After a warm welcome in Kandanos, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeir toured the area’s Holocaust Memorial Museum and delivered a speech in the former town hall’s amphitheater. Mr. Steinmeier expressed a wish that humanity would never relive such events, emphasizing that the Greek-German Foundation of Friendship is working to preserve the memory of these events as a lesson for the future. He avoided any mention of reparations, though he did ask for forgiveness in Greek.
In his speech, the German president stated, ‘I feel horror and shame, as the inscriptions in Kandanos document just how ruthless Germany’s war of conquest was. Today I am visiting this place of German shame. Kandanos was one of the first villages destroyed by German soldiers in WWII.
They burned homes, killed residents. A day earlier, they had already sown destruction in Kontomari and Alikianos, followed by Viannos and other villages. All Jews of Crete were also deported. Throughout Europe, there are such places. Some are more known; others forgotten. That is why it is so important to be here today.’
He continued, ‘I would like to ask for forgiveness on behalf of Germany for the delay in condemning these crimes, and for averting its gaze and remaining silent after the war.’
Referring to shared values, he stated, ‘Without memory, there is no future. I hope we find the strength to take responsibility together. We have different positions on certain issues, but we must build serious and trusting bridges. The Greek-German Foundation works on shared historical memory. Where better to commemorate European values than in Greece? Democracy is under threat in EU countries, even in my own. We will have a common future if we defend democratic values.’
Mayor of Kandanos, Antonis Perrakis’ Remarks
In his introduction, Kandanos-Selino Mayor Antonis Perrakis addressed reparations: ‘Europe faces a multifaceted crisis threatening its cohesion and existence. The specter of fascism looms again, in modern forms and by different names. Four days ago, our country celebrated the ‘No’ to Mussolini, which led to the first victories against fascism.
The Cretan resistance was followed by executions and devastation. The plaque placed in Kandanos states that it was destroyed never to be rebuilt. Greece has around 120 such martyred villages. Crete’s martyred sites resist historical revisionism, and provide a starting point to discuss peace again.
I hope and wish that the laying of the wreath is not just symbolic but will open the discussion on German reparations. A bilateral issue cannot be resolved unilaterally. If Germany fully acknowledges responsibility for its Nazi past, it must act accordingly.'”
