"5.) The Edes-bands never were put to a choice, either to defend villages or to abandon them voluntarily because the Edes-bands were nob attacked any more by German troops since winter 1943. Only local actions were undertaken to clear up attacks on the roads Joannina-Arta Joannina-Igumenitea. No villages occupied by Edes were involved there.
During the only larger concentric action undertaken against Zervas in autumn 1944 and at which German troops penetrated into territory occupied by Zervas, he ordered the attacked villages defended and did not surrender them sooner than his military situation required it. So for instance was Dodona at fact stubbornly defended by Edes-bands and then taken under fire by them for hours after it had been occupied by German troops.
II.
"1.) Sarandis as well as Michalakis appeared as authorized negotiators of Gen. Zervas at the Gen. Headquarters of the 22nd (Mountain) Army Command. They identified themselves through a letter of authorization signed by Zervas and carrying an official stamp of the Headquarters of the Edes-bands. The official stamp and the signature were known from captured papers and were also otherwise confirmed as genuine. During the negotiations they also submitted answers and opinions signed by Zervas in his own handwriting concerning various especially important agreements or points of negotiation. If the negotiators would have had no authorization the agreement would not have been kept. So in various rush matters the negotiators were driven by army vehicles up to short distance before Dodona, from where they rode to the Hq. of General Zervas and there they were left off at the post chain of the Edes-bands. On the basis of a letter which the German drivers got they could pass unimpeded.
In another case agreements about the recovering of dead German soldiers were made, who had lost their lives by an attack on the road Joannina-Arta. Also in this case the agreements entered into with the negotiators were strictly kept.
In particular the joint undertaking at the Arachtesfront would not even have been feasible if the negotiators of these agreements would have not been authorized and if General Zervas had not approved and adhered to this joint struggle. Even a local contact existed at this action between German troops and Edes bands during the battle. The troop movements and actions on both sides were mutually harmonized down to every detail. The Edes units advancing from their high positions attached partly the same objectives as the German troops pushing forward from the valleys. The reports on the course of the battles, which were exchanged nightly at the Hg of Gen Lanz, agreed in all details. What Sarantis reported on the basis of the marks on his map was always confirmed by our own troops. All that was only possible if the order-drafts, made up and harmonized with Sarantis on the basis of joint camp conferences, actually reached Gen. Zervas could then withstand the strong attacks by communistic units only because Gen. Lanz aided him immediately upon his urgent request by the employment of German troops. Gen, Lanz then decided on his step because he wanted to keep out civil war from the area of his Army-Corps. As far as I recall this joint enterprise was carried out under the code name "Habicht". Particulars must be available through the daily reports of that time. Because of his collaboration with the German Army Gen, Zervas was strongly maligned by communistic leaflet-propaganda. He never repudiated these reproaches. At any rate there was no mention of it in any of the numerous Edes-leaflets that reachedus.
"In an other undertaking against communist partisans who from South Albania had infiltrated the area Elea-Philiates north of the road Joannina-Arta, an agreement was made with the negotiators that advanced posts of the Edes-bands from the South should be withdrawn in order to avoid a possible clash between German troops and Edes-bands due to mistaken identity. This agreement was also kept.
"The negotiator Michalakis brought with him in the late summer 1944, letters from German soldiers who had become prisoners of the Edes-bands at an attack upon Minina Tuska. There was no doubt about the authenticity of these letters. This occurrence also was a clear proof that they had full power to negotiate. Upon mediation of Mr. Michalakis the representative of the Intern. Red Cross, Mr. Lambert from Genf. visited German prisoners with Zervas in order to learn about their treatment and care.
"2.) Not only with Michalakis, but also with the local political representative of the Edes, an attorney at Law Fronzos from Joannina, were negotiations held about the evacuation of the Epirns and the leaving of surplus supplies for the benefit of the civil population. The discussed plan of a step by step surrendering of German held territory was kept by both parties. With the distribution of the food the International Red Cross was entrusted.
