Moment when Greek fighting-aged men on the island of Crete were massacred by German paratroopers during the Kondomari Massacre (June 21st, 1941) [800 x 508]
The massacre of civilians took place in retaliation for many of the Greek men forming militias to fight alongside the British during the defense of the island. Many German paratroopers were butchered with knives and clubs by the partisans as they landed.
The paratroopers believed that what they did was justified as one of the 10 Commandments of the Fallschirmjager said to show no mercy for those who fight using guerrilla tactics ( https://www.fallschirmjager.net/tencom.html ).
The man who ordered the massacre: Lieutenant Horst Trebes, never faced justice for this crime as he was killed 3 years later in Normandy, France.
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Here’s the full set of images: https://www.fallschirmjager.net/Bundesarchiv/Kondomari/Kondomari.html
The massacre of civilians took place in retaliation for many of the Greek men forming militias to fight alongside the British during the defense of the island. Many German paratroopers were butchered with knives and clubs by the partisans as they landed.
The paratroopers believed that what they did was justified as one of the 10 Commandments of the Fallschirmjager said to show no mercy for those who fight using guerrilla tactics ( https://www.fallschirmjager.net/tencom.html ).
The man who ordered the massacre: Lieutenant Horst Trebes, never faced justice for this crime as he was killed 3 years later in Normandy, France.