On May 1, 1944, 200 Greek communists were executed by the German Nazi forces occupying Greece during the Second World War. The executions were initiated as a reprisal for the killing of a high-ranking German officer by Greek resistance fighters just a few days before. The prisoners were taken by truck to the Kaisariani firing range, a suburb of Athens, and executed by firing squad. The Kaisariani massacre continues to be commemorated in Greece, having taken on renewed political meaning under shifting contexts. The execution was dramatized in 2017 in the film The Last Note, directed by Pantelis Voulgaris. Greek communists executed during the Second World War On April 27, 1944, Major General Franz Krech, commander of the 41st Fortress Division of the Wehrmacht, was ambushed and killed by Greek resistance fighters at Molaoi in Laconia. The resistance fighters were members of the Greek People’s Liberation Army (ELAS), the military arm of the left-wing National Liberation Front (EAM). The partisans were led by 2nd Lieutenant Manolis Stathakis. Three other German military officers were also killed in the ambush. The German reprisals were brutal and quickly enacted. On April 30, orders for executions were made known by the press, which was controlled by the occupying forces. In total, 200 Greek communists were rounded up by German forces and executed at the firing range in Kaisariani. They executed them in batches of 20 at the firing range.
via greekreporter The 200 Greeks Executed by Nazis on May Day