"Even if the negotiators should not have been authorized with full powers at all negotiations and should have misused the negotiations with German authorities for espionage purposes, the willingness to accept such negotiations shows the readiness of Gen. Lanz to avoid all conflicts and, as far as it could be harmonized at all with German military interests, to come to a peaceful collaboration in spite of the constantly occurring encroachments of the Edes-bands. Hardly any other leader of an occupying power would have endured such provocations and still kept up his willingness to negotiate as Gen.
Lanz did towards the Edes-bands."
Signed Friedrich Erdmann, it has been duly sworn to and properly certified.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: At this time, Dr. Sauter, we will have a recess.
(A recess was taken.)
THE MARSHAL: Persons in the courtroom will please find their seats The Tribunal is again in session.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: You may proceed.
DR. SAUTHER: May it please the Tribunal. I would now like to offer from Document Book II one last affidavit. Document No. 36, which is contained on page 16 and I would like to read a brief paragraph from it. It is Document Book II, Document 36, contained on page 16. This is an affidavit by Klaus Goernandt and it will be offered under Exhibit No. 41, Lanz Exhibit No. 41.
The affiant, Klaus Goernandt, who is now 33 year's of age, had several positions from February 944 to October 1944, a she says in the initial sentences of his affidavit. He here refers to orders of the General Command, to daily reports of subordinate units, et cetera, and he also refers to conferences with his own staff and with the Chief of the General Staff of Army Groups E and F.
On the basis of this knowledge, the affiant describes in Document No. 36 a number of details which are of importance in evaluating the character of the Greek partisan groups, their method of fighting and their organization, the uniforms they wore, et cetera. The affiant discusses surprise attacks by the partisans in the corps area under the command of General Lanz and acts committed by the partisans which were in violation of international law.
I am not going to read the main part of this affidavit but I recommend the statements to the judicial notice of the Tribunal. These statements are a valuable contribution to the questions under discussion here. I would merely like to read at the moment what the affiant says on page 21 of Lanz Document Book II under II. He here makes the following statements under oath and I quote -- page 21:
"I cite the following as examples of violations of international law:
"a) While on reconnaissance near Delvine (Southern Albania) I surprised some armed enemy observers behind a rock disguised as shepherds (without flocks) and without any insignia resembling a uniform, and took them prisoners.
Time: August 1944.
"A fishing boat with about 15 convalescents and men on leave from my battalion was wrecked on the way to the base on the open coast north of Sarande. The crow fell into the hands of partisans and were shot after a summary court martial as a reprisal measure, as a reprisal measure, as was unanimously reported by civilians who had escaped. Time: September 1944.
"Well-directed fire by an English battern on my positions in Delvine, as well as reports picked up by an observer, gave me reason to suspect that the fire was being directed from Delvine itself -that is, from an inhabited locality --- Climbing by surprise up, a high projecting rock directly on the edge of the town elictited brief machine gun fire and then the flight of several civilians who had taken up a position on the rock. Time: about September 1944.
"A group of my battalion which was fired upon on open terrain between Delvine and Sarande immediately attacked the gun position. Result: floeing civilians, one Italian machine gun and a basket of live chickens found in the gun position. Time: September 1944.
"I only remember these examples" the affiant says in conclusion because they are from my own experience. Similar reports were frequently sent in by the army, but I have forgotten the details.
This is the last document which I am going to offer from Document Book Lanz II, and I now want, as a supplement, to offer a few documents from Document Book Lanz IV. I am not going to read the documents which I am offering in connection with the question of partisan method of fighting verbatim, with two or three exceptions. Instead I am recommending these document to the judicial notice of the Tribunal.
In document Book Lanz IV I am first of all offering Document 116 on page 7 and I am offering this document under Exhibit No. Lanz 42. This is an affidavit by Dr. Lindner who was a doctor, as he states, from July 1943 to October 1945. That is he worked for two years and three months under Lanz.
