Newly discovered photographs have shed light on a notorious Nazi massacre in which 200 Greek resistance members were executed in Athens on May 1, 1944. The images, put up for sale on eBay by a collector of Third Reich memorabilia, capture the victims' calm dignity and defiance moments before their deaths.
The Kaisariani Massacre took place at a firing range in the eastern suburbs of Athens. Over four hours, firing squads killed the prisoners in batches of 20. The victims, mostly communists, had been held at the SS-run Haidari concentration camp and were selected in reprisal for the killing of a German general.
The photographs show the men marching to their deaths with straight shoulders and composed demeanours. One raises a clenched fist in salute; another stands stiffly as if on parade. The images are a stark reminder of the brutality of the German occupation, during which about 90,000 Greeks were murdered and 1,600 villages destroyed.
The massacre is well-documented through eyewitness accounts, but until now no visual evidence had surfaced. The victims included teachers, engineers, bakers, and trade union leaders who had been imprisoned for their political beliefs before the German invasion. Their story is one of noble defiance in the face of unimaginable evil.
