Greece demands Germany pay war reparations

(Baonghean) - Since the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras came to power, it seems that the relationship between Berlin and Athens is no longer as "warm" as before. Especially in recent times, the government of Alexis Tsipras has continuously "challenged" Berlin's tolerance when it brought up the issue of post-war reparations - an issue that is inherently considered quite sensitive to Germany.

Recently, Greek Finance Minister Dimitris Mardas announced that he would demand Germany pay 279 billion euros in war reparations to Greece. It is known that the above amount was given based on the calculation of the Greek Court of Auditors on the damages that this country suffered due to the occupation by the German army between 1941 and 1944.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras during a visit to Berlin on March 24. Photo: AP/Michael Sohn

Since last Wednesday, a parliamentary committee set up by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has been discussing the issue of post-war reparations. Accordingly, the committee is currently working to recover a “debt” that the Bank of Greece had to “loan” to Germany as well as to demand compensation for archaeological treasures looted by the German army during World War II.

In mid-March, Greek Justice Minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos announced that he was ready to enforce a Supreme Court decision allowing Greece to seize German assets to compensate descendants of victims of the massacre in the Greek village of Distomo by the German Waffen SS in June 1944.

On March 23, during Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ visit to Berlin, Mr. Tsipras also mentioned the issue of war reparations. Prime Minister Tsipras accused Germany of using “legal tricks” to avoid paying war reparations to Athens. And in a parliamentary debate in March, Mr. Tsipras asserted that after German reunification in 1990, political and judicial bodies met to discuss the issue of war reparations. However, the German government chose to remain silent and ignore its responsibilities.

In response to the demands of the Alexis Tsipras government, Berlin has repeatedly rejected the demand, insisting that the issue of post-war reparations had been settled once and for all. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that Germany was fully aware of its moral and political responsibility for the “terrible events” that occurred in Greece during the war. But Steinmeier again insisted that the reparations issue had been settled by Germany’s payment of 115 million marks (equivalent to 60 million euros) in 1960 to Greece.

Chu Thanh

(According to Le Monde 7/4)