Dead Next to the Garbage: The Truth About the Horror of Occupied Athens
The previous work by Menelaos Charalambidis, The Collaborators (Alexandria Publications), quickly became a bestseller. His latest endeavor, The Long Night of the Occupation, co-authored with Stratos N. Dordanas, continues his extensive research into the profound destruction and terror experienced by the inhabitants of the Athens Basin during World War II. This new book, subtitled Human Losses and Material Destruction in Occupied Greece (1941-1944), meticulously documents a period of unimaginable suffering.
Charalambidis’ years-long investigation unearths harrowing facts: five thousand deaths from executions and battles, and a staggering 45,000 from famine. Driven by starvation, people resorted to eating not only the occupiers’ leftovers but even stray animals to survive. Children were forced to eat the vomit of the enemy outside restaurants. Others were executed for trivial offenses, such as breaking store hours or fishing outside designated zones. These are just some of the meticulously documented realities presented in his comprehensive studies on Athens under occupation.
The Devastation of a Nation
Four years of occupation were enough to devastate not only Athens but the entire country. The incalculable damages left Greece without essential infrastructure for its future. Significant portions of the road network and central streets were destroyed, mineral wealth was systematically looted by the occupiers, and invaluable archaeological treasures suffered considerable losses, unlike those that could be hidden in remote locations, such as the collection of the National Archaeological Museum.
Specifically, in central Athens and the wider Attica region, the destruction and human losses were truly enormous. Corpses lay openly in the streets or next to garbage, so numerous that gravediggers often required extra payment for their extended hours. The few restaurants and cabarets that managed to remain open, primarily in the city center, existed solely to entertain the occupiers and their collaborators. Any operating pastry shops, especially during the two years of severe famine, were forced to hide their sweets for fear of vandalism and desperate hunger.
The First Scientific Study of the Occupation
These are the dire conditions that Charalambidis has painstakingly documented through his research. Alongside a new generation of historians, he has undertaken a rigorous scientific study of the Occupation period, aiming to uncover the unvarnished truth. This new approach challenges previous narratives, overturning exaggerations found in studies published immediately after the war or in works like Konstantinos Doxiadis’ research, which claimed over 150,000 deaths from famine-the primary cause of death. Charalambidis’ team draws new conclusions based on extensive evidence, particularly regarding human losses beyond Attica.
Within Attica, losses are studied in granular detail, extending beyond famine and mass executions to include deaths from roadblocks, accidents, stray bullets, internal conflicts, and diseases like tuberculosis, exacerbated by severe malnutrition. These brutal conditions also served as a catalyst for the emergence of resistance organizations. In his chapter, “The Cost of the Occupation: Human Losses in Attica 1941-1944,” Charalambidis notes that the first resistance attempts appeared after October 1941, coinciding with the severe famine that began to sweep through the city and surrounding areas.
Resistance, in a sense, was unavoidable. Even those inclined towards ‘obedience’ found themselves in circumstances that offered no other choice. Charalambidis powerfully states:
“Attica paid a very heavy price in human lives. Its population suffered the greatest blow during the famine (winter 1941-1942), the largest humanitarian crisis to strike an occupied European country during World War II. The exploitation of productive resources, wealth, and labor imposed a regime of terror by the occupiers, aiming for absolute compliance through extremely violent suppression of even minor signs of disobedience. This resulted in significant civilian casualties from the very first days of the Occupation.”
Charalambidis’ work specifically attempts to record the number of human losses in Attica caused by Nazis, Greek collaborators, and the actions of the Greek resistance during the Occupation. However, as he notes, the issue is not merely quantitative but profoundly qualitative: the sheer scale of violence and the disturbing ease with which the occupiers exercised it-often for the slightest reason-was truly shocking. His extensive research was essential, as even 80 years after the war, the Greek state has not officially documented Occupation losses. His work fills a critical gap that earlier researchers attempted to cover either through rough estimates or arbitrary conclusions.
The primary sources used in this monumental research include:
- Extensive series of death records
- Forensic reports
- Burial books and permits
- Ambulance call logs
- Court records and decisions
- Nominal lists of victims
- Contemporary newspapers
- Relevant bibliography
This comprehensive research led to the most complete record to date of losses in the country in his historical books, documenting not only the human element but also the material, psychological, and qualitative consequences. Mental health is highlighted as a central factor, with a remarkable study by neurologists and psychiatrists who served in Athens hospitals during the Occupation (1947), documenting the hidden death of mental collapse and insanity, as fatal as death by famine.
Executions for Trivial Reasons
Executions were not always political or retaliatory. Often, they occurred without apparent reason or because citizens unknowingly entered prohibited military zones, effectively transforming the city into a constant death trap. Charalambidis provides chilling examples:
“On 12 October 1941, sixty-year-old Elisavet V. was collecting wood in Skaramanga. Unknowingly, she entered a restricted German naval zone and was shot dead by a German sentry. Around two weeks earlier, on 29 September 1941, twenty-six-year-old fisherman Dimitrios P. was killed in his boat by a German seaplane while fishing in a prohibited area off Palaio Faliro.”
Many deaths also resulted from the executions of residents forced to steal to survive. The famine caused widespread theft, particularly from military warehouses in airports (Hassani/Elliniko, Eleusis, Tatoi), Piraeus port, Salamina naval base, and vehicle maintenance depots in Goudi. For thousands of Greek workers in these facilities, stealing and selling supplies provided essential funds to survive, often at the cost of death or capture by German guards.
On 29 October 1941, in the first mass execution of the Occupation in Attica, five workers were executed for stealing fuel and oil from a German warehouse. Throughout the Occupation, at least 100 people were killed during thefts or executed for robbery, which the occupying authorities classified as sabotage.
Transportation was nearly impossible; citizens walked everywhere, trams and suburban railways ran intermittently, buses were rare, and the infamous “gazozens” burned dangerous fuels. Countless accidents occurred, often caused by drunken or negligent Germans, or intentionally targeting unsuspecting passersby.
The Dead of Taverns and Bars
Charalambidis documents further incidents that illustrate the arbitrary brutality:
“On 19 October 1943, a drunken German officer entered a central Athens bar. The owner’s 23-year-old brother explained that the bar was closed due to curfew. Enraged, the officer shot bottles, mirrors, lights, and finally killed the young man. On 2 May 1944, German forces attacked a tavern in Nea Sphagia, throwing a grenade inside and shooting indiscriminately. Nine civilians were killed; ELAS fighters had left the scene hours earlier.”
These examples underscore the arbitrary nature of German executions, which intensified as the war neared its end. Most deaths occurred in the final war years, 1944-1946.
The 83 Executed in Egaleo
Beyond organized mass executions like the Kokkinia roundup, which resulted in the highest human losses in Athens, further atrocities occurred. On 17 August 1944 and 29 September 1944 in Egaleo, Germans killed dozens of civilians following a clash between ELAS youth and German motorcyclists. They surrounded homes, set them on fire, and killed at least 83 residents. Three days later, ELAS captured local munitions facilities, prompting German forces to return, shell the area with mortars, and burn homes, further terrorizing the populace.
Charalambidis’ work serves as a crucial historical record, ensuring that the profound human cost and the chilling details of life under occupation in Athens are never forgotten. It is a stark reminder of the devastating impact of war and the resilience of those who endured it.
