History of Europe

Bombarded! Corfu was hit 195 times in World War II!

Corfu experienced the "Dante's inferno" during the Second World War. The city was bombed a total of 195 times. In the early hours of September 13-14, 1943, the Nazis mercilessly bombarded the city with incendiary bombs, with German Junkers 87 Stuka and Junkers 88 bombers. Innocent victims, pain and heartbreak in the center of the once most beautiful city of Greece. Monuments of inestimable architectural and historical value collapsed like a sheet of paper. Their corpses still stand in the old town of the island as a reminder of the fury of the merciless enemy.

The city of Corfu paid a heavy price more than any other city in Greece. Already caught by the Italians in November 1940, it was a city unfortified and defenseless against the then modern aviation with only an anti-aircraft anti-aircraft type skoda located in the upper square. The Italian bombardment then cost 200 human lives. The sufferings of the bombardments of Corfu stopped from April 1941 until September 43, as it was under the Italian yoke, with the developments on the war fronts being rapid. The Anglo-Americans, wanting to attack the Italians, bombed Corfu in August 1943, specifically the Italian airport in Gouvia, rendering the island's central water supply pipe useless, causing terrible consequences for the people.

On September 13, a swarm of German bomber planes fired at the artillery of the former Italian allies at Melikia in Lefkimmi, the airport and the port of the south. Raids continued targeting Italian positions. At noon of the same day, the airport in the city was bombed, while in the afternoon, Stavros and the Windmill, a trademark of the island in Garitsa, were bombed. The bombings hit the Old Fortress, Pano Platia, Avrami hill, Kefalomandouko, Vidos, Mandouki, Garitsa, Analipsi and other areas, including the Jewish quarter which was in the heart of the old city.

That night, the Corfu people paid dearly for the "Italian resistance". The shelling stopped and many residents, after the alarm ended, returned shortly before midnight to their homes to see if they had any damage. They believed that the Germans, like the Italians, would not bomb during the evening hours. But shortly after two in the morning the roar of the German planes spread terror on the island. Huge flames, from the incendiary bombs, began to "swallow" the tall houses of the people of Corfu. Corfu was on fire. The fires in the city were visible even from Igoumenitsa. Men, women and children were running to save themselves.

The narrow cantonments were filled with stifling smoke. The flames licked the walls of the houses, from inside the fire consumed the wooden floors and lofts, which gave up any struggle to stand upright. People ran like mice to hide in basements, which served as shelters. Others were trying to get their children, wives and the helpless out of the burning ruins. Several ran to the temple of the island's patron Saint Spyridon to save themselves. Corfu was ablaze. This time it was not Nero who burned Rome, it was the fierce revenge of the Germans against their Italian traitors, conquerors of the most beautiful Greek city. In one night, 842 families were left without homes, while another 345 houses had to be demolished after the severe damage they suffered.

The bombardment continued in Corfu until September 25, the day the city was captured by German troops. From the bombings, 70% of the buildings of the historic city of Corfu were damaged. 535 buildings were completely destroyed, among them the courthouse, the customs office, the post office, the port authority, the Barracks of the Old Fortress, the Municipal Theater of Corfu, the cultural Acropolis of the island, a miniature of the Milanese Staircase and one of the best in Europe, along with his rare music archive. The famous Annunciata, the Latin church of Panagia Evangelistria, a building of the 14th century, inextricably linked to the history of the island. Only the bell tower was saved, where it dominates to this day in the heart of the city.

320 buildings were seriously damaged, among them the Ionian Parliament, the first Greek Parliament, the Ionian Academy, the building that housed the first Greek University (1824) together with its Archives, as well as the Corfu Public Library, which was co-located in this building, with rare editions. Markas, the market of Corfu, the luxury hotel Bella Venezia, one of the best hotels of the time, the residence of the Latin Archbishop in the Town Hall Square, most of the buildings of the Jewish Quarter, as well as one of its two Synagogues, were destroyed. the Nursing Home, the Psychiatry, the Orphanage, many Orthodox churches, such as Panagia (Odegetria), the Holy Trinity, the Taxiarches, the Ag. Fathers, the current museum of ecclesiastical art, the Pantokrator in Campiello, Ag. Eleftherios, St. Ekaterini, Ypapanti and hundreds of homes of Corfu citizens.

12 holy temples in the city were also completely destroyed, while 13 were seriously damaged. According to the data published in a magazine published by the municipality of Corfu in September 1999, during the 1940 saga, Corfu received a total of 127 bombardments from the Italians, 32 from the Germans and 36 from the Allies. The human casualties exceeded 2200, the wounded were around 3800, while those who were imprisoned or exiled reached around 4700. Since then, many buildings have been restored, others rebuilt from scratch, but not reminiscent of their former form, such as the Corfu Theatre. Even today, the "torn skeletons of the Jewish quarter, but also of Annunziata, remind everyone of the terror that the city experienced, keeping alive the memories of its long-suffering history, the epic of the 1940s.

SOURCE:APE-ME