Chortiatis
Encyclopedia
Chortiatis is a suburb and a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece
. Since the 2011 Kallikratis local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylaia-Chortiatis, of which it is a municipal unit. It lies at 600 metres altitude on the slopes of the Mount Chortiatis
, from which it takes its name.
and Homer
tells us that Cisseus
was the king of this town. The town and its people are mentioned as members of the Delian League
in the 5th century BC.
The modern name and town Chortiatis can be traced back to the 12th century, when a Byzantine
monastery under the name Chortaites, on the northern slopes of the mountain, provided Thessaloniki
with fresh water by an aqueduct whose remains have been partly preserved. By the 15th century the settlement with the monastery was called Kastron Chortiatis (Castle Chortiatis) and it fell in 1423 under Ottoman rule
.
mass murder
of 146 civilians by the Wehrmacht
and Greek Nazi-collaborateurs, at the end of the occupation of Greece by the Axis powers on 2 September 1944.
After the capture of three German soldiers by the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) on mount Chortiatis
, the German occupation authorities decided to react immediately with a reprisal
operation against the civilian population of the village Chortiatis. About twenty trucks with German soldiers and the paramilitary force Jagdkommando Schubert, named after the Wehrmacht sergeant
Friedrich Schubert
who was in command, surrounded the village. They gathered all the people they found in the town square, and began to loot and burn houses down. One group of the civilians was led into the house of villager Evangelos Ntinoudis. They were locked inside and the building was set on fire. They were burnt alive. The other group was locked in the bakery. Schubert's men set up a machine gun and began to shoot them down from a small window in the door. After this they set fire to burn alive those who were not killed by the bursts of the machine gun. Apart from the people who were killed in the two groups, others were raped and killed outside their homes or even the village, while trying to escape. A total of 146 civilians residents of Chortiatis were killed that day. 109 of them were women and girls. 300 homes were burned down.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Since the 2011 Kallikratis local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylaia-Chortiatis, of which it is a municipal unit. It lies at 600 metres altitude on the slopes of the Mount Chortiatis
Mount Chortiatis
Mount Chortiatis or Hortiatis , known in Antiquity as Cissus or Kissos, is a mountain in Central Macedonia, Greece. It rises southeast of Thessaloniki, peaking at 1,201 metres...
, from which it takes its name.
History of the area
In the antiquity, mountain and town were known as CissusCissus (Mygdonia)
Cissus or Kissos , was a town and mountain of Amphaxitis, Macedon, not far from Rhaecelus, which appears to have been the name of the promontory where Aeneas legendarily founded his city. Cissus, along with Aeneia and Chalastra, contributed to the aggrandizement of Thessalonica...
and Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
tells us that Cisseus
Cisseus
In Greek mythology, Cisseus was a Thracian king and father of Theano, the wife of Antenor, as related in Homer's Iliad. His wife was Telecleia, a daughter of King Ilus of Troy....
was the king of this town. The town and its people are mentioned as members of the Delian League
Delian League
The Delian League, founded in circa 477 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, members numbering between 150 to 173, under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Plataea at the end of the Greco–Persian Wars...
in the 5th century BC.
The modern name and town Chortiatis can be traced back to the 12th century, when a Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
monastery under the name Chortaites, on the northern slopes of the mountain, provided Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
with fresh water by an aqueduct whose remains have been partly preserved. By the 15th century the settlement with the monastery was called Kastron Chortiatis (Castle Chortiatis) and it fell in 1423 under Ottoman rule
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
.
The Massacre of Chortiatis
The Chortiatis massacre was a World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
mass murder
Mass murder
Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...
of 146 civilians by the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
and Greek Nazi-collaborateurs, at the end of the occupation of Greece by the Axis powers on 2 September 1944.
After the capture of three German soldiers by the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) on mount Chortiatis
Mount Chortiatis
Mount Chortiatis or Hortiatis , known in Antiquity as Cissus or Kissos, is a mountain in Central Macedonia, Greece. It rises southeast of Thessaloniki, peaking at 1,201 metres...
, the German occupation authorities decided to react immediately with a reprisal
Reprisal
In international law, a reprisal is a limited and deliberate violation of international law to punish another sovereign state that has already broken them. Reprisals in the laws of war are extremely limited, as they commonly breached the rights of civilians, an action outlawed by the Geneva...
operation against the civilian population of the village Chortiatis. About twenty trucks with German soldiers and the paramilitary force Jagdkommando Schubert, named after the Wehrmacht sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Friedrich Schubert
Friedrich Schubert
Friedrich Schubert was a Greek-speaking German sergeant of the Wehrmacht As head of the Jagdkommando Schubert, a paramilitary force terrorizing the civilian population during the Nazi occupation of Greece in World War II, he committed numerous atrocities in Crete and Macedonia.Tried by a special...
who was in command, surrounded the village. They gathered all the people they found in the town square, and began to loot and burn houses down. One group of the civilians was led into the house of villager Evangelos Ntinoudis. They were locked inside and the building was set on fire. They were burnt alive. The other group was locked in the bakery. Schubert's men set up a machine gun and began to shoot them down from a small window in the door. After this they set fire to burn alive those who were not killed by the bursts of the machine gun. Apart from the people who were killed in the two groups, others were raped and killed outside their homes or even the village, while trying to escape. A total of 146 civilians residents of Chortiatis were killed that day. 109 of them were women and girls. 300 homes were burned down.