Dozens of protesters gathered outside the German embassy in Athens on Friday, demanding that Germany pay Greece back for a debt dating back to the Second World War.
Protesters starting from the parliament marched towards the German Embassy with Greek flags, while chanting slogans.
For Manolis Glezos, a Greek politician who fought in the resistance, it is important that not just them but the entire country fights for the war reparations.
Representatives of the ‘National Council of Claims for German Debts’ demanded a meeting with the German ambassador, but were denied entrance since the ambassador was absent. However, they attached the council’s resolution explaining the debts’ origins on the wall of the German embassy.
The council demands that Germany pay Greece back for the damage and plunder of the Greek cities during the years of Nazi occupation (1941-1944) and for the loan the Greek Central Bank was forced to give Nazi Germany in 1942. After WWII, Germany was obligated to pay war reparations to the allied governments, but Greece never received the full amount of the reparations due.