The affidavit is quite brief and, therefore, I might read it.
"In the night of 6 to 7 July 1944 a truck column left Joanina in the direction of Igumenica which was intended to serve as a supply transport for the hospital installations in Igumenica and Corfu. The column consisted of several trucks, including several which were clearly marked as ambulances by the red cross. The transport was in charge of a certain Staff Physician riding in the first ear, Dr. Popp, Chief of the hospital installations in Jaanina. The ambulances were clearly marked on all sides with a red cross on a white background. At that time the ambulance column of the Lanz Mountain Corps was under my command as part of my line of duty, and upon taking over this column I had immediately ordered that the red corsses on the white field be repainted so that the cars could be recognized at a distance by these signs.
"The above-descirbed column came under fire on a winding road between Joanina and Igumenica. Here Staff Physician Dr. Popp and other men lost their lives. Staff Physician Dr. Popp had the entire right half of his thorax badly crushed, presumably by a cone of machine gun fire and must have been instantly killed by this injury.
"I personally took part in the burial of Staff Physician Dr. Popp and several other victims of this attack at the Soldiers' Cemetery in Joanina but did not personally experience the attack."
The physician, Dr. Lindner, had duly sworn this affidavit and his statements are properly certified and I am offering it as contribution to the question as to whether or not the fighting methods of the partisans were in violation of international law.
The next document which I am offering from Document Book IV is Document No, 117. The following document is contained on Page 9, and I will offer it under Lanz Exhibit No. 43. I am not going to read this particular document. It was also executed by a veterinary physician, Dr. Ernst Metzger, 47 years of age. He states that he was Staff Veterinary Surgeon during the period from 1st of February, 1942 to 15th of October, 1944.
MR. FENSTEPMACHER: Your Honor, I object to the admission of this document into evidence. It appears that it's entirely concerned with attacks upon German transport trains, which took place in Serbia. The defendant Lanz hasn't been charged with any matters that relate to Serbia. I submit that it's completely irrelevant.
DR. SAUTER: I do not think that this objection is justified because the fighting methods of these partisans was a uniform manner of fighting. They acted in Greece as much in contradiction to International Law as they did in Serbia. I do not believe that one can make a distinction here.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: The objection will be overruled.
DR. SAUTER: This document has been offered under Lanz Exhibit No. 43, and I recommend this document to the judicial notice of the Tribunal without reading it. This affidavit also deals with a contribution to question the fighting methods of the partisans, which, in this case, has been experienced by the affiant himself. I shall also not read the following document, from the same document book, which is Document No. 118, contained on Page 11, and which is offered under Lanz Exhibit No. 44. This is an affidavit duly sworn to and properly certified. The affiant is Dr. Max Zogbaum. He is 51 years of age, and he states in the initial sentences of his affidavit, on Page 11, that in General Lanz's Mountain Army he was Corps Engineer officer from September, 1943 to 12 June 1944. And he was Commander of the 342d Engineer Battalion during the period from September, 1941 to January, 1942. The affiant, Dr. Maz Zogbaum, states in the affidavit, Document No. 118, Lanz Exhibit No. 44, examples about cruel methods of warfare, as used by the partisans in the Balkans.
On the other hand he describes the support of the Greek civilian population by General Lanz and troops under his command. The affidavit goes into detail, is of value and importance, and I recommend it to the judicial notice of the Court.
The next document in this document book is Document No. 119, contained on Page 17 of Document Book IV. This will be offered under Lanz Exhibit No. 45. This affidavit also has been duly sworn to and properly certified. The executor is Karlheinz Bensch, who states that during the war and under Lanz' command he worked as a platoon leader or commander of a Light Infantry Company in the 1st Battalion of the 734th Light Infantry Regiment. This regiment was part of the 104th Light Infantry Division under General Lanz. The affiant served in this unit, as he states, during the period from winter of 19431944 until the end of the war. And he was committed in the fight against the bands in Greece and other Balkan countries. I shall not read all of this affidavit which goes into many details. This document also is a contribution towards determining the curel and cunning methods of fighting of the Partisans in Greece and other Balkan countries.
