The story
On June 2nd 1941 General Student orders the retaliation against the Cretan population for participating in the Battle of Crete (May 20th 1941 - June 1st 1941). Trebes arrives in the village of Kondomari with some of his paratroopers and gathers every male citizen of the village.
In total 23 are executed and one manages to escape by running as the squad opened fire and bullets started hitting his fellow villagers. Footage of the execution and the moment of the escape were captured by German photographers that accompanied the squad for propaganda reasons. It is considered as the first mass execution during the war. (The survivor can be seen in some of the photographs wearing a white shirt with his sleeves rolled up and making a step forwards)
There's more to discover
You have arrived at just one small part of Back to Normandy — a personal project dedicated to preserving stories, images, music and memories of the Second World War.
Every record is a doorway to a larger story. Explore Back to Normandy to discover more, or visit Fred Vogels' personal website to learn about the person and the projects behind it.