Holocaust of Kedros
Encyclopedia
The Holocaust of Kedros also known as the Holocaust of Amari , refers to an operation mounted by Nazi German
forces against the civilian residents of nine villages located in the Amari Valley
on the Greek island of Crete
during its occupation by the Axis in World War II
. The operation was carried out on 22 August 1944 by Wehrmacht
infantry and was followed in the coming days by the razing of most villages, looting, pillage of livestock and destruction of harvests. The number of fatalities among the local population rose to 164 during the course of the operation, which had been ordered by Generalleutnant
Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller
, commander of the garrison of Crete
, to cow the population and deter local guerrillas from attacking the occupation forces during their imminent retreat to Chania
.
. It is located between the Ida (Psiloritis) massif in the east and the conical-shaped mount Kedros
in the west. In sharp contrast with the barren mountain peaks overlooking it, the valley has plenty of water and vegetation and has been inhabited as early as the Minoan era
. Most of the villages are gathered around the foothills. The valley has long been used for agriculture and numerous olive and fruit trees are grown in it, bearing fruit of renown quality. To promote agricultural education, a school called Scholi Asomaton was established in 1927 in the buildings of a former monastery located in the valley.
. The warm support of the locals combined with the region's idyllic beauty, led the SOE
agents then serving in Crete to coin the nickname Lotus Land for the Amari valley. Among those who experienced the local hospitality was Tom Dunbabin
who used various hideouts in the nearby slopes and the abductors of General Kreipe
, who on their march southwards stayed at a sheepfold in Amari for a couple of nights.
At the time of the Kedros operation it was clear that Germany was losing the war. By late summer 1944, the occupying forces had begun to plan their withdrawal to Chania, where they would stay until their capitulation on 9 May 1945.
s of German infantry (presumably belonging to the 16th regiment
of the 22. Luftlande Infanterie-Division) arrived at the Amari valley. They succeeded in surrounding the villages lining the western side of the Amari valley without being noticed by their dwellers. These villages, collectively called the Kedros villages, are namely Gerakari, Gourgouthi, Kardaki, Vryses, Smiles, Drygies, Ano Meros and Chordaki. The nearby village of Krya Vrysi was also surrounded. In all villages, the German raids followed roughly the same pattern. The locals were gathered together, the identities of males were verified and those to be executed were picked and kept separately. Women, on the excuse that they would go on a long journey, were ordered to return to their homes and collect their valuables. This was a trick aiming to facilitate the looting that would follow. Women, children and the elderly were taken away while the men whose lives were spared were forced to march towards Rethymno
where they were held in Fortezza
for a few weeks. Following their departure, firing squads started the executions in groups. When finished, dead bodies were doused in petrol and set on fire. In some cases (e.g., Gerakari, Vryses and Ano Meros), the executions had been carried out in a village house which was afterwards dynamited.
In the days that followed the shootings, the houses were looted and then burned or dynamited, similarly to Kandanos
three years earlier. All the loot was collected at Scholi Asomaton, from where it was transported on lorries to Rethymno. Harvests and livestock were confiscated for use by the German troops. Local resistance bands could do nothing but watch with hands tied. Being vastly outnumbered, any opposition attempt for defending the region would be suicidal. George Psychoundakis
in his book
mentions that from his hideout cave in Ida he could see smoke rising from the villages for more than a week.
At the dawn of 11 September 1944, a local ELAS detachment surrounded Scholi Asomaton and captured the garrison of the German outpost established there. Later the same morning, two lorries carrying German troops sent from Rethymno were ambush
ed at the watershed ridge near the village of Ag. Apostoloi. The battle that followed, which became known as the Battle of Potamoi , continued during the following day as German reinforcements arrived. The battle ended in ELAS' victory with 20 to 30 Germans killed and more being captured alive.
General Müller
was captured by the Red Army
in East Prussia
and later extradited to Greece. He was tried in Athens along with Bruno Bräuer
, commander of the ‘’Festung Kreta
’’ between 1942–44, for alleged atrocities on the island. Both were convicted, sentenced to death on 9 December 1946 and executed by firing squad on 20 May 1947. No one else was ever brought to justice and no reparations were ever paid to the survivors. The village of Smiles was never rebuilt.
Today, the anniversary of the destruction of the villages of Kedros is honored with events held by turns in a different village every year.
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
forces against the civilian residents of nine villages located in the Amari Valley
Amari Valley
The Amari Valley is a fertile valley on the foothills of Mount Ida and Mount Kedros in Crete. The valley was known as a center of resistance to the Germans during the Battle of Crete and the German occupation...
on the Greek island of Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
during its occupation by the Axis in World War II
World 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...