The following document is Document No, 120, contained in this same document book, on Page 21. It will be given Lanz Exhibit No. 46. This is a very brief affidavit. The affiant is Max Prollius. During the war he was Corps Adjutant, or a personnel expert under Lanz, from September, 1943 until June, 1945. He describes, from his own observation, one individual case, and he says: "I was present at the burail of a Medical Officer on the cemetery Joanina. This officer was killed during a partisan attack on an ambulance which clearly bore the markings of the 'Red Cross.'" The affidavit is properly certified and has been duly sworn to.
The next document is Document No. 121, on the following page of the same document book, which is Page 22. This document will be offered under Lanz Exhibit No. 47.
This is an affidavit executed by Hans Gruebel. According to his statements the affiant was a Captain and Company Commander of the 602th and 601th Truck Transportation Regiment during the period from the middle of June till * November. 1944. This affidavit, executed by Captain Gruebel, again deals with the method of fighting used by the partisans, and it offers several contributions to the decision on the question as to whether this method of fighting was legal or in contradiction to International Law. I recommend the total content of the document to the judicial notice of the Tribunal. I shall read a few of the statements made by Captain Gruebel. On page 23, roughly the middle of the page, where it says, During the middle of July 1944 I was transferred as a Company Commander with two truck companies from Bulgaria to Greece in order to arrange, with six other companies or columns, the supply of the 22rd Mountain Corps commanded by General Hubert Lanz. Owing to the fact that railroads were non-existing in the northern mountainous Part of Greece, the supply of the bases, the supply of the bases, garrisons, ammunition-, fuel, and food depots, the transportation of wounded, of men going on furlough and refugees had to be carried out by truck convoys which later were escorted for reasons of security.
Because of the danger from the air supplies could only be moved during the night since during daytime every vehicle was destroyed by fire. The corps staff with part of the truck columns was in Joannina from where the convoys, in the strength of 50 and more trucks, were dispatched at dusk from the starting point into the direction of Florina, Igumenica, Prevesa and Trikkala across the Mezzovon pass, even men going on leave, travelers on duty and great numbers of refugees with all their possessions were riding on these vehicles. This military personnel riding on the vehicles were to protect the convoy in case of a surprise attack. At almost no time were my vehicles assigned to my convoy in full strength but they were used in various convoys going into different directions because some jobs lasted for several days.
During the initial period of our presence in Greece the supply trips, aside from occasional fire and mining of roads, were carried out without almost any interference by the enemy. In August 1944, after a 2 days supply trip to Igumenica. I returned unmolested to Nannina. During the following night the convoy, led by my Lieutenant Blecke (who died in Jugoslavian captivity), was attacked by bands (members of the Zervas band) on the return trip from Igumerica. In addition to several riders, two men from my company were killed in the defence of the convoy. One of them, already wounded, was found with a smashed skull, the other was burned to death on the machinegun car which had been set afire, In addition several drivers were wounded and two men missing, three vehicles were burned out and five trucks had been taken away by the bands.
The several statements contained on Pages 23 and 24 I do not want to read verbatim. I want to read only one passage which starts in the middle of Page 24, and I quote:
On the second morning the convoy proceeded on its course after the mountains, bordering the road, had been cleared of the enemy. After a distance of 10 kilometers the convoy entered a mountain pass which was obstructed by stone barricades and as a result of the burned out vehicles from a tank-truck convoy. This unit had been completely annihilated. The soldiers lay on the road murdered and partly burned. In judging the position of the bodies and the head injuries, the soldiers had been slain. An ambulance convly placed on the hills overlooking the mountain pass was also found with burned out vehicles. Aside from one body found, there was no trace of the drivers. Both units had been attacked one or two days prior to our arrival as the bodies were blue and bloated. Here too, the infantry provided protection and cleaned out the hills so that only during the following day the remaining 20 kilometers to Joannina could he covered. Moreover, during the afternoon low flying aircraft had attacked for an hour the trucks which were well concealed in the winding roads of the mountain pass which resulted in the blowing up of a vehicle loaded with ammunition.
