birth, Mytilene, the Nazis had rounded up men who had defied them. They took them to a nearby forest and tied them up to the trees. They shot the men dead, and then cut the trees down according to each man's height. Meanwhile, elsewhere in Greece, he had later heard of a story of a father and son who were being put to work by the Germans. This particular task included digging, and when the son fell and collapsed to the ground, his father had gone to help him back up, but before he could, a Nazi had shot his son and killed him. After the war, my grandfather would go on to work in the Greek air force as a mechanic. Then, after being introduced to my grandmother, he flew to Australia to live. My grandmother later meet up with him in Australia when she arrived by boat and they would get married. In the 70's my great-grandfather, who had come a long way from being expelled from Asia Minor by the Turkish, and fighting the Italians in Albania, ended up moving to Melbourne, Australia to live with his son and his household, dying in 1995 at the age of 89. My grandfather has now since passed away in 2018 at the age of 82. I wish he were still here to retell these stories, but I realise that this is now my duty.

Greeks have had a long and proud history of standing up to foreign invaders going right back to King Leonidas and the stand of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae.

My dearly departed grandmother was a young girl when she was brutally kicked down the stairs of her own occupied home near Ioannina by a German officer, breaking her hips and receiving no treatment. The reason was that the food she served him was too cold. I never heard her disparage anyone for the entire blessed time that I knew her, and I therefore never gave much thought to that story , other than the fact that her enduring limp and associated discomfort sometimes made me remember. Until on her deathbed 60 years later, in her delirium, when I visited her she screamed out in terror believing I was "Hans". She never go to see "me" again before the end came. That's an example of how much they took away.

The history of Greece in WWII must become a movie.

My grandfather was at his first day of elementary school when the Nazis invaded. Once he got home, he witnessed my great grandmother dying from a German bombing. He never got over the traumatic experience and there were times in his sleep when he was calling out for her. It must had been a recurring PTSD nightmare. May they both Rest In Peace.

At my Region in Crete, there was done one of the worst massacres by Nazis. At SE Heraklion, the Viannos region villages, about 10 villages, were grounded, and about 400 to 500 civilians executed, Older, Men, women, children...it was the retaliation after a small battle between partisans and germans in the region

The Orthodox Bishop of Thessaloniki was ordered to prepare a list of all Jewish citizens of the city ! He delivered …. One Name !!! His own !!!

These videos are for those who say that Greece is a country that has not given anything to humanity in the last 1000 years. I will remind my European friends that Greece has given much more than most European countries. And I'm not only talking about ancient Greece, but also about modern Greece. Resistance to the Nazis, Pap tests for women, several Nobel prizes, Olympic games,... And for those Germans who talk about Greece's debt, let me remind them that their ancestors killed 15% of the Greek population, every Greek house has 1-2 dead because of the German Nazis, let me remind them that they never paid morally, criminally or financially for their crimes in Greece, and also to remind them of the loan they took from Greece by force and never returned to the Greeks. As for the loans the Greeks have taken from EU, the Greeks pay them back and with high interest. Nobody does us a favour. Let them stop pointing fingers at us and better sit and study some history before they blame.

As a Greek, i feel the need to say "thank you so much for making this video". The worst thing to do to a Greek, is to directly threaten his beloved ones. Even if he fails, the word "revenge" will always be carved inside him. WE NEVER FORGET. I'm not sure if you'll ever get to read this comment, but to answer your last question, about making a video for the following Greek Civil War, i need to advise you that this war was much fiercer than WW2 and it still remains a very sensitive subject for the most of us Greeks. You re going to read a lot of myths and facts were it will be pretty hard to spot the real events and facts. My grandfather fought this Civil War and also was the man responsible for the "planning and executing" the last "victorious" battle given against the Greek Communists. He told me so many stories about this war and, lucky me, i 've recorded him telling each and every one of them. What i could not record at that time, were his face expressions. He was so sad and devastated about this war that i still remember his voice saying to me: "My lovely son, i wish you never get to live those days again" , "Killing a foreign enemy is so easy and emotionless compared to shooting down your brother, your father, your son.", "This is such a trauma that cannot be described by words.". If you do get to make this video, i really hope you mention those who were truly responsible for this war and the reasons behind that, so the upcoming generations learn from the mistakes we made in the past. Much love, and again, truly thank you for making this video.

