Deputy Minister of National Defence Thanasis Davakis attends commemorative celebrations for the 82nd Anniversary of the Kalavryta Holocaust

Deputy Minister of National Defence Thanasis Davakis attends commemorative celebrations for the 82nd Anniversary of the Kalavryta Holocaust

December 13, 2025

The Deputy Minister of National Defence Thanasis Davakis attended today, Saturday 13 December 2025, the commemorative celebrations for the 82^ndanniversary of the Kalavryta Holocaust as representative of the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which were also honoured by the presence of the President of the Republic, Kostas Tasoulas.

Mr. Davakis attended the public memorial service in honour of the Kalavryta Martyrs in the Holy Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, officiated by the Metropolitan of Kalavryta and Aigialeia Mr. Ieronymos. Subsequently, he accompanied the President of the Republic to the Monument of the Kalavrytan Execution, where the President laid a wreath in memory of the victims to the Nazi enormity.

Following the end of the ceremony, Mr. Davakis stated:

"We are here today, in Kalavryta, at a place where our collective memory keeps the heavy burden of history alive, not only to pay a tribute to the innocents massacred, but to remind everyone that memory does not fade away.

The Kalavryta Holocaust is not simply another chapter of the Occupation, but one of the most ghastly acts of reprisal committed in Europe during World War II. On 13 December 1943, the German Occupation Forces unleashed an extermination operation.

13 December 1943 is a landmark date, which demonstrated Nazi barbarity at its utmost length. We do not simply honour its' victims, but promise them that never shall we ever allow something similar to happen again."