“The Holocaust at Anogia represents the shortest history ever written in World War II regarding the catastrophe of an area under the command of Commander Gen. of the Fortress in Crete Χ. Miller”, underlined to “In-On” magazine the survivor George Klados (ex-mayor of Anogia and fighter of the Cretan Resistance Struggle against the conquers).
The top event of the catastrophe and leveling of Anogia –he continued – took place in August 1944 and it is considered to be the third holocaust in the history of the village (1822, 1867 and 1944).
More particularly, he narrates “It started on August 13th, 1944 and lasted till the end of the same month. In Armi, in the central square of the village the command of the German Commander of the Fortress in Crete is inscribed explaining the decision for the holocaust.
“…Due to the fact that the city of Anogia is the heart of English espionage in Crete and because the inhabitants murdered the sergeant garrison commander Yeni-Gave along with his guard and because the citizens of Anogia carried out the sabotage at Damasta, since in Anogia the guerrillas of various resistance groups found asylum and protection and because the kidnappers with general Von Kreipe crossed Anogia utilizing the area as an evacuation station, we order their LEVELING and the execution of every male citizen of Anogia that is found in the village and also within a distance of a kilometer in the surrounding area.” (Chania, 13-8-44 Commander Gen. of the Fortress in Crete, Χ. Miller).
The execution and the arrest of the referred in the command sergeant garrison commander Yeni-Gave and his guard (8 people) was realized on August 7th 1944 in the area of Sfakaki Anogion by an eleven- member group of the auxiliary Greek Peoples’ Liberation Army (Ε.L.Α.S). The sabotage of Damasta was realized in the morning of August 8th 1944 in the central then paved road in Crete and within a short distance west the village of Damasta by a group of guerillas from the Greek Resistance Organization “PSILORITIS” which resulted in the leveling of Damasta village as well as the execution of the men that were caught in it by the Germans.
The series of events follows: on August 13th 1944, the Germans circled the village and when they reached it, they ordered 1500 women and children to move towards the direction of Yeni-Gave within half an hour. It has to be noted that before the Germans’ arrival, the guerillas had already notified all men and boys who were hidden in the guerillas’ hideouts and in the inaccessible ravines and caves on Psiloritis Mt.
Then, they moved on to looting the village regarding livestock and woolen products. Later, after the command every house was burnt to the ground and then was exploded with dynamite. Every night, the Germans withdrew in Sisarha and in the morning they returned to Anogia to complete their catastrophe which lasted from August 13th till September 5th 1944. The Germans killed G. Spithouri inside the village, who was unable to leave with the other villagers as well as the handicapped cousins Constantine and I. Xylouri (or Kitri), and the decrepit Nick. Aerakis, to whose arms after his execution, they placed two pigs’ dead bodies on his right and left side in order to scorn. The two sisters widows Emm. Kallergi and Emm. Kavledi, the lame woman Irene Karaiskou and Evagelia Ioannou Pasparaki refused to leave and preferred to die. They burnt them and blew them up inside their homes.
Moreover, the Germans killed Emm. I. Saloustron. Many other people were killed in the surrounding area of the village. The Germans destroyed the four creameries of the area and snatched the inhabitants’ flocks. They killed those that they could not take with them. From the 940 houses in Anogia village not even one still remains, the new school was exploded; the three churches that the Germans had turned into stables suffered damages due to the nearby explosions. The official list of the ex Prefecture of Rethymnon refers that 117 citizens of Anogia were executed during the German occupation. Anogia is considered to be the biggest village of Mylopotamos, even when the Venetians settled down there and the only signs that demonstrate their presence are the various legends and traditions, Tsipouras Venetian building and a few surviving centuries-old walnut trees which they planted, giving at the same time the first significant boost to the development of the agriculture of the village”.
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