Viannos begins events marking 83rd anniversary of Nazi massacre

The municipality of Viannos began commemorations on Monday, September 7, for the 83rd anniversary of the Holocaust and destruction of villages in Viannos and Ierapetra by German occupation forces, with a memorial prayer service held at the site of mass executions in the Lygia area.

According to the announcement, German soldiers killed and tortured three of the five children of the Verveleakis family at the site: Evangelia, 8, Maria, 12, and Stylianos, 15, after they refused to reveal where their father was hiding.

The memorial service took place at 7:30 pm at the monument next to the Church of Panagia Lygias, organized jointly with the Cultural Association of Agios Vasileios and the Association of Victims of the Viannos Holocaust. Organizers describe it as part of the official program of commemorative events for the Viannos Holocaust, which will culminate on Sunday, September 13, at 10:30 am at the Pan-municipal Holocaust Memorial in Seli Amiron. President of the Republic Konstantinos Tasoulas is expected to attend the closing ceremony.

Mayor of Viannos Pavlos Baritakis attended the memorial service and said the ceremony was organized “to pay a small tribute to the civilians of the area executed by German occupation forces in September 1943.” He noted that among the innocent victims were three of the five children of the Verveleakis family — Evangelia, Maria and Stylianos — and that a marble plaque on the wall of the now-ruined Metochi of Argoulidas keeps the memory of the act alive.

Baritakis described the killings as one of several atrocities committed by Nazi forces in the region during what he called the “dark days” of September 1943, saying the events “will never be forgotten” and remain etched in local, national and international memory.

The commemorations form part of a wider calendar of events in Crete this September marking historical anniversaries and cultural occasions across the island.