Δίστομο, ο Μαρτυρικός Τόπος

Рет қаралды 104

Күн бұрын

Βίντεο από το Δίστομο Βοιωτίας και τη θέση Καρακόλιθος.
Music: 'Filaments' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
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One of the most well-known monuments with reference to the period 1940-44 dominates the site of Karakolithos in Boeotia
On April 25, 1944, 134 men were executed in retaliation for causing sabotage
Most of them were arrested in various blocks that were set up in the city of Livadia
The sculpture was created by the sculptor Angelika Korovesi-Kalandidou
When one looks at "the wall of execution" one observes the impersonal forms of the executed
but which also have something extremely important to say
Four human outlines in a row, two open and two closed
they are interpreted as the transition from execution to resurrection, from absence to presence
Those who were executed do not remain missing, they do not remain absent
They are present and stand as protectors of Peace, to remind us at the same time
to ensure that we are not subjected to these atrocities again
The project is located on an expressway and is read by the two times of vehicle traffic
The visitor who stops and approaches has a visual communication for the fighter to display
so imposing and seeming animated
A few months later one of the worst Nazi atrocities in Europe would take place
On June 10, 1944, then twenty-six-year-old Fritz Lautenbach, an SS captain,
received an order to move his company from Livadia to the villages of Distomo, Steiri and Kyriaki
in order to locate rebels on the western side of Helikon
As bait, the Germans had two commandeered Greek trucks full of SS men
disguised as villagers, leading the main phalanx
At the same time the 10th and 11th companies of the 3rd battalion from Amfissa were heading towards Distomo
to meet the 2nd company
The three companies met without having detected any rebels
except for 18 children who were hiding in nearby stables
Six of the children who tried to escape were executed
The Germans entered Distomos. By intimidating the villagers they learned that there were rebels in Steiri
The 2nd company headed there and to the Litharaki position, Steiri area
fell into an ambush by rebels of the 11th company of the 3rd battalion of the 34th regiment of ELAS
The battle of Steirion was fierce and lasted until about two o'clock in the afternoon
forcing the Germans to retreat
The German losses were about 40 dead men, among them their commander,
who was transported injured and died in Distomo while among the Greeks 1 dead
And the Germans instead of chasing them, as any honest regular army would do
they return at 4 o'clock in the afternoon to the village and begin as a reprisal for the battle of Steiri
a cowardly and merciless massacre that lasted until the evening
Their fury was so great that they were indistinguishable from the carnage
neither women nor children nor the elderly
Village priest beheaded, infants executed and women raped before being killed
The dead of Distomos reached 228
of which 117 women and 111 men, among them 53 children under the age of 16
Members of the same regiment had carried out the Kleisoura massacre a month earlier
with 273 dead civilians, among them children and infants
The testimony of the Swiss International Red Cross envoy George Wehrly
speaks of 600 dead in the wider area, with corpses even hanging from trees
The Mausoleum of Distomo is located on Canales hill and houses the bones of the 230 dead
On a large marble slab all the names are engraved
while the area is shaped in such a way that it inspires awe and respect in visitors