German military cemetery Maleme

German military cemetery Maleme

Maleme is one of the historical places of Greece.

Here is the airport with the same name, which was the landing point of the German paratroopers, during the Battle of Crete, the "Operation Mercury", as Hitler had named it.

The Battle of Crete began on the morning of May 20, 1941 and ended twelve days later, on June 1, with the occupation of Crete.

On the first day of the battle, the planes constantly dropped paratroopers, but were killed by the brave Cretans who fought with mangroves, stones, knives and few weapons, the few Greek army and the allies of English, Australians and New Zealanders.

Hill 107, in the neighboring village of Vlacheronitissa, has gone down in history because of the blows it dealt to the Germans from this point.

 

German military cemetery Maleme with flowers and crosses.

 

On the second night, however, the German paratroopers occupied hill 107 and then virtually the entire island of Crete fell. The intensity of the battles and the epic resistance of the inhabitants have remained indelibly written in history as symbols of the struggle for freedom.

Due to the importance of the occupation of Hill 107, the German government after the war, chose it for the construction of the German Military Cemetery.

In this cemetery are the graves of 4.465 German Army soldiers, most of whom were paratroopers killed during the Battle of Crete.

 

German military cemetery Maleme with thousands of tombs.

 

The thousands of tombs in the German cemetery do not have crosses, but slabs down to the ground, since not all of them were Christians.

Today Maleme is a small quiet village with a beautiful beach, which is preferred by those who want to spend a quiet vacation in Chania.

 

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