Коммено
Согласно слухам накануне здесь готовилась казнь немецкого офицера, однако ему удалось бежать. Немецкие солдаты решили наказать жителей деревни, что и было сделано. На рассвете 16 августа, на следующий день после празднования Успения, немецкие солдаты вошли в спящую деревню и принялись поджигать дома. Тех, кто не сгорел заживо (включая женщин и детей) - расстреливали. Но перед расстрелом женщин насиловали, а остальных подвергали пыткам. Вся акция продолжалась семь часов, а ее итогом стала мучительная смерть 317 человек, которым не удалось вовремя сбежать, а также практически полностью уничтоженные дома и местный храм.
В память об этой ужасной странице новейшей греческой истории в августе 1947 года здесь был установлен мраморный монумент под названием “Избиение Коммено”.
Как добраться до поселка Коммено в Эпире:
- на машине из Арты (17,5 км) по местной трассе Арта-Неохори
- на машине из Афин (347 км) по трассе Е65
- на автобусе из Арты (по будням), автовокзал Арты: площадь Кристалли, тел. +30 26810 28 314/26 374
Τекст: Александр Фролов
Kommeno
Kommeno is a typical small, almost seaside village of the prefecture of Arta, in Epirus. It is situated in the middle of an overgrown plain, just a breath away from the Ambracian Gulf at the west, while a a little further west, the Arachthos river meets the sea. The village itself may not impress you much, but its story is one of the most moving you have ever heard.
Kommeno is one of the many Greek villages that suffered the ferocity and the cruelness of the German conquerors during the German occupation. Those dark years, the German soldiers killed thousands of innocent villagers and burnt down whole villages in retaliation for the attacks of the Greek Resistance. In August 16, 1943, it was Kommeno’s turn.
The rumor has it that a German officer had been shot in the village the previous days, but he had managed to escape. Nevertheless, the German had to punish the village, and so they did. In the dawn of 16th August, one day after the celebrations for the Assumption, German soldiers entered the sleepy village and started to shoot and burn the people. Women had been raped repeatably before they got killed, babies had been burnt in their swings, men had been tortured before they got shot. For more than 7 hours, the German soldiers would commit atrocities against people who did not even have the time to react. When the soldiers finally left the village, 317 people had been shot and burnt and all the houses and churches have been burnt down. Only few villagers managed to escape or were lucky enough to be away when the Germans were in the village.
This horrible fact is known as the “Slaughter of Kommeno” and is one of the most gruesome moments of the Greek modern history. Today, a marble monument stands in the village’s square in the memory of the 317 dead of that day. It was erected in August of 1947 with expenses of the survivors.
How to get there: By car from Arta (distance 17,5 km) via Provincial Road Arta-Neochori, from Athens (distance 347 km) via E65. By bus from Arta: Daily bus routes from Arta to Kommeno and vice versa, except from Saturday and Sunday. Arta bus station (Krystalli Square), tel.: +30 26810 28 314/26 374.
Τext: Marilou Pantazi
