Greece's culture ministry has announced the recovery of long-lost photographs depicting the Nazi execution of 200 communists on May Day 1944, after they were listed for sale on eBay. The images, taken by German lieutenant Hermann Heuer, show the victims walking into a firing range in Athens with their heads held high, seemingly unafraid. The ministry described the prints as 'a monument of exceptional historical importance'.
The photographs were posted online by Belgian collector Tim de Craene, who specializes in Third Reich memorabilia. Following public outcry, the Greek government signed a preliminary agreement with de Craene to purchase the collection, which includes 262 photographs, some bearing the handwritten note 'Aten 1.5.44'. The seller has withdrawn them from sale.
The executions were carried out in retaliation for a guerrilla attack on a German general. The victims, members of the communist resistance, were killed by machine gun fire at the Kaisariani shooting range. Witnesses say they went to their deaths chanting partisan songs, a final act of defiance that has become a symbol of Greek resistance.
Vangelis Sakkatos, a 96-year-old leftist who has long campaigned for a monument to the victims, expressed his awe at seeing the images. 'That is what we have always heard,' he said. 'And now we can see that courage before our eyes.' The photographs are expected to aid historical research into Nazi atrocities and spark further discussion about Greece's post-war civil war.