This is the extent to which I want to read on Page 24. When Your Honors will read those parts which I have omitted, you will note that all these killed soldiers and ambulances were the victims of the partisans. I merely want to read the concluding sentence of the affidavit by Gruebel, which is on Page 25, the last paragraph. The affiant says the following about General Lanz: "In particular must I point to the fact that during discussions and also towards myself General Lanz pointed out that a good relationship should be maintained between the troops and the civilian population. This actually existed during my presence in Joannina. When Joannina was evacuated large stocks of clothing and food were left behind for the civilian population because there was no means of transportation. On 1 November 1944 I was separated from the 22nd Mountain Corps in Skolpy (Urkueb)."
This is the extent to which I want to read from the affidavit of Hans Gruebel. The affidavit is duly sworn to and properly certified.
This brings me to the next document No. 123, not No. 122. I shall skip that one. But Document No. 123, on Page 28, will be offered under Lanz Exhibit No. 48. This again, is an affidavit, and the affiant is Joseph Dudek. He was a non-commissioned officer, an Ordnance Sergeant, during the time between May, 1944, and August, 1944 and February till March, 1944. He was in a military hospital. He discusses here his experiences concerning the fighting of the partisans which was in contradiction to International Law. He stresses mainly the treatment of wounded partisans their uniforms etc. I would commend this document to the judicial notice of the Tribunal.
This brings me to Document No. 124, which is the following document on the next page, Page 29, of Document Book IV. It will be offered as Lanz Exhibit No. 49--four, nine. This affidavit was executed by Anton Mirlach, who lives in Upper Bavaria. According to his statements he was a Medical Staff Corporal during the period between 6 October 1944 and 7 Oct 1944. He, again, describes his experiences with the fighting methods of the partisans. I would recommend this affidavit to the judicial notice of the Tribunal.
MR. FENSTERMACHER: If your Honors please, I submit that this exhibit and the preceding one both relate to events which originally concerned Serbia and not Greece.
PRESIDING JUDGE BURKE: The prior ruling will control. You may proceed.
DR. SAUTER: I recommend this document also, as I said, to the judicial notice of the Court.
This brings me to another document, which is Document No. 125--one, two, five--in the same document book, Lanz Document Dock IV, contained on Page 31. It was executed by the same witness as was the preceding one, Anton Mirlach. It will be offered under Lanz Exhibit No. 50. This affidavit also deals with the fighting methods of the partisans and the affiant describes his own observations.
Q Now, General Lanz, I would like to return to your examination What can you tell us, according to your own observations, about the relation between the civilian population and the partisans? What was the attitude of the civilian population towards the partisans?
A One part of the civilian population fought side by side with the partisans and supported them. Another part of the population however, refrained from participating in partisan activity and even tried to escape from partisan areas to reach such areas where there was no partisan activity. This applied to the EDES partisans, as well as to the Communist partisans. The Communist partisans had one additional factor, and that they forced the population, which did not voluntarily participate in their activity, to work for them. This pressure, to the best of my information, was not exercised by the EDES partisans to the same extent as it was by the Communist partisans, but even there a certain pressure was exercised on the civilians.
Q Witness, can you tell us something about the following: According to your experiences in your area did the partisans use whole localities for their activities, or was that not the case?
