The grandson of a Greek political prisoner executed by Nazi forces during World War II has expressed deep emotion after discovering that rare photographs of the event include his grandfather.
The execution wall at the Kaisariani Shooting Range in the Kaisariani suburb of Athens, Monday, where 200 Greek communist political prisoners were executed by Nazi forces on May 1, 1944
Thrasyvoulos Marakis shared his feelings with the Cretan newspaper Nea Kriti following a call from the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) headquarters in Athens. They informed him that his grandfather, Thrasyvoulos Kalafatakis—after whom Marakis is named—appears in one of the images, prominently positioned in a white shirt.
“It’s very moving,” Marakis said. “I knew he had been executed, but I didn’t know about the photo. I had no records—nothing. Now I’m waiting for them to send it to me.”
The family holds only sparse mementos of Kalafatakis: a single photograph, a civil registry document, and an entry in a book listing those killed on May 1, 1944, at the Kaisariani Shooting Range in Athens’ suburb during the German occupation.
Marakis recounted a poignant family story: His grandfather, along with two others, helped save a 19-year-old prisoner named Athanasios Kourementzas from execution. When German forces selected mostly younger detainees for the firing squad, the three men pulled Kourementzas from the transport truck and substituted an older prisoner in his place. Kourementzas survived, later worked in a bank, and years afterward gave Marakis his first job at age 14.
The black-and-white photographs—believed to be 12 in total—surfaced over the weekend on eBay, listed by a Belgian collector specializing in German military memorabilia. They appear to capture the condemned men, mainly communist resistance fighters and hostages, being led to the execution site in reprisal for resistance actions, including the assassination of a German general. Until now, no known photographic evidence of this specific mass execution existed, though the event has been historically documented.
The images sparked widespread public outrage in Greece over the commercialization of such a tragic historical moment. In response, the seller withdrew them from auction. The Greek Culture Ministry stated it is “very possible” the photographs are authentic—potentially taken by a journalist attached to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels’ unit—and announced plans to pursue their acquisition through legal channels for preservation in national historical archives. Experts are reportedly examining the material further, including potential missions to Belgium for verification.
The KKE described the photos as “priceless” and has tentatively identified at least two victims, emphasizing their significance in highlighting the prisoners’ courage. Marakis later wrote in a letter that he feels grateful for the chance to have his grandfather’s story—marked by unwavering fidelity to his beliefs—become more widely known.