"The iconic British statesman Winston Churchill, who led the United Kingdom during World War II, reportedly praised the Greek people in a BBC speech during the first days of the Greco-Italian War, stating: “Until now we used to say that the Greeks fight like heroes. Now we shall say: Heroes fight like Greeks”."

I'm sure Poland hated German occupation just as much as the Greeks

My grandfather was young man during Serbian army retreat trough Albanian mountains to Greece in WWI . When I was a kid he would take us to Corfu to pilgrimage it’s the place that is largest grave yard of Serbs outside of Serbia. Grandpa told us how ordinary Greeks nurtured starved near death survivors of retreat. There is great love among Serbs towards Greeks.

Thank you for this video. My grandfather's family was executed among other civilians , for hiding english guerillas.. The executed villagers 62.. My grandfather's family 12.. These things cannot be forgotten.. Honor and glory to the victims of german occupation , we would do the same again

As a Greek I'm so greatful you made this video! Thank you!!!

I visited a village in Crete that was attacked by Nazi retaliation squads and you can still see bullet holes with bullets in them in some of the older buildings that weren't burnt down

6:05 I can't stop crying , because this reminded me the stories of my grandma who passed away in 1999. She was always keen on Italians because they always gave her food for her "bambini" . Without knowing it, they helped her and her two first borns survive, and this is how she gave birth to my mother 10 years after the end of the occupation. Italiano and Bambini were the only foreign words my grandmother knew. This video crashed me , under the heavy burden of the bravery of my ancestors. Thank you. I can verify the stories described in the video as I can recall them from my granmothers experience shared with me. 55 years after the start of the occupation, I could feel the deep impact this occupation had to the soul of my nanna. She had the .. "luck" to be living in a big city like Athens. I can't event think about the stories from the countryside. My granda wasn't called to go to Albanian war at the Greco-Italian war, because he had a problem with his leg and couldn't walk but he went volunteerly. By with own will. Along with all other men, I was described that they were joining the forces no questions asked, filling up the trains to 150% of capacity and singing for freedom and loved ones along their journey to the battlefield. Ouph, my head is bombed with memories of those stories at the moment. I remember one after the other and as I rewind it in my head, I have a new ones come up. Thank you for this video

Being born in Greece , I have to say that this video brought me tears. If it wasn't for these men and women , who put their lives at risk just for the chance that their kids and grandkids could be free, the world today would be a lot different. A massive thank you to all those heroes that remain unnamed, and fought for their human rights! They will always be in our hearts ❤

By the way, resistance shouldn't be turned into a pissing match, ESPECIALLY by people who've never picked up a rifle to hold a post. All resistance deserves honour.

The 300,000 casualty figure is very low. I think it may have been 3, 4, or 5 times that when accounting for hunger, immigration and the general brutality across the whole country. Every city, town and village was affected, which is why the number given for casualties is a huge underestimate.

I am from south Albania, my grandpa always told stories from the greek italian wars. Our vilage would change hands multiple times between the Italians and Greeks. But no one would harm the local residents. The Italians were well armed but didnt have the spirit to fight, they wanted to go home. The greeks were like us, mountain man, in fact we considered each other the same people before the nacional bullshit hapened after ww2. Majority of the Greeks could speak Albanian and we used to learn greek in the orthodoks churches as the greek language was considered the language of culture, but in reality every one spoke Albanian. My grandmother some day used to cook for the greeks and when the Italian came we felt sorry for them and she cooked for them also😂😂. The mountains around are still literes with ww2 amunition but as I said no local residents were harmed , rarely a local village was bombed. When the germans invaded Greece and Italy capitulated, some Italian soldiers and oficers stayed at out home. My grandpa warned them to not return to Italy becouse the Nazis would kill them. They wanted to return home and later we learned that they were taken as POWs and killed by the Germans. Some remanining Italian soldiers that learned about these atrocities become part of the Albanian partizans.

As a Greek from Kalavryta I’m really thankful that this tragedy is finally addressed in a video

Win or Lose, I guess we could say that the Greeks always provide a good match for all enemies

Very informative, I was completely unaware of the level of Greek resistance against Nazi occupation. It's amazing how many people suffered at the hands of Germans.

As a Greek, im deeply thankful for this historical walkthrough through your eyes ~ thank you, thank you again!

