GODB

This research project aims to identify and record all the German military and paramilitary units stationed for shorter or longer periods of time in Greece during the Occupation (1941-1944/45).

Most of the earlier and recent studies on the German occupation of Greece during World War II focused mainly on military action, war crimes and mass violence, from persecution, arrests, torture, and concentration camps, to extermination. Although these studies have identified and highlighted a significant part of the German forces, there are still some dark areas in the related history. In practice, in terms of the total presence of occupation troops stationed in Greece during the war, the precisely located units represent only a fraction of the total numbers. Other military units are mainly characterized as “German units”, “German troops”, “German authorities” etc. However, the impact of these unknown units on the daily life of the Greek population was often just as important, for example through the requisition of houses and foodstuff, the imposition of forced labour, and other arbitrary measures.

Considering the important place held by German occupation in the collective memory of the Greeks today, the research project aims to identify and record all the German military and paramilitary units stationed for shorter or longer periods of time in Greece between April 1941, the date of the German invasion, and October 1944, the date of the retreat of the German troops (and May 1945 for some remote areas and islands).

This database will be a useful tool for deepening the historical knowledge of the period in Greece, as it will help to identify German units involved in war crimes, further specify the numerical scope of the occupying forces, and shed light on the structure and evolution of military and paramilitary units.

The recorded data will be fitted into a dynamic GIS environment application that will allow the visitor to make personalized use of the database, for example by searching for the itinerary of a given unit, or the evolution of the occupation density of a specific location or area in successive periods of time.

Before the current phase, the project was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the German-Greek Future Fund. Project start: May 2019. Funding is guaranteed until December 2025.