. The operation was carried out on 22 August 1944 by 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:...
infantry and was followed in the coming days by the razing of most villages, looting, pillage of livestock and destruction of harvests. The number of fatalities among the local population rose to 164 during the course of the operation, which had been ordered by Generalleutnant
General (Germany)
General is presently the highest rank of the German Army and Luftwaffe . It is the equivalent to the rank of Admiral in the German Navy .-Early history:...
Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller
Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller
Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller was a General in the German army in World War II. He is notorious for having been the most brutal commander of occupied Crete, where he earned the nickname "The Butcher of Crete." After the war, he was tried by a Greek military court for war crimes, convicted and...
, commander of the garrison of Crete
Fortress Crete
Fortress Crete was the term used during World War II by the German occupation forces to refer to the garrison and fortification of the Greek island of Crete, which they had captured after a fierce battle at the end of May 1941...
, to cow the population and deter local guerrillas from attacking the occupation forces during their imminent retreat to Chania
Chania
Chaniá , , also transliterated Chania, Hania, and Xania, older form Chanea and Venetian Canea, Ottoman Turkish خانيه Hanya) is the second largest city of Crete and the capital of the Chania peripheral unit...
.
Geography
The Amari basin is a scenic fertile valley lying five to six hundred meters above sea level in the southeast part of the Rethymno PrefectureRethymno Prefecture
Rethymno is one of the four regional units of Crete, Greece. Its capital is the city of Rethymno. Today its main income is tourism. The countryside is also based economically on agriculture and herding.-Administration:...
. It is located between the Ida (Psiloritis) massif in the east and the conical-shaped mount Kedros
Mount Kedros
Mount Kedros , is a mountain on the island of Crete in Greece. It is located southwest of the Ida massif with which it forms the two flanks of the Amari Valley. Mount Kedros is conical-shaped and made of limestone. Its landscape abounds with canyons and rock cliffs and is almost barren, with dry...
in the west. In sharp contrast with the barren mountain peaks overlooking it, the valley has plenty of water and vegetation and has been inhabited as early as the Minoan era
Minoan civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans...
. Most of the villages are gathered around the foothills. The valley has long been used for agriculture and numerous olive and fruit trees are grown in it, bearing fruit of renown quality. To promote agricultural education, a school called Scholi Asomaton was established in 1927 in the buildings of a former monastery located in the valley.
During World War II
Being away from the major urban centers, the valley saw little presence of German forces during the occupation. It provided shelter to several Commonwealth military personnel still hiding on the island. Many more had crossed the valley heading to the south coast for being evacuated to Egypt. The local residents promptly offered invaluable help for the transport of supplies and equipment for the resistance and provided abundant food for its sustainment. Amari soon evolved to an important center of the Cretan resistanceCretan resistance
The Cretan resistance was a resistance movement against Nazi Germany by the residents of the Greek island of Crete during World War II. Part of the larger Greek Resistance, it lasted from May 20, 1941, when the German Wehrmacht invaded the island in the Battle of Crete, until the fall of 1945 when...
. The warm support of the locals combined with the region's idyllic beauty, led the SOE
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
agents then serving in Crete to coin the nickname Lotus Land for the Amari valley. Among those who experienced the local hospitality was Tom Dunbabin
Thomas James Dunbabin
Thomas James Dunbabin DSO , was an Australian classicist scholar and archaeologist of Tasmanian origin. His father was , a distinguished journalist. Dunbabin studied at the University of Sydney and then moved to Corpus Christi College, Oxford...
who used various hideouts in the nearby slopes and the abductors of General Kreipe
Kidnap of General Kreipe
The Kidnap of General Kreipe was a Second World War operation by the Special Operations Executive, an organisation of the United Kingdom. The mission took place on the German occupied island of Crete in May 1944....
, who on their march southwards stayed at a sheepfold in Amari for a couple of nights.
At the time of the Kedros operation it was clear that Germany was losing the war. By late summer 1944, the occupying forces had begun to plan their withdrawal to Chania, where they would stay until their capitulation on 9 May 1945.
