While World War II is now history, the memories and effects of the atrocities carried out continue to be felt, and so talk of reparations is back on the table.
Now that Greece has exited its bailout program, discussion has arisen regarding compensation from Germany for this tragic period in history.
“This is an issue that psychologically still rankles, and as a government we are absolutely determined to raise it,” Syriza MP, Costas Douzinas told British newspaper The Guardian.
“Obviously Greece couldn’t do that when it was in a programme receiving loans from the EU and Berlin. It would have been totally contradictory.”
According to Syriza MEP Stelios Koulouglou, Nazi Germany’s occupation of Greece played a major part in “delaying our country’s development as a modern European state”, reports Express.
“Germany has never properly assumed its historical responsibility for the wholesale destruction of the country,” Mr Koulouglou added.
If Germany is to in fact come through with reparations, it is estimated the bill could total as much as €1 trillion, of which around €299 billion would be given to Greece according to a report by a group of cross-party MPs.
During the guerrilla campaign against the Nazis in Greece, tens of thousands of heroic Greeks were killed. During the occupation at least 300,000 died of famine, and almost the entire Jewish community was wiped out.
Meanwhile close to €740 billion would be allocated to Poland for destroyed property and copious loss of life.
Occupied in 1939, the bulk of Poland’s Jewish population, which totalled to around 3.2 million people, were killed, along with the deaths of around three million non-Jewish Polish citizens.
“Warsaw was levelled to the ground. The experts’ initial results show that we were never compensated for this,” Polish president Andrzej Duda told Germany’s Bild am Sonntag.
“Reparations are not a closed subject.
“A group of experts is dealing with this in the Polish parliament. MPs will debate it and decide on the next steps.”