A That would depend on the fighting aims concerning at the time. The locality would be used in fightings when the partisans thought that was expedient or necessary for their purposes. I know of a number of cases where partisans stayed in villages and defended those villages. They made them strongholds and directed surprises attacks and attacks from such villages. All that would depend on whether or not the partisans thought this necessary and expedient There was no distinction in this connection, between the EDES partisans and the Communist partisans. The aim of the fighting would decide whether or not this pressure was taken.
Q Can you tell us something about in what districts in which vicinities the partisans would preferably make use of the villages of the civilian population and settle down there and use them as band strongholds? 6435
A The making use of such villages, if I may put it this way, was in the nature of things. The partisans, above all, took measures against our supply routes. That was the nature of their fighting. What they wanted to do was the endanger and barm us through their attacks and sabotag acts. Consequently, they would mainly start from such villages as were in the vicinity of those supply routes. After the localities near the supply routes were occupied by our own troops, in order to disperse the partisans from such villages, and after parts of these villages had been burned down, usually during combat actions with partisans, the partisans would then settle down farther away from these routes in the course of further fighting. Certain partisan groups were removed to mountain areas, and they chose unnegotiable terrain. The idea was to be in a locality which the German troops would not reach very soon. From such areas they would either join together or join other groups, as was necessary and expedient, and then they carried out some sort of action somewhere. Such mountain villages, mostly tiny villages dictated the needs. They were only some individual farms which were also easy to defend and secure. From such places one could overlook the whole terrain; seen from a military point of view, one could easily ascertain whether enemies were approaching or not. These places were easy to defend. They offered some sort of protection. That is how it happened that the partisans all by themselves turned to isolated areas which had the characteristics which I just described. From there they would wage their battles. All of this was in the nature of things.
Q Witness, you have described to us now why the partisans preferred to settle in the villages of the civilian population. According to your experiences did the civilian population react to this procedure?
In order to put the question a little more clearly, did the civilian population, consequently and as a general rule, remain in such villages?
Or did the civilian population voluntarily escape such localities? Or again, was the civilian population driven away by the partisans? How did this take place, according to your observations? I am always referring to your corps areas.
A The conduct of the civilian population was different in different cases. As I have said before, one part of the population joined the partisans; another part avoided doing that. If the partisans settled in such a village, the population reacted to the partisans always in accordance with their own attitude. Those people who wanted to remain with the partisans for all kinds of reasons -- they did not always have to be national reasons, or military reasons- they might have been other reasons -- those people, of course, remained because they promised themselves something from the stay and the fight of the partisans. The people who were more suspicious and were afraid of the consequences of such an action, tried to leave such a village and in some instances left such villages. The attitude of the civilian population became decisive only when the village concerned fell into the combat area. By this I mean if a fight ensued between the partisans and the German troops, or if the Edes partisans and the Zervas partisans fought each other, and that happened quite frequently.
Q Witness, you mentioned that the partisans particularly preferred to stay in villages or farms of the civilian population. If the village was occupied by the partisans, what were the details of this action? What I mean is, whom for instance, was ammunition hidden or how were certain positions built up, such as was usual during the first and second World bars? Were supply depots installed to house food, etc? Perhaps you can give us some details.
A This also would be different in different instances. I would like to say that there was no rule for this procedure. This would depend on the partisan group concerned and mainly on its leader - what his intentions were. There were localities where the partisans took up permanent questers, I might say, and nothing much happened in such villages. The partisans would merely stay there for some time and then they would go some place else. I said yesterday that the partisans fluctuated- they were in one locality at one time and in another a some other time.
That was part of their method of fighting and it was a natural sign. There were other villages where the partisans installed certain installations, those were villages where they wanted to fight in case it was attacked. There were fortifications; there were trenches in the many points where their shooting positions were erected, etc. Those were proper preparations for fighting. That would always depend on the situation. It quite frequently happened - I might almost say the general rule was that in many villages wore the partisans stayed, ammunition was hidden.
Q I beg your pardon, witness, how was it hidden?