I feel lucky to have been born in Sweden, which hasn't been to war since 1814. But my maternal grandparents lived through both WWII and the civil war. They were only 7 and 8 years old respectively when the Germans invaded but they still have clear memories of the horrible occupation. I'm proud of the widespread resistance to the occupiers and I want to thank you for making this video telling the story of the brave men and women of occupied Greece. Ελευθερία ή θάνατος!

Some Germans who survived the war in Russia said that if they had simply invaded a month or six weeks earlier---as Hitler had originally planned---it would have made all the difference. Hitler had to postpone the invasion of Russia--which Hitler called Operation Barbarossa--to rescue the Italian army from being beaten in Greece. Mussolini invaded Greece without telling Hitler in advance. Mussolini did not like being a "junior partner" and decided to act on his own. @21:12 Stalin was right to say that the tenacity of the Greeks decided the outcome of WWII. Another crucial and overlooked "might have been" was that after Germany had conquered France, Hitler met with Franco in southern France in order to get permission to have his army peacefully enter Spanish territory in order to attack the British fortress at Gibraltar. Franco refused Hitler's request. Had Hitler taken Gibraltar, he would have controlled the western Mediterranean (and with Mussolini's alliance, the central Mediterranean), and the British would have been cornered at the Suez Canal. The war would probably have taken a very different turn. Hitler pointed out to Franco that German military assistance had helped Franco win the Spanish Civil War, but Franco still would not give in to Hitler's plans. Miles away from the French train station where Hitler was waiting to meet Franco, Franco deliberately had his train stop for about two hours in order to show Hitler that he was not his underling. In the Fest biography of Hitler, Fest claims that Hitler said during his final days in the bunker that he regretted not having supported the anti-Franco Spaniards during their Civil War.

My great grandfather , he was living in Rhodes , italian occupied Dodecanese and him along with some special forces placed a big amount of explosives , under around 20 hangars of an axis airfield near the village of Kalathos destroying 17 planes and damaging at least 3 more of them . I never got a chance of meeting him in person since he died in 1964 . But his deeds were recorded in a book and both my father and grandmother (before she passed away) told me of how humble and brave he was .

As someone who lost two family members at Bergen Belsen, I thank the Greeks for their courage & bravery in the face of overwhelming odds & oppression. Thank you

Thank you for this beautiful video. As a Greek person, I have to say, we really need a morale boost. Our country has been suffering from a disastrous economic crisis since 2008, and the unfair and brutal austerity measures imposed by EU. Tens of thousands have left Greece in search of a better life (myself included), others stayed back, struggling to survive, with constantly lower wages and rising prices. Governments of the past 15 years, in tandem with the EU, have been selling off our land and infrastructure to multinational companies, kicking people out of their houses, privatizing everything. What the nazis started, the German-spearheaded EU and our traitor governments are trying to finish. But we will not be subdued. Like our grandfathers, we will survive. Hail to the Greek people and to the community spirit that has kept us alive for so long.

1:06 No help by the British against Italian army. Misleading information. 1:43 Greek soldiers did not wear German uniforms. 3:54 Around 800.000 died Greeks died during WW2, not only 300.000

In Greece we celebrate the start of the war, not the end.

Very good video, and I was surprised to hear a big truth that is hardly ever mentioned today: That after the liberation, the heroes of the greek resistance were treated like criminals. It's true, and even worse, the collaborators of the nazis manned all the state positions. This unjustice was the main cause of the civilian war.

My grandfather was 17 when the German paratroopers started falling on Heraklion, I’m told he fought as a civilian until his leg got messed up by an explosion and spent the rest of the occupation helping around in the clinic he was sent to and supplying the resistance with medicine

Quote from Churchill, " From know we don't tell Greeks fight like heroes, heroes fight like Greeks....

Ioannis Metaxas didn't actually blatantly answer with a "no", it was actually much more intimidating than that. His full recorded answer was as such: "Then, war it is." Much more confident than history calls him to be.