The massacre
In the dawn of August 22, several battalionBattalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
s of German infantry (presumably belonging to the 16th regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
of the 22. Luftlande Infanterie-Division) arrived at the Amari valley. They succeeded in surrounding the villages lining the western side of the Amari valley without being noticed by their dwellers. These villages, collectively called the Kedros villages, are namely Gerakari, Gourgouthi, Kardaki, Vryses, Smiles, Drygies, Ano Meros and Chordaki. The nearby village of Krya Vrysi was also surrounded. In all villages, the German raids followed roughly the same pattern. The locals were gathered together, the identities of males were verified and those to be executed were picked and kept separately. Women, on the excuse that they would go on a long journey, were ordered to return to their homes and collect their valuables. This was a trick aiming to facilitate the looting that would follow. Women, children and the elderly were taken away while the men whose lives were spared were forced to march towards Rethymno
Rethymno
Rethymno is a city of approximately 40,000 people in Greece, the capital of Rethymno peripheral unit in the island of Crete. It was built in antiquity , even though was never a competitive Minoan centre...
where they were held in Fortezza
Fortezza Castle
The Fortezza Castle is the Venetian-era citadel of the city of Rethymno in Crete, Greece.In the aftermath of the fall of Cyprus to the Ottoman Empire in 1571, the Venetians began fortifying Crete, their largest remaining overseas possession. Construction began on 13 September 1573. The fortress...
for a few weeks. Following their departure, firing squads started the executions in groups. When finished, dead bodies were doused in petrol and set on fire. In some cases (e.g., Gerakari, Vryses and Ano Meros), the executions had been carried out in a village house which was afterwards dynamited.
In the days that followed the shootings, the houses were looted and then burned or dynamited, similarly to Kandanos
Razing of Kandanos
The Razing of Kandanos or the Holocaust of Kandanos refers to the complete destruction of the village of Kandanos in Western Crete and the killing of about 180 of its inhabitants on 3 June 1941 by German occupying forces during World War II...
three years earlier. All the loot was collected at Scholi Asomaton, from where it was transported on lorries to Rethymno. Harvests and livestock were confiscated for use by the German troops. Local resistance bands could do nothing but watch with hands tied. Being vastly outnumbered, any opposition attempt for defending the region would be suicidal. George Psychoundakis
George Psychoundakis
George Psychoundakis was a Greek Resistance fighter on Crete during the Second World War. He was a shepherd, a war hero and an author. He served as dispatch runner between Petro Petrakas and Papadakis behind the German lines for the Cretan resistance Movement and later, from 1941 to 1945, for the...
in his book
The Cretan Runner
The Cretan Runner: His Story of the German Occupation is a book written by George Psychoundakis...
mentions that from his hideout cave in Ida he could see smoke rising from the villages for more than a week.
Aftermath
Adopting the official German proclamation, accounts of the destruction of the Kedros villages widely attribute it to their residents providing shelter to Kreipe's abductors. This, however, is rigorously disputed by various historians since the abduction had taken place on the 26th of April 1944, almost four months earlier. Such a lag in time was not in unison with the standard German practice of immediate reprisals. A more convincing explanation is that the Germans destroyed Kedros because they wanted to terrorize the local population and hence reduce the risk of being attacked during their impending retreat, which eventually started in early October. In Beevor's words, the Amari operation was essentially a campaign of pre-emptive terror just before the German forces withdrew westwards from Heraklion with their flank exposed to this centre of Cretan resistance.At the dawn of 11 September 1944, a local ELAS detachment surrounded Scholi Asomaton and captured the garrison of the German outpost established there. Later the same morning, two lorries carrying German troops sent from Rethymno were ambush
Ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactic, in which the aggressors take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack an unsuspecting enemy from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops...
ed at the watershed ridge near the village of Ag. Apostoloi. The battle that followed, which became known as the Battle of Potamoi , continued during the following day as German reinforcements arrived. The battle ended in ELAS' victory with 20 to 30 Germans killed and more being captured alive.
General Müller
Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller
Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller was a General in the German army in World War II. He is notorious for having been the most brutal commander of occupied Crete, where he earned the nickname "The Butcher of Crete." After the war, he was tried by a Greek military court for war crimes, convicted and...
was captured by the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
and later extradited to Greece. He was tried in Athens along with Bruno Bräuer
Bruno Bräuer
Bruno Bräuer was a German paratrooper from Willmannsdorf, Prussian Silesia. In 1905 he joined the army cadets and started his military career. In World War I he received the Iron Cross first and second class whilst serving in the 7th West Prussian Infantry regiment...
, commander of the ‘’Festung Kreta
Fortress Crete
Fortress Crete was the term used during World War II by the German occupation forces to refer to the garrison and fortification of the Greek island of Crete, which they had captured after a fierce battle at the end of May 1941...
’’ between 1942–44, for alleged atrocities on the island. Both were convicted, sentenced to death on 9 December 1946 and executed by firing squad on 20 May 1947. No one else was ever brought to justice and no reparations were ever paid to the survivors. The village of Smiles was never rebuilt.
Today, the anniversary of the destruction of the villages of Kedros is honored with events held by turns in a different village every year.