A Mainly this was found out when such a village burned down, or a house burned down, or when a village was set afire; then all these ammunition depots would explode and there were quite some fireworks on such occasions. If one then searched such a village one would found out that in many houses ammunitions was hidden, explosives were hidden, etc., or weapons were hidden. There were all sorts of hiding places -- between the floor boards, or in attics, or in haylofts -anywhere - there were all kinds of possible places to hide things. What I wanted to say is that ammunition and food, above all ammunition, were hidden in such villages. As a rule the ammunition would not be stored in one house so that one could say -"this is the ammunition depot." Instead, the ammunition was divided up into various houses, for the very simple reason that they did not want this ammunition found and destroyed in one go. Therefore it was split up to several houses; that is quite comprehensible. Furthermore, food stores were commonly handled, during the months just before the winter or during the winter. At those times the partisans needed depots in order to supply themselves. They had canned goods of foreign origin - certain things which they had stored during a certain period of time. That is, in the main, the manner in which those villages were used by the partisans. It was quite a natural thing.
Q In this connection, witness, I would be interested in the following: From many reports and affidavits it has been shown that frequently the villages or farms of the civilian population had been evacuated at a time when the German troops occupied them. Before the German troops attacked, the civilian population, with all their possessions, with their cattle, etc., had left the village concerned. Were you able to observe that in your area also?
A That was a frequent, almost a natural occurence. This also is quite obvious and easily comprehensible. The reason was, as I mentioned yesterday, that the partisans had a very well organized intelligence service. This intelligence service was carried out by the shepherds, who could be found everywhere , and also by women and even children; also by those peasants who would go to Joannina to the market. To make it brief, the partisans had a very well working intelligence service, which again was in the nature of things. Consequently, we never succeeded in carrying out one single operation against the bands without the bands previously knowing about it. We often wondered about this and we tried several procedure to keep an operation secret but in actual fact we never succeeded in doing this. Somehow the truth trickled through and so the inhabitants and the partisans in a certain district against which an operation was intended, learned that tomorrow or the next day or some time, the Germans would come to fight against the partisans. For this reason the population, those who did not participate in the fighting in some shape or form, left the locality concerned and withdrew to some other district - into the woods, into the mountains, anywhere. Frequently they took all their possessions along, which were comparatively small and close together and quite frequently they took some of their cattle along. They just disappeared. I remember, for instance, from personal experience -- I interpolate this here, in order to give a practical example - I remember one occurence in October 1943. We had to open the so-called Mecephon Highway, which for a long time had been occupied by the partisans; in order to secure our own supplies for the winter, we wanted a good highway leading to Joannina.
This was the road which led from Joannina via Trikkala to Larissa. On the occasion of opening this road we reached one village, a larger locality, on this road, which was Mecephon. This place, had been described to us as a so-called winter spa. Since my mountaineers, riflemen, were all keen on winter sports, they were very much interested in getting on to this winter resort. It was quite a large locality, filled with stone houses - as was usual there - but when we arrived there, (I was closely behind the spearheads,) this locality had been almost completely evacuated by its inhabitants. There was almost nobody there. In the road there was a little church, on a hill, and there were two or three Greek priests who came to meet me. I made inquiries and talked to them through an interpreter and asked them were all the people were - the inhabitants - and the priest said that already yesterday they had all left - they had withdrawn to the mountains. I said "Well, why did they leave?" The priest said the people were afraid - they heard that the Germans were approaching and they were just afraid and therefore they had flown. There was no fighting about the village itself; there was nothing much happening there. I told them that nothing would happen to the people and I told them that I would vouch for it that nothing would happen to the inhabitants if they returned. The priest apparently had the conviction that it would be as I said and shortly afterwards he rang the church beels and a few hours later the inhabitants had returned and the locality was it populated as it had been before. I remember this example quite clearly, because at a later time I returned to that village, for discussions, and the inhabitants were all there; they were all well and nothing had happens to them. I am only describing this little incident to show you how we handled the civilian population.