The Razing of Anogeia () or the Holocaust of Anogeia () refers to the complete destruction of the village of

Anogeia Anogeia (Ανώγεια) is a municipality in the Rethymno (regional unit), Rethymno regional unit, Crete, Greece. The municipality has an area of ., excluding the former municipal departments Axos and Zoniana. Population 2,240 (2021). When exact ...

in central

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 ...

) and the murder of about 25 of its inhabitants on 13 August 1944 by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

occupying forces 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 ...

.Beevor, Antony. ''Crete: The Battle and the Resistance'', John Murray Ltd, 2005, pp. 315–316. Muñoz, Antonio. ''The German Secret Field Police in Greece, 1941–1944'', McFarland, 2018, pp. 87–88. Kokonas, Nikos A., ''The Cretan Resistance 1941–1945'', 1992, pp 91–94, This was the third time Anogeia was destroyed, as the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

had destroyed it twice; first in July 1822 and again in November 1867, during the Great Cretan Revolt.

Background

Geography

The village of Anogeia (alternate spellings ''Anogia'' and ''Anoyia'') sits at an altitude of on the north slopes of Mt Ida, located west of

Heraklion Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in G ...

and southeast of

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 ...

. Anogeia residents are renowned for their rebellious spirit and, backed by the mountainous surrounding terrain, have a long tradition of resisting foreign rule and sheltering rebel fighters. At the time of the German occupation of Crete, Anogeia had approximately 4000 residents who were primarily occupied with

pastoral farming Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. ...

. No permanent German garrison was established in Anogeia; however, roundups were carried out occasionally.

During the German occupation

Before the

Battle of Crete 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 ...

, residents of Anogeia laid boulders on Nida Plateau in order to prevent German aircraft and paratroopers from landing. Armed irregular groups of Anogeians participated in the battle, fighting in Heraklion and Rethymno. After the capture of Crete, Anogeia emerged as a stronghold of the local resistance. Anogeians sheltered British, New Zealander and Australian soldiers and assisted them to escape to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. During the summer of 1941, Giannis Dramountanis (Stefanogiannis) along with Michalis Xilouris set up in Anogeia a resistance organization known as ''"Independent Group of Anogreia"'' (, consisting mostly of Anogeians. Several other village residents joined the local

ELAS The Greek People's Liberation Army (, ''Ellinikós Laïkós Apeleftherotikós Stratós''; ELAS) was the military arm of the left-wing National Liberation Front (EAM) during the period of the Greek resistance until February 1945, when, followi ...

. These resistance groups collaborated with SOE commander Lt Col Tom Dunbabin, providing intelligence and support. In early May 1944, the abductors of ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

Heinrich Kreipe Karl Heinrich Georg Ferdinand Kreipe (5 June 1895 – 14 June 1976) was a German career soldier who served in both World War I and World War II. While leading German forces in occupied Crete in April 1944, he was abducted by British SOE officer ...

led by Maj Leigh Fermor spent some time at Anogeia during their march to the south coast of Crete.Leigh Fermor, Patrick. ''Abducting a General'', John Murray, 2014, McDougall, Christopher. ''Natural Born Heroes: Mastering the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance'', Vintage, 2016, On 7 August 1944, a German detachment went up to Anogeia in search of

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

workers. Several dozen locals were taken hostage and forced to march towards Rethymno. At a location near Damasta, Anogeian guerrillas attacked and eliminated the German detachment, freeing all hostages. On the following day, in an attempt to save Anogeia from German reprisals, a group of Anogeians under the commands of Cpt Bill Moss carried out the

Damasta sabotage The Damasta sabotage () was an attack by Cretan Cretan resistance, resistance fighters led by British Special Operations Executive officer W. Stanley Moss, Captain Bill Stanley Moss MC against Axis occupation of Greece during World War II, Germa ...

, killing around 30 German soldiers and destroying an armoured car.

The proclamation of the destruction

Soon after the news of the Damasta attack reached ''

Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller (29 August 1897 – 20 May 1947) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He led an infantry regiment in the early stages of the war and by 1943 was commander of the 22nd Air Landing Divisio ...

