Greek President Konstantinos Tassoulas has reaffirmed that Greece’s claims for German war reparations remain active and legally enforceable, as the country commemorated the 83rd anniversary of the Lingiades massacre, one of the Nazi occupation’s most brutal atrocities against Greek civilians.
Speaking at commemorative events in Lingiades, near Ioannina, on Sunday, 4 October, Tassoulas stressed that Greece would not abandon its demands for reparations over crimes committed during the Second World War.
“The claims and demands of the Hellenic Republic concerning German reparations remain active, lawful, imprescriptible and subject to pursuit,” the President said.
The massacre took place on 3 October 1943, when German troops from the Edelweiss Division looted and burned the village and executed 86 residents of Lingiades and three people from nearby Amfithea. Among the victims were 41 children.
“We remember, we pursue our claims and we protect our future, because we honour the civilians who fell here in Lingiades 83 years ago,” Tassoulas said.
Representing the Greek state, the President said Greece would never forget the war crimes and atrocities committed during the Nazi occupation.
He also paid tribute to communities that endured the brutality of occupation forces and rebuilt their lives in the aftermath.
“These villages may have suffered the brutality of the occupiers, but they managed to rise again and stand on their feet, and that is the finest memorial and the best response to that atrocity,” he said.
Tassoulas added that modern Greece must continue to honour the victims while pursuing a greater share of Europe’s common prosperity.
President warns against threats to democracy
Earlier in his address, Tassoulas reflected on the responsibility citizens bear for shaping their own future, arguing that public participation and accountability are essential to the survival of democracy.
“The strength of democracies lies in the people themselves, who must take responsibility and must not regard responsibility in a democracy as unbearable, but embrace it,” he said.
He contrasted democratic principles with totalitarian ideologies, which he said deny people the right to determine their own fate.
The President also expressed confidence that people in Greece and across Europe would defend democratic government, not only through legal safeguards but by actively taking responsibility for protecting democratic institutions and preventing attempts to reverse democratic progress.
Greece’s long-running reparations dispute
Greece has maintained its demands for reparations from Germany over the destruction, massacres and other crimes committed during the Nazi occupation of 1941 to 1944.
The issue encompasses compensation for civilian atrocities, occupation-related financial claims and the forced occupation loan imposed on Greece during the war.
Germany has repeatedly rejected the Greek government’s reparations demands, maintaining that the matter is legally settled. Greece, however, continues to insist that its claims remain unresolved.
The annual commemoration at Lingiades serves as a reminder of the devastating human cost of the occupation and Greece’s continued determination to preserve the memory of its victims and pursue its historical claims.
