German Price
ARGOSTOLI (Own report) On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of one of the largest massacres perpetrated by the German Armed Forces during World War II, the German ambassador in Athens will, for the first time, commemorate the victims and visit the Greek island of Kephallonia. There, German mountain forces ,,Gebirgsjäger"liquidated more than 5,000 (five thousand) Italian soldiers in September of 1943, after the former allies had already surrendered. The ambassador's visit, similar to other journeys by German representatives to selected locations of massacres perpetrated at the former Southeast European front, signifies a change in the strategy of German foreign policy.
The German government still denies awareness of war crimes by the German Armed Forces in Greece but admits to moral ,,consternation". At the same time, Berlin emphasizes that reparations or other material obligations have expired ,,because time ran out". The German government refers Italian and Greek plaintiffs to legal proceedings (which are without prospects).
No atonement...
Not one citizen of the Federal Republic of Germany has been convicted by German postwar courts because of pillaging and war crimes committed in Greece. Investigations of several hundred members of the mountain infantry ,,Gebirgsjäger", a notorious elite unit that, inter alia, assisted in anti-Semitic mass pogroms in Lwow and brought about a bloodbath on Kephallonia, did not result in any indictments. Two years ago, newly reopened investigations by the public prosecutor's office in Dortmund apparently did not provide sufficient evidence to prosecute anyone for the murder of the Italian division ,,Acqui".
... but small change
Berlin attempts to subdue protests by victims with noncommittal avowals of German responsibility. According to the German Foreign Office, the nature of this responsibility is too general and could not be measured financially. During the impending visit of the German ambassador on Kephallonia, the Greek public expects variations of this strategy as well. In view of this visit, the German Foreign Office has allocated funds for a private commemoration on Kephallonia - converted value of 80 cents for each murdered Italian soldier.