(Greece) Tension with Berlin peaks over war reparation claims, jibes

[JackRiddler]

Source: Kathimerini (Greek Daily)

Tensions peaked between Greece and Germany on Wednesday after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras renewed Greek demands for war reparations from Berlin for Nazi war crimes and statements by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble were perceived by authorities in Athens as offensive.

(...)

Athens was also said to be annoyed at the terse rection from the German government to new Greek demands for war reparations from Germany. In particular, Greek diplomats were said to be irked by a statement by a spokeswoman for the German foreign ministry which suggested that Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias did not broach the issue of war reparations during his recent visit to Berlin. The spokesman for Greece's foreign ministry, Constantinos Koutras, said he understood that Kotzias had indeed raised the issue of war reparations during his visit to Berlin on February 10.

There was exasperation in Germany too with Bavarian conservative Hans Michelbach responding to suggestions by Greek Justice Minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos that German assets in Greece could be seized.

"If it came to Greek violations of German property, Germany would know how to defend itself," he said.

Read more: http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_12/03/2015_548129

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Yesterday's story on the Greek reparations claim:

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_11/03/2015_548093

Justice Minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos has said he is ready to sign an older court ruling that will enable the foreclosure of German assets in Greece in order to compensate the relatives of victims of Nazi crimes during the Second World War.

Greece's Supreme Court ruled in favor of Distomo survivors in 2000, but the decision has not been enforced. Distomo, a small village in central Greece, lost 218 lives in a Nazi massacre in 1944.

(...)

During the same debate, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras expressed his government’s firm intention to seek war reparations from Germany, noting that Athens would show sensitivity that it hoped to see reciprocated from Berlin.

Tsipras told MPs that the matter of war reparations was “very technical and sensitive” but one he has a duty to pursue. He also seemed to indirectly connect the matter to talks between Greece and its international creditors on the country’s loan program. “The Greek government will strive to honor its commitments to the full,” he said. “But it will also strive to ensure all unfulfilled obligations toward Greece and the Greek people are fulfilled,” he added. “You cannot pick and choose on ethical issues.” Tsipras noted that Germany got support “despite the crimes of the Third Reich” chiefly thanks to the London Debt Agreement of 1953. Since reunification, German governments have used “silence, legal tricks and delays” to avoid solving the problem, he said. “We are not giving morality lessons but we will not accept morality lessons either,” Tsipras said.

[forest444]

1. To wit:

Hitler "borrowed" 500 million Reichsmarks from the Greek Central Bank as the war was winding down in 1944 and Nazi Germany found itself cash-strapped, its leadership scrambling to emigrate to warmer climes in Portugal, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Escondido, CA.

Applying a 3% annual interest rate, this translates to 95 billion dollars. Of course, if you include damages for the destruction and myriad atrocities inflicted on the Greek people at the time, the total could easily be twice that much.

[elleng]

2. "If it came to Greek violations of German property, Germany would know how to defend itself,"

Bavarian conservative Hans Michelbach said.

At least 'There was exasperation in Germany' with his remarks.

[Fred Sanders]

3. Make war so expensive it is not worth it....not just in blood, but in what really matters to some....money.

Greece should send a brigade of soldiers marching across Europe to the borders of Germany demanding Justice or they take Justice by force, damn it!

Then we take Berlin!

The incomparable Leonard Cohen:

[Javaman]

4. so, how long until Greese tells the EU FU and leaves? nt

[JackRiddler]

5. Not the EU. The Eurozone, however, maybe.

The EU can and will be transformed, and a Greek success in ending austerity policy would go a long way to helping that cause. It probably requires Grexit & a major shock period to do it.

[Blue_Tires]

6. Why didn't Greece make this an issue *before* they joined the Eurozone?

[JackRiddler]

7. They did actually.

The Greek Supreme Court ruling dates from 2000, and Greece has brought up these issues since the time of the war. Germany has always found technical reasons to delay. This is an issue for the new Greek president (a formal position), a right-winger but a lawyer who has specialized in Greek demands on Germany for many years.

Please note that a new left-wing Greek government willing to challenge the hegemony within the EU only came to power in January. Until then, the governments since the crisis started in 2009 were willing to and assiduous in implementing every single EU-ECB-IMF dictate for austerity. The Greek people finally voted down this policy (55% for the left-center, 55% for left and right anti-austerity).

The new government is mandated to end austerity and out to challenge the legitimacy of the supposed Greek debt. They are opportunistically (but rightfully) using the German reparations issue to highlight the absurdity of the conditions that Germany demands that Greece be subjected to.

As Tsipras and Syriza say, the biggest debt forgiveness in history was granted to Germany in 1953, so that it could grow its economy. Greece is asking for nothing different from that, and the German government is making it impossible... Why?

[Blue_Tires]

8. Well let's be honest -- Greece isn't getting reparations any more

than I'm getting my 40 acres and a mule from Washington...

Obviously the German gov't and other Greek debt owners are reluctant to cede any ground because Spain-Portugal-Italy will start screaming about debt forgiveness and then the whole thing collapses...