During which war did the Kalavryta massacre take place in Greece?

On the early morning of December 13th, 1943, the people of Kalavryta, in the mountains of Achaea, Greece woke up to the sounds of ringing church bells. Within hours, the first German soldiers of the Wehrmacht 117th Jägerdivision appeared in the town’s main road.

Everyone had to meet at the local school. Half an hour later all women and children were locked in the schoolhouse while all men, between 12 and 80 years of age, were lined up and driven to a nearby hillside.

In less than three hours the heroic town would be burned to ashes and only 13 of its inhabitants would survive to keep the memory of their beloved ones alive, along with the shocking testimonies describing the Nazis’ atrocities. It is reported that over 500 men and boys were murdered in this single incident.

While women and children were locked in the school and men were marching towards the hill by the town, Nazi soldiers were burning houses, churches, and public buildings, looting and loading the spoils on trucks.

The men who could see their own houses being burned down were ordered to dig their own graves. A few minutes later the signal for the mass execution was finally given and the machine guns began firing.

At midday one of the worst atrocities Europe has seen in the 20th century was complete. Women and children managed to free themselves only to witness that their town was set ablaze and their fathers, brothers, and sons were butchered.