When we think of the Second World War we think of invasions, of battles, thanks but also war
on humanity, think of the death camps, but did you know that
many people in WW2 died because of starvation: think of the Soviet people in the German controlled territories
and previously at the hands of their leaders, the Dutch at the end of
WW2 and the Greeks.
An estimated quarter of a million Greeks died in the Great Famine.
In this video you will learn the tragic story of the Greek Famine in WW2. Keep watching
In April 1941 the German invasion of Greece began.
Simultaneously the Germans invaded Yugoslavia as well.
The German divisions attacked from Bulgaria, crushed through the northern Metaxas Line
as Thessaloniki was taken on 9 April.
Greek forces fighting in Albania found themselves surrounded.
Other Greek defenders hurled back in panic.
It gave the Allied troops little time to prepare their defences as they were pushed back by
the Germans.
On 27 April the Germans entered Athens and the swastika flag was raised on the Acropolis.
The surrender document was signed on 23 April 1941 in Thessaloniki.
It was signed by Greek General Georgios Tsolakoglou.
He had capitulated without Athens's orders.
Reasons, he wanted to come to terms with the Germans, was that he did not want the Italians
to overrun his country.
As soon as the Germans invaded Greece looting began.
On informant wrote:
'The Germans have been living off the country,' [...] 'They brought no food for the troops
with them and no soldiers' messes; the troops simply ate in restaurants.
The troops were not in camps, to avoid bombing, but in private houses.
Many were thoroughly looted.'
Apart from private looting also large scale requisitioning occured, as well as expropriation.
As a result unemployment increased and industrial output decreased.
Because of the war the 1941 harvest was 15 to 30% lower.
Normally foodstuffs were collected in the surplus areas, brought to the cities and from there distributed to to the deficit areas.
To make matters worse, the Axis threw up roadblocks and confiscated much of the food.
So even if farmed wanted to help their fellow countrymen
it simply didn't happen because the Axis soldiers confiscated much of what went via the roadblocks.
But there was more:
hyperinflation, caused by German economic policies in Greece – or basically the lack their of
Hyperinflation occured. Many farmers sold their surplus grain privately on the black market.
The black market flourished at that time
“Prices rose steadily, fuelled by the money printed to cover the demands of the occupation
authorities.
Inflation led producers and retailers to withdraw their goods from the market, and hoarding
became widespread.”
Demobilised army officers sent by the Tsolakoglu government often sided with the farmers who
didn't believe the food would go to their fellow countrymen.
Private initiatives such as soup kitchens sprung up but as the Red Cross stated: 'No
organisation of public assistance or social welfare, could have managed to save all those
who suffered from the famine.'
Queue appeared in front of shops.
Lines got longer and longer. People brought chairs with them to sit on while waiting for food.
More beggars appeared on the streets.
People started to cook grass.
Axis plenipotentiaries the warned about the situation but Hitler had no interest in solving it. By now it was June 1941
and Hitler had his eyes on the USSR as Operation Barbarossa was about to kick off.
The Germans did do some halfhearted attempt to alleviate the situation, but it didn't do much and they basically asked the Italians
to fix it. But the Italians couldn't fix it. By Autumn they lost interest in the situation and from that moment no more food was brought from
Reich to Greece.
When Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring was informed he replied as follows:
“I could not care less when you say that [Greek] people under your administration are
dying of hunger.
Let them perish so long as no German starves.”
And that's what happened.
When the first winter approached Germans in the Reich enjoyed the same food consumption
as before, while thousands of Greeks died of starvation.
Children searched through rubbish bins for scraps of food.
Others hurled around restaurants.
Some Germans found this amusing:
“Some German officers tormented urchins by throwing them scraps from balconies and
watching them fight among themselves.
Soldiers eating olives in the street attracted a crowd of children.
As soon as one spat out an olive stone, the children rushed for it: the fastest would
put it in his mouth and suck it clean.”
The summer was very hot and dry, the following winter became very cold.
Snow fell in the city.
Wood and coal had become unaffordable by now so many Greek houses were uheated, and many Greeks
perished because of sickness.
Also, physical and mental exhaustion set in to a point where people simply collapsed on the streets of the city.
Here is what happened to a Greek ex serviceman. He had fought on the Albanian Front and came from the islands but after the German takeover he was unable to return
He collapsed in Athens. Somebody urged him to get up.
And he replied: 'My God!
Why have you brought me to such a state?
Why am I not at home, instead of crawling like a dog through the streets at night.
Why, my God?
What did I do to you?'
An estimated 250,000 Greeks died because of the famine.
Did the Germans use a deliberate strategy of starvation in Greece?
According to historian Mark Mazower who wrote the book Inside Hitler's Greece this wasn't
the case.
It was pure economic plunder and mismanagement.
At the hight of the famine they still exported food from Greece.
So did the Italians, although the Italians were more willing to help.
The Axis Powers blamed the British because of the blockade.
The Vatican urged the British to lift the blockade.
On their turn the British then blamed the Italians.
A plan to import food via Turkey didn't work out.
Finally, in the summer of 1942 the British agreed to lift the blockade.
The food situation in Greece improved immediately. So whose fault was it really? What are you thoughts about it? Leave it in the comments below the video.