Greece raises issue of WWII Reparations to German President Steinmeier

Both Greece’s President and the Prime Minister raised the issue of World War II reparations and the forced occupation loan by the Nazis with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier who is on a three-day official visit in the country.

For Greece, the issue of war reparations is ‘still very much alive’, PM Ktriakos Mitsotakis said, receiving the German president.

“These issues remain unresolved, and we hope that one day they will be addressed,” the Greek PM told Steinmeier during their meeting at the Maximos Mansion on Wednesday.

Mitsotakis welcomed Steinmeier’s plans to visit his birthplace of Crete on Thursday, specifically Kandanos, a village in western Crete that suffered brutal Nazi reprisals in June 1941, noting that Steinmeier’s visit acknowledges the atrocities committed on the island during World War II.

However, Steinmeier avoided any reference to Mitsotakis’ reference about the German reparations and “the forced loan”, as well as the Greek Prime Minister’s remark that his presence in Kandano implied “recognition of the Nazi atrocities that took place on the island”. However, he did not fail to highlight his visit “to the factory of the German company Boehringer – Ingelheim, near Athens.

Earlier in the day, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou also raised the reparations issue with Steinmeier, who responded that Berlin considers the matter legally closed.

Despite this, Mitsotakis emphasized a new chapter in Greek-German relations. “Greece has economically recovered, leaving behind turbulent times and crises,” he said.

Steinmeier also spoke positively of Greece’s economic recovery, ongoing progress in economic relations, and the strong presence of German investments.

Greece raised the issue of WWII reparations already in 2018 and in several occasion, however, Germany has always turned down any re-negotiations on the topic claiming this issue has been solved since the early 1950’s.