In July 2015, Greece voted against further austerity measures in exchange for bailing
out their tremendous debt.
This move has continued to strain the relationship between Greece and Germany, as the two major
players in the EU’s debt crisis.
But this isn’t the first time the two countries have come head-to-head.
So, why do Greece and Germany hate each other?
The two country’s difficult relationship can actually be traced to modern Greece’s
beginnings.
In the 1830s, Greece finally established itself as independent from the Ottoman Empire.
Their first ruler was Otto from Bavaria, a German state.
However, Otto was still a teenager at the time so Greece was actually ruled by three
other Bavarians, who were not welcomed by the Greeks.
This eventually led to King Otto’s deposition and the Queen’s near assassination.
This rocky start didn’t bode well for the future of their relationship.
Fast forward to World War II, when Hitler invaded Greece in 1941.
The following German occupation led to hundreds of thousands dying of hunger or being murdered.
Over a million Greeks were made homeless, and Greece’s banks were drained to fund
the war.
In 1944, German soldiers massacred over 200 Greeks in retaliation for the deaths of seven
Nazi soldiers.
Greece's grievances concerning this event have continued till today.
In 1960, Germany paid Greece roughly 60 million Euros as war reparations, and said they owed
them no more.
Greece passionately objected to closing the issue, and the debate continued for decades.
In 1997 a Greek court found that Germany was responsible for further compensation for the
1944 massacre.
However in 2012, The Hague ruled that Germany was immune from foreign lawsuits, sparking
the ire of Greek citizens.
Today, the two countries continue to be at odds over the money Greece owes its creditors.
The Greek Prime Minister argued that the amount of money due to them in reparations would
cover a significant portion of the debt in question.
Greece has threatened seizing German property to pay for the alleged reparations.
Meanwhile Germany and the rest of the Eurozone are desperate to find a solution that keeps
the EU economy from collapsing from Greece’s inflexibility.
The two countries have a tense history that is doing them no favors in calming the waters.
If you’re interested in learning about other countries that just can’t seem to make it
work, check out our our full playlist now, including this one on why Greece & Macedonia
hate each other.
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