Haidari concentration camp

The majority of these was transported north, to Auschwitz in the case of the Jews, or to forced labour in Germany, while others were detained for questioning by the Gestapo.

[5] The regime in the camp was rather easy-going at first: visits and post were allowed, the inmates were not confined to their rooms, and did not have to perform manual labour.

As a result, it was in poor shape when the first prisoners started arriving at the beginning of September 1943,[5] and the situation would deteriorate further in the months to come, when the camp came under German control.

[8] The camp had a roughly rectangular shape, surrounded by a triple barbed wire fence, with guard towers at every 200 m (660 ft).

The infamous Block 15, located to the east of the headquarters, was the solitary confinement facility, with the camp guard's quarters and mess room.

[9] In total, over 300 Christian and 2,500 Jewish women passed through Haidari beginning on 7 December 1943, including heroines of the Resistance such as Iro Konstantopoulou or Lela Karagianni (executed on 5 and 8 September 1944 respectively).

[10] The new German commandant, sergeant Rudi Trepte, quickly imposed a more rigid regime, with prisoners confined to their rooms in their free time, and visits were restricted to once a month.

[11] Radomski was an "Old Fighter" of the Nazi Party, and one of the early companions of the feared security chief Reinhard Heydrich in Hamburg.

These included the former Prime Ministers Georgios Kaphantaris, Themistoklis Sophoulis and Stylianos Gonatas, all leaders of the pre-war Liberal Party.

[21] The Athens SiPo/SD chief, Walter Blume, intended to execute them, along with other public figures, as the German army would withdraw, leaving the country in turmoil.

[25] Since the late 1940s, the camp has been used by the Greek Army, which established an infantry heavy weapons (ΚΕΒΟΠ) and a communications school (ΚΕΔ) on the grounds.

Only in the 1980s, with the election of the socialist PASOK party to power and the passing of laws on the recognition of the Resistance and on national reconciliation, was the camp opened to annual commemoration events.