Memorial Massacre Amiras

This memorial commemorates the destruction of a number of villages in the southern part of Crete and the shooting of more than 350 people by the German occupation forces in 1943. Victims are also buried here.

The monument was designed by sculptor Yannis Parmakelis
It was made for those who died on September 14, 1943 in German arbitrary mass executions, arrests and improvised shootings, in reprisal for actions by one of the largest guerrilla bands in Crete, led by Manolis Bandouvas codenamed "Bo-Peep": the attack on a German outpost in Kato Simi, followed shortly afterwards by an ambush with very heavy German losses (September 10-12). The exact number of Greek casualties remains unknown, but most sources agree that the figure is over 500, comprising residents of the villages of Kefalovryssi, Kato Simi, Amiras, Pefkos, Vachos, Agios Vassilios, Ano Viannos, Sykologos, Krevatas , Kalami and Loutraki. About 200 more civilians were still being held hostage. About 1000 buildings, mostly houses, were destroyed. The surviving villagers were not allowed to bury their dead or return to their homes, most of which had burned to the ground. Reparations were never made to those who survived. It took the villages many years to recover, although some never fully recovered.

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