The Missiria executions (), also referred to as Perivolia executions (), was the mass

execution by firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French , rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are usually rea ...

of Greek civilians on the beach of Missiria in

Rethymno Rethymno (also Rethymnon; ) is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 35,000 inhabitants (nearly 40,000 for the municipal unit). It is believed to have been built ...

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

by German

paratroopers A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light inf ...

on 23 and 24 May 1941 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The executions were ordered by

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Erich Schulz,Δέκα γνωστά και άγνωστα θέματα από τη Μάχη του Ρεθύμνου (Μάιος 1941)
Δημήτρης Σκαρτσιλάκης, Ρεθεμνιώτικα Νέα, 23 Ιουνίου 2017; archive
here
/ref> acting commander of the 2nd Parachute Regiment, as

collective punishment Collective punishment is a punishment or sanction imposed on a group or whole community for acts allegedly perpetrated by a member or some members of that group or area, which could be an ethnic or political group, or just the family, friends a ...

for the active participation of locals from the villages of Perivolia and Missiria in the

Battle of Rethymno The Battle of Rethymno was part of the Battle of Crete, fought during World War II on the Greek island of Crete between 20 and 29 May 1941. Australian and Greek forces commanded by Lieutenant colonel, Lieutenant-colonel Ian Ross Campbell, Ian Ca ...

Background

In late May 1941, Crete was the theatre of ''

Operation Mercury The Battle of Crete (, ), codenamed Operation Mercury (), was a major Axis Powers, Axis Airborne forces, airborne and amphibious assault, amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May ...

'', the first large-scale airborne invasion in military history. The German offensive had three primary targets on the island, namely the Maleme airfield and the port of

Souda Souda () is a town and former municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Chania, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of . It is an imp ...

, the Pigi airstrip east of

, and the Heraklion airfield. Since the available transport aircraft ( Ju 52s and towed

DFS 230 The DFS 230 was a German transport glider operated by the Luftwaffe in World War II. It was developed in 1933 by the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS - "German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight") with Hans Jacobs as the he ...

s) were not enough to drop all paratroopers in one sortie, they were dropped in two waves. The first wave was dropped early in the morning of 20 May, targeting Maleme airfield, the city of

Chania Chania (, , ), also sometimes romanization of Greek, romanized as Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno ...

, and the port of Souda. The second wave was dropped at 4pm, focusing on capturing the airfields in Rethymno and Heraklion. Drop zones in Rethymno included Missiria and Perivolia, two neighboring settlements that have the town of Rethymno to their west and the Pigi airstrip to their east. The unit tasked with capturing Rethymno and the nearby airstrip was the 2nd Fallschirmjäger Regiment of the

7th Air Division The 7th Air Division (7 AD) served the United States Air Force with distinction from early 1944 through early 1992, earning an outstanding unit decoration and a service streamer along the way. History Hawaii As the 7th Fighter Wing, the divis ...

commanded by

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Alfred Sturm. The town of Rethymno was defended by Australian and Greek forces under Lieutenant colonel Ian Campbell. Allied troops fiercely resisted the German invasion, killing large numbers of paratroopers while they were still in the air. The Cretan civilians were also instrumental in defending the area, often attacking German troops with makeshift weapons. Of the initial force of approximately 1,700 soldiers, the German 2nd Parachute Regiment suffered more than 400 casualties on the first day. The day after the landing, on 21 May, Col. Sturm was captured and command of the regiment passed to Maj. Erich Schulz.

The executions

According to eyewitness testimonies, on 21 May the paratroopers began arresting anyone they encountered in the area, especially men of fighting age.Μικρό χρονικό για τη Μάχη στα Περιβόλια (Άγιο Γεώργιο) και στα Μυσσίρια
Αλκιβιάδης Μαυράκης, 21 Μαΐου 2008; archive
here
/ref> The captives were detained without food and water in a coffee shop and a couple of larger houses in the area. On 23 May, with the pretext of offering them tea and biscuits,Καζαντζάκης, Ν., Καλιτσουνάκης, Ι. και Κακριδής, Ι.Θ.

'. Σύνταξις 29/6 – 6/8/1945. Έκδοση Δήμου Ηρακλείου, 1983, p. 23. the paratroopers led a group of 36 people to the beach of Missiria and executed them by firing squad. During the execution, Australian forces from the No. 6 Battery of the 2/3rd Field Regiment led by Maj. Ian Bessell-Browne and stationed on Hill B () east of Missiria, fired some artillery shells. The paratroopers abandoned their hostages and fled to seek cover. Amidst the chaos, four men managed to crawl to the beach and escape. However, one of them was wounded in the head and later died.Οι εκτελέσεις στα Περιβόλια Ρεθύμνου
Δημήτρης Σκαρτσιλάκης, Ρεθεμνιώτικα Νέα, 22 Ιανουαρίου 2016; archive
here
/ref> The executions continued the following morning with 16 more people, among which a 90-year-old blind man, being shot and killed. About thirty more captives were executed later in the same day. Several women and underage individuals were among the victims. The bodies of those executed were subsequently thrown into a nearby well. Once the well filled up, the rest of the bodies were doused with petrol and burned.

Aftermath

The exact number of those executed has not been confirmed. A memorial commemorating them has been constructed near the location of the shootings. The memorial features a marble column depicting freedom, personified as a winged woman raising a sword. The names of victims listed on the memorial are 110, however some of them were civilians who fell in the battle. Others were executed later, like Dimitris Drosakis () who was arrested in Rethymno in early June.Οι τελευταίες στιγμές του κρητικού αντιστασιακού της Μάχης της Κρήτης Δημήτρη Δροσάκη σε τρεις φωτογραφίες
Δημήτρης Σκαρτσιλάκης, 24 Μαΐου 2019; archive
here
/ref> Erich Schulz was not accused of this war crime and his involvement in the incident is ignored in relevant historical documents.

References

External links

*VWMA
Operation Mercury - Crete, May 1941
{{DEFAULTSORT:Missiria Executions 1941 in Greece Mass murder in 1941 Nazi war crimes in Greece Massacres in Greece during World War II Battle of Crete War crimes of the Wehrmacht Violence against men in Greece Violence against women in Greece May 1941 in Europe Reprisals

Background

The executions

Aftermath

See also

References

External links