, the commander of

who one year earlier had orchestrated the

Viannos massacres The Viannos massacres () were a mass extermination campaign launched by German forces against the civilian residents of around 20 villages located in the areas of east Viannos and west Ierapetra provinces on the Greek island of Crete during Wor ...

, he issued the following order:Moss, Stanley W. ''Ill Met By Moonlight'', Orion, 2014, .

The razing

In the early morning of 13 August 1944,

battalions of the 65th

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

/ 22 Luftlande Infanterie-Division with a strength of around 2000 men moved towards Anogeia.Ανώγεια – 13 Αυγούστου 1944, Πατρίς onLine, 13 Αυγούστου 2004
archived here
part 1part 2part 3part 4
/ref> Sentries installed in nearby villages noticed them and notified the people of Anogeia, allowing men to flee to the mountains for safety. Upon entering the village, the German forces gathered the women and children and then forced them to march to the village of Perama. There, approximately away, women and children were dispersed in nearby villages of the Mylopotamos region. Around 25 villagers, including women, elders and disabled, who refused to abandon their homes, were summarily shot. The village houses were then systematically pillaged, burned and finally dynamited.Καζαντζάκης, Ν., Καλιτσουνάκης, Ι. και Κακριδής, Ι.Θ. ''Έκθεσις της Κεντρικής Επιτροπής Διαπιστώσεως Ωμοτήτων εν Κρήτη''. Σύνταξις 29/6 – 6/8/1945. Έκδοση Δήμου Ηρακλείου, 1983
excerpt
Panagiotakis, G. ''Documents From The Battle And The Resistance Of Crete; 1941–45''. 3rd ed., 2007, The pillage and destruction continued for a total of 23 days until early September, turning Anogeia into piles of rubble. During every night, the Germans retreated to the nearby village of Sisarha ().

Pack animal A pack animal, also known as a sumpter animal or beast of burden, is a working animal used to transport goods or materials by carrying them, usually on its back. Domestic animals of many species are used in this way, among them alpacas, Bact ...

s were requisitioned to transport the loot to Sisarha, where it was loaded to trucks that transported it to the cities. According to a report compiled on behalf of the Greek state in the summer of 1945, out of the 940 houses of Anogeia, none stood intact. The newly built school was also destroyed and the three churches had been turned into stables. Shepherd huts around the village were demolished and all

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

(mostly sheep and goats) were seized.Ο αρχηγός της Α.Ο.Α. Χριστομιχάλης Ξυλούρης και το ολοκαύτωμα των Ανωγείων, Πατρίς onLine, 27 Αυγούστου 2008
archive
here
/ref>

Aftermath

The pillage of Anogeia lasted from 13 August to 5 September 1944. Around 2500 women and children were displaced from the village. Having lost all their belongings, they were forced to live in absolute poverty and managed to survive only thanks to the solidarity of the residents of nearby villages, who in many occasions housed them for years. In 1945, Müller was captured by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

. In 1946, he was tried by a Greek court in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

for ordering atrocities against civilians. He was sentenced to death on 9 December 1946 and executed by

firing squad Firing may refer to: * Dismissal (employment), sudden loss of employment by termination * Firemaking, the act of starting a fire * Burning; see combustion * Shooting, specifically the discharge of firearms * Execution by firing squad, a method of ...

on 20 May 1947. Anogeia has been declared a ''martyred village'' with the Presidential Decree 399 (ΦΕΚ 277/16.12.1998). Today, an engraved

commemorative plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, bearing text or an image in relief, or both, ...

with Müller's order stands in the central square.

References

External links

"Διατάσσομεν την ΙΣΟΠΕΔΩΣΙΝ…"
Anogi 08/08/2014. Archive
copyΤο χρονικό του Ολοκαυτώματος των Aνωγείων τον Aύγουστο του 1944
greekholocausts.gr. Archive
copyGerman occupation of Crete: Anogia
(in German -
translate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anogeia Razing Conflicts in 1944 Mass murder in 1944 Nazi war crimes in Greece 1944 in Greece August 1944 in Europe Crete in World War II War crimes of the Wehrmacht Razed cities Anogeia Senicide Violence against disabled people Violence against women in Greece Nazi looting