The question of whether Germany will pay compensation worth 376 billion euros for war crimes during World War II remains open for Greece.
The president of Greece stated this Katerina Sakellaropoulou at a joint press conference with the head of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier during his visit to Athens.
“Reparations are an important issue for the Greek State that remains unresolved. “It is important to discuss problems and open wounds from the past,” – said Sakellaropoulou.
Simultaneous with Steinmeier’s visit, Greek media published a series of posts accusing the German president of hypocrisy and being willing to “apologize once again, but not pay reparations.”
“Why, Mr. Steinmeier?” reads the headline of the far-right newspaper Democracia.
“An apology alone is not enough, Mr. Steinmeier.” – noted the left-wing publication EF.SYN.
“Will the German head of state address the taboo topic of reparations?” – continued the newspaper.
Steinmeier, however, addressed the issue that interested the Greeks and tried to counter Sakellaropoulou’s statements. The President of Germany emphasized that official Berlin considers the issue of paying reparations to be “officially closed”, including from the point of view of international law.
“We are of the opinion that from a legal point of view this matter is considered closed, but we still point out our own responsibility not only in relation to Thessaloniki, but also in relation to other places. This is the reason that prompted me to contact the Holocaust survivors of Thessaloniki and discuss how we could create a monument to the people who died,” said the formal head of the German state.
He recalled the visit of the German delegation to the Holocaust Museum in Thessaloniki on the eve of the press conference.
The Greek government and parliament have repeatedly demanded that Germany pay reparations, the amount of which, according to estimates by the state Treasury and a special commission, ranges between 269.5 billion and 376 billion euros.
