Those who love Crete and its people are also interested in its history. Nevertheless, it was only after many years of staying in Crete that I dared go to ANOGIA: one of the places where the Wehrmacht carried out a massacre during World War II. Wikipedia writes: "During the Second World War, the place was a center of resistance against the Germans, who acted several times against residents of the village. On August 13, 1944, they destroyed the village in retaliation for the kidnapping of the German Major General Heinrich Kreipe, organized by Patrick Leigh Fermor , Commander of the 22nd Infantry Division. " The order of the Wehrmacht, which is carved in stone in Greek and German on the market square, read: “Since the city of Anogia is a center of English espionage activity in Crete, since the inhabitants of Anogia carried out the act of sabotage in Damasta, since the partisans were more diverse Resistance groups find refuge and shelter in Anogia and since the kidnappers Generals Kreipe have made their way through Anogia, using Anogia as a base for the shipment, we order the place to be razed and every male inhabitant of Anogia to be executed within the village or in his Radius is encountered at a distance of up to one kilometer. Chania August 13, 1944. The commander of the fortress of Crete, H. Müller ”. Although the place was rebuilt after the war, many traces of this history can still be found in Anogia today. I was touched that even in the local tavern there are memories of the murdered grandfather - and that, as a German, I was treated kindly everywhere in town.
Apart from the history and the inglorious role of the Germans, Anogia is now a place worth seeing with nice taverns and the birthplace of the well-known singer Nikos Xilouris.
Translated by Google •
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