From the official state archives
And – for the first time Bibliography –
with more than 700 books
about the German Occupation!
Today, the most significant collections of antiquities are in England, France, and Germany, with Greece ranked fourth – despite the fact that none of the top three nations have an ancient history.
This book is essentially a record of theft, looting, and destruction by the Germans during the Occupation, based on the official 1946 report of the Greek Ministry of National Education and Religions. I have excluded human losses, executions, and suffering – already documented in the Black Book of the Occupation – and focused solely on material damage, as today, material value is often more understood than human or cultural loss.
The Germans had pledged to respect Greek antiquities laws, but conquerors are rarely bound by promises. They compiled lists of artifacts that supposedly expressed Germanism and deemed them rightfully theirs. When Greek archaeologists protested, they were told, “These are not yours.”
Germany promised to return excavation findings through the German Archaeological Institute after the war. However, when the Greek ministry appealed for compliance, the request was dismissed as unacceptable.
Το Ελληνικό βιβλίο ΑΡΧΑΙΟΚΑΠΗΛΙΕΣ των ΓΕΡΜΑΝΩΝ στην ΕΛΛΑΔΑ επι ΚΑΤΟΧΗΣ, ΕΔΩ.
In 1996, this issue was raised in the Greek Parliament. Then-Minister of Culture Th. Mikroutsikos argued that identifying looted artifacts without numbers or photographs was nearly impossible—though even without such records, 38 ancient works had already been recovered.
A committee was eventually formed to address the issue, including officials from the Ministry of Culture and Foreign Affairs. Meanwhile, the National Council for the Claim of Germany’s Debts to Greece and various articles have highlighted these thefts. Notably, Eleftheros Typos (1996) and Chronos of Komotini (2010) addressed the disappearance of Greek antiquities.
Even decades later, we must demand the return of our stolen heritage – an integral part of our identity. Such crimes are not erased by time, conscience, or international law. We must not surrender without a fight.
SOURCE: ed. Talos F, 2025 – ISBN: 978-960-6879-84-5 – Pages: 120.
Lekakis THEFT ANTIQUITY DISASTER ROBBER ROBBERY CHURCH, LIBRARY GERMANY GERMAN OCCUPATION GREECE nazi αρχαιοκαπηλιες των γερμανων στην ελλαδα επι κατοχης αρχαιοκαπηλια γερμανοι ναζι ελλαδα κατοχη γερμανια