My grandfathers used to tell me stories about the German occupation. They were around 10 and 15 years old at the time. The one grandfather was from a family of farmers and the other one from a family of fishermen, so they managed to survive the hunger. They used to tell me about how brutal the nazis were with people even children. They hung retaliatiors on the central square. One story that the older grandfather used to tell me is this. An uncle of his had arrived to the island (I am from the island salamina, near Athens) and he brought them some raisins. In the meanwhile the germans were building an emplacement on a mountain and were recruiting citizens to help. My grandfather (around 15 years old at the time) was one of them. He was assigned the difficult task of carrying materials on the mountain. A friend of the family was one af the builders, a far less tiring job and when he llearnt about the raisins he made a deal with my grandfather. He told him that he would convince the germans that he was also a builder in exchange for some of the raisins. And so he did. The problem was tha my grandad didn't know how to build., so the wall ended up crooked. The germans were obviously not very pleased. I believe that thiw wall is standing on that mountain.

When greece was free again, a British newspaper wrote: "From now on, we won't say that Greeks fought like heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks"...

My grandfather was a fighter pilot, fresh out of the Airforce Academy when the war broke out. After the Germans occupied Greece, he was left stranded along with many of his co fighters. They were "smuggled" to Egypt with the help of civilian fishermen in fishing boats who for months were risking their lives to help them. IN Egypt they re-formed the Hellenic Airforce under the commands of the RAF

For historical accuracy, Metaxas didn't declare 'no', to the Italian ambassador after the insulting demands for surrender. He replied in French: 'So, it's war '.

My granddaddy came to America from the island of Cephalonia in the Ionian sea, below Corfu.(during the first world war) During the war, WWII his siblings and their families were on the island. Other relatives were also on the island. He had a brother who was a ship captain in the merchant marines, and a brother-in-law also a ship captain in the merchant marine. They stayed at sea and helped that way. My great aunt said the Italians were very vicious to them, but the Germans would take things from them, but mark their houses so as not to loot them more than once. The Germans marched a bunch of Italian troops off a cliff into the sea in the northern part of our island. Oh, my great aunt buried her olive oil and coffee and other food in her garden, to hide things from the Germans My aunt and my mother went to Greece in 1950 to spend the summer. When my mother landed in Peraius that was the day the Korean war broke out. She always told me the stories of seeing grown men crying. They all lived through horrible times during the civil war and saw much brutal killing. I would like to watch anything you would like to do on Greece. I am very proud of my heritage and culture and know from things I have read over the years, they fought so hard for Greece. I am so proud of all they did to fight the Germans and Italians

Conclusion. Don't mess with the Greeks.

My Grandfather was just an infant when the Nazis invaded our beloved Greece. I don't know for sure if he took part in resistance, but the fact he survived three and a half years of occupation from the unholy Axis Alliance proves he is one of my heroes. He's 84 now, and I find him a recognized war hero of the Greek army. We all live in Pennsylvania, but we will fight for Hellas to our final breath.

all over the world they celebrate the end of the war in Greece they celebrate the beginning. That says it all

My grandmother was a child when nazis occupied Greece. They where a family of 7 . In the house they had a cow from where they where able to eat. One night the nazis took the cow from the family dispite my great grandmother begging to not do so because she wouldn't have to feed her children. Days passed and the children where hungry but they where all surviving, except my grandmother who was very very sick, she had kwashiorkor ( like the hungry children in Africa). A german soldier show my grandma and gave her food and medicine which saved her .

As a person of Greek heritage I must say Greek people have never complied with any of the Axis power even dating back to ancient times. Always a resistance, makes me proud of my heritage

The number of casualties due to hunger and retaliations was over a million people. And yet even in 2023, Germany REFUSES to pay war reimbursements to Greece and Poland .

My father's village on Mount Olympus was a centre of resistance in Thessaly. The Germans burned it to the ground and left one out of thirteen churches standing. Buildings since the time of the Eastern Roman Empire just gone and this event caused his family to live a life of poverty.

I'm twenty, I recenty met one of my uncles firends, who's about 65. When I told him my name, which is not really common nowadays, he replied "oh I had an aunt with the same name" and the procceeded to tell me how the Germans killed her during WW2. He said they murdered her whole village including her and her brother who were around the age of 10-12. Then they put up the bodies around the village like they where on display. It was a random Sunday morning like every other and I remember still feeling grogy from sleep. People still grieve, not only here Greece but every where.

