Greece has announced plans to acquire a series of photographs believed to show the final moments of 200 Greeks executed by a Nazi firing squad in Athens during World War II. The previously unknown images surfaced on eBay over the weekend, offered by a Belgian collector of German military memorabilia.
The photographs reportedly depict the men being led to their deaths on 1 May 1944 at a shooting range in the Kaisariani suburb of Athens. The executions of 200 communist political prisoners are among the most brutal atrocities committed during the Nazi occupation of Greece, but no photographic evidence was previously known to exist.
Greece's Culture Ministry stated on Monday that it is "very possible that these are authentic photographs" and confirmed efforts to obtain them for historical archives. Experts from the ministry are in contact with the collector and plan to visit him in Ghent, Belgium, to examine the images' authenticity and legality of origin.
Shortly after the photos were listed, the memorial at the execution site was vandalised, with plaques listing the victims' names smashed. The Kaisariani municipality condemned the act, stating that "historical memory will not be erased" and that the monument would be repaired. The photos, it said, had caused "a chill of emotion" for the stance of the executed communists.
The Culture Ministry noted "quite a few legal complications" in claiming the pictures. A committee is to convene to determine whether to classify the photographs as part of Greek heritage. If deemed authentic and legally obtained, the ministry will finalise measures for their acquisition through appropriate legal means.
