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Part of the larger Greek resistance, it lasted from 20 May 1941, when the German Wehrmacht invaded the island in the Battle of Crete, until the spring of 1945 when they surrendered to the British. For the first time during World War II, attacking German forces faced in Crete a substantial resistance from the local population.
[5] [6] In Athens, 40,000 civilians died from starvation and tens of thousands more died from reprisals by Nazis and their collaborators. [7] The Jewish population of Greece was nearly eradicated. Of its pre-war population of 75–77,000, around 11–12,000 survived, often by joining the resistance or being hidden. [8]
The new government of Plastiras and the Communist Party signed in February 1945 the Treaty of Varkiza in an effort of accord. On 25 January 1945, a mass grave of about 200 people was found in Athens. Examiners estimated the bodies to be a month to six weeks old, which aligns with the period of the ELAS occupation of the area.
Finally, with the advance of the Red Army and the desertion of Romania and Bulgaria, the Germans evacuated mainland Greece in October 1944, although isolated garrisons remained in Crete, the Dodecanese and various other Aegean islands until the end of the war in May 1945.
Map of occupied Greece showing the German and Italian occupation zones on Crete. The German Air Ministry was shocked by the number of transport aircraft lost in the battle, and Student, reflecting on the casualties suffered by the paratroopers, concluded after the war that Crete was the death of the airborne force.
The museum's aim is to collect, preserve and exhibit relics from the period 1941–1945 in an appropriate manner, as well as to document and disseminate information on the people's struggle during the Battle of Crete and the subsequent German-Italian occupation. [1]
On 10 May 1945, he was arrested in Vienna by Allied forces and sent to Greece, where he was imprisoned. [5] [6] [7] The government did not fulfil its promise to make major efforts to punish collaborators; this contributed to the escalation of political enmities in Greece, which in turn played a part in the outbreak of the Greek civil war. [8]
The first German garrison unit was the 5th Mountain Division, which had seen combat during the capture of Crete.In late autumn 1941, the 5th Mountain Division was replaced by the 713th and 164th Infantry Divisions, which in early 1942 were reorganised as Fortress Division Crete (German: Festungs-Division Kreta - FDK).