One method of open resistance that the Greeks used was that they would return the Nazi raised arm salute - but they did it with spread fingers. Whilst the Germans were under the impression that the Greeks were returning an incorrect Sieg Heil, in fact to the Greeks this is the equivalent of the British two finger salute. It dates back to ancient times when watching Greeks pushed mud into the faces of the lines of captured prisoners after successful campaigns.

My grandfather fought Germans at Rupel. When the Germans occupied Thessaloniki, one German officer shout at Greek soldiers to get out and be free. While the men were getting out of the Rupel German soldiers were saluting them with honour. Even them knew that day that it wouldn't be an easy task to occupy Greece. Nice work. Thank you for this video.

"Surrendering to Lt. Webers dog would be preferable to any Italian."

Thank you for this very informative video. I visited Crete twice in the early 1980's, first the East, then the West and toured extensively. I soon found the Cretans are wonderful people, very helpful and kind. I found German tourists were tolerated for the money but otherwise very disliked, not forgiven for their Farther's sins. Example, one evening I saw Germans told "there is no vacant accommodation in this village". They were turned away despite the late hour, when I knew well there was accommodation. In those days I was a blue eyed blonde. It helped to wear a Union Flag T shirt. That was until the villagers discovered one of my uncles fought and was captured at Souda Bay; then I was treated as family by the entire village.

Another reason for me to love Greece! Thank you for sharing this information

Thank you for this long overdue celebration of Greek courage and resistance and, yes, please do consider a deeper dive. If I may share a distant personal connection to these valiant men, women and children. In early 1990s my parents visited Chania in Crete from where my grandfather emigrated as a young boy. They were sitting in the cafe when in walked an old man, almost seven feet tall, with a long white beard, vest, walking staff and large billowy pants tucked into knee-length kid boots. As he walked in, everyone in the cafe (men and women) stood silently. The man saw my folks were visitors and bowed slightly to them. When my mother asked her cousin who he was, he said he is one of the few remaining partisans who took to the hills and fought the Nazi invaders with little more than a few hunting rifles and knives. Only they are accorded the singular honor of wearing that particular local dress. Sadly, he like the other remaining partisans, are probably gone. So, yes, please continue to tell the stories in honor of these unsung warriors.

My late grandfather grew up an orphan because the Germans massacred his village of Kleisoura as retaliation. 280 people died that night including both his parents (my great grandparents).

Great documentary! You did not mention though Archbishop Damaskenos who said a formal and resounding "no" to the surrender the Athenian Jews to the Nazis.

My friend's parents who lived through WWII in rural Greece always referred to that time as the occupation. They rarely called it the world war. I discovered that the word occupation defined many things, namely hunger, fear, poverty and loss of liberty.

Triste historia. Saludos desde México.

Congratulations sir for a very nice presentation. I might add that it wasn't just the admiration for the Greek resistance that made big powers to involve. As you should probably know it was an opportunity to make Greece another protectorate or in worst case scenario to slice it down. It was back then at '44 when the British murdered brutally in Athens 28 innocent boys and girls protesting in support of the partisans which in turn gave ignition to the Dekemvriana (December events).

Thank you for this. It was well made and very moving. I hope to travel around Crete this autumn and I will pay my respects to those who resisted, wherever I can. (A UK veteran)

Even when WW2 ended, the Civil War that followed in Greece was absolutely brutal. It was as if the Germans never left, but this time it was our own people dealing the damage.

My grand grandfather fought in the mountains of Albania against Italians ,Albanians(chams) and after Germans. He was telling me stories. Crazy stuff...

Interesting video. Some of the statistics don't completely add up to some of the info I saw elsewhere. The info about the influence of the resistance shows the strength of the Greeks and was very interesting. Thanks to your research

My grandmother was from Doxato, one of the villages that suffered a holocaust at the hands of the Bulgarian occupation. 400 men were executed as retaliation for 4 Bulgarian soldiers. She had many stories of famine that she recounted. She ans her younger sister would follow the Bulgarian trucks as the soldiers transpored corn and would pick kernels from the ground to cook and have for dinner. She never threw away any food. 😢

As a 23 year old Greek guy, i fully understand why Germany is still a very hated country around here. Personally, i hold nothing against any country or race but the atrocities the Germans committed against us can not and should not be forgotten. Especially considering that everything described in this video happened just 80 years ago, which is scarily close to present day. Plus the fact that Germany has NEVER repaid us in any way for what they did is a key reason for the hate they still receive from us.