On 6 April 1941, Nazi Germany invaded Greece under Operation Marita, but the brutal occupation that followed would leave scars far deeper than the battle for territory. Three years later, on 5 April 1944, soldiers of the 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division, aided by Bulgarian collaborators, descended on the Greek village of Kleisoura. In less than two hours, they murdered 280 civilians—mostly women, children, and the elderly—in one of the most horrific massacres of the German occupation. Pregnant women were mutilated, children bayoneted, homes burned, and families destroyed. This is the forgotten story of ruthless Nazi reprisal, resistance, and a village that became a symbol of Greek suffering during the Second World War.
Up Next in Season 1
-
The Palmiry Massacre: 1,700 Victims o...
In the forests near the village of Palmiry, northwest of Warsaw, the Nazis carried out one of the most brutal crimes of the occupation. Between 1939 and 1941, over 1,700 Poles — politicians, scholars, artists, clergy, and resistance members — were executed in secret mass shootings. The victims re...
-
27 Belgian Civilians Executed by Rexi...
On 17–18 August 1944, as Allied forces advanced through France and Nazi Germany’s grip on Western Europe began to weaken, violence erupted in German-occupied Belgium. After resistance fighters killed Belgian Nazi collaborator Oswald Englebin near Charleroi, Rexist militias loyal to the occupiers ...
-
Michniów Massacre in Poland: 204 Vill...
1 September 1939 marked the start of a brutal occupation of Poland, as German and Soviet forces divided the country. Terror soon spread, targeting communities suspected of aiding the resistance.
Michniów became one such target. By 1943, the village supported Polish underground fighters and elite...
