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The Echo of War: The Issue of World War II Reparations and Occupation Loan in Contemporary Greece
During World War II Greece suffered immense devastation; aside from the damage itself, the country was forced to provide the Third Reich with an occupation loan. After the war, Athens claimed reparations and repayment of the loan, but not all such claims were settled. The final solution was postponed until the eventual reunification of Germany and the signing of a peace treaty, but, according to the “2+4” treaty signed in 1990 Greece could not claim any further settlement. All attempts of Greek diplomats to address the issue were met with the same answer that all the issue have already been resolved diplomatically and in legal terms. Such claims were also inappropriate between the allies within NATO and the EU.
The simmering conflict gained new prominence during the financial and economic crisis of 2010s. Greek citizens, unhappy about the strict austerity policies blamed not just their own government, but also the “troika” of creditors which forced Greece to adopt such measures. Since the financial assistance program was developed largely by Germany, the collective memory provided a number of vivid negative images connected to Germany, the Nazi crimes in particular. In the public space of Greece the issues of reparations and the occupation credit were discussed constantly, putting further strain on Greek-German relations.
These attitudes prevalent among the Greek public were used by Greek politicians who strived to shift the blame for the ongoing crisis onto the Germany, and crude generalizations, stereotypes and referencing the past became a favored tool for Greek populists. Since the beginning of the crisis the issue of post-war payments had reached a new level of prominence, and the desire for historic justice was accompanied by the desire to blame outside forces, Germany in this case, for the issue the country was facing.