“T2023 marks 80 years since the burning of the villages of Morfovouni and Mesenikola by the Italian invaders in June 1943 and the burning of almost all the communities of the current Municipality of Limni Plastira, by the German invaders in November – December 1943, who leveled some villages and they executed those they found before them. At the same time, in the same year, tragic events took place that marked the History of our country, but also of the country itself, such as the Civil War that followed”.

These are elements included in the 4th volume of the six-monthly review of Local History entitled “History”, published by the Municipality of Limni Plastira, and brought to light by the mayor Panagiotis Nanos. The review is published in electronic form (immediately available), and in print from a Karditsa publishing house. The 4th issue is dedicated to the event for the 80th anniversary of the burning of the villages of Lake Plastira by Italian and German invaders. For the first time, unknown facts and rare photographic material from the German and Italian raids are coming to light. The volume was presented at the event of honor and memory on the occasion of the completion of 80 years since the total burning of the villages and the execution of those residents who remained in their homes. Mr. Nanos, referring to the history of the holocaust of the area by Italian and German invaders, notes: “1943 was marked by violence and brutality of a war that shows its hideous face: Burning of villages, executions of civilians, rape of women, horrible tortures, hostages, thefts, brutal brutality against the civilian population, insulting values, acts that constitute war crimes which are not time-barred. The economic and social damages are incalculable. The burning of the villages was much more than the absence of a hearth for the hundreds of families who were left naked, hungry, penniless and sick. The fire destroyed architectural and other elements, monuments of a Popular Culture were lost, together with valuable evidence of Collective and Individual memory». He then goes on to give a detailed description of the disasters emphasizing:

“On March 6, 1943, Vounesi was bombed by an Italian airplane, which, after making reconnaissance flights, dropped about ten bombs from the center of the village and in the direction of the “Zava” fountain, spreading terror and death, leaving ruins, two dead, Sotiris Dalagiorgos father of five children and six-year-old Giorgakis K. Kyritsis, who was killed in his mother’s arms by shell fragments, while a woman was running in fear to hide, at the time of the bombing. Apart from herself (Theodora Kyritsis), Aikaterini Alexandris was injured, other residents were slightly injured. Some houses were completely destroyed and others partially. On June 13, 1943, the villages of Morfovouni (Vounessi) and Mesenikolas were burned to the ground by the Italians, who executed those they found in front of them. The Italians started by burning the capital villages of Porta and Mouzaki, but also smaller villages such as Porti, Sklatina, Vatsinia. Going up from Agios Akakios towards the plateau of Nevropolis, they passed through the livestock settlement of Rachovitsa Vounesiou, where they burned the few houses and executed the brothers Stamogiorgos Yiannis and Stamogiorgos Thomas and their first cousin Stamogiorgos Giorgos. Next, they headed to the monastery of Agia Triada, which functioned as a tuberculosis sanatorium from 1937 until 1941, when the last patients left. The Italians shot the guard of the monastery, who escaped, and set fire to the monastery complex, which was completely destroyed. The church, being empty of equipment that could burn, was saved with the only loss of the second dome, which fell probably due to overheating from the flames of the burning cells. Next, the Italian conquerors went to Vounesi, which had been abandoned by almost all the inhabitants. There was a short battle at the entrance of the village by armed ELAS rebels, who tried to prevent the Italians from entering the village. Of the more than 300 houses and stables that the village had, only 6 houses were saved as the fire was extinguished due to lack of oxygen and the damage to them was limited. In Vounesi, on the day of the holocaust, the Italians executed 13 civilians».

During the forced movement of the residents to the mountains, he continues, a 30-day-old infant, an unbaptized boy of Fotis Kotopoulis, died of hardship from the cold and spending the night in the countryside. Those of the residents who made the mistake and stayed in the village, or objectively for reasons of weakness could not move, and other elderly women with health problems, lost their lives. Few hostages survived, among them the major of the Greek Army Theodosis Kyriazis, who urged the residents not to leave and that the Italian soldiers are civilized, will respect their military honor and will not turn against civilians. According to the same data, Mesenikolas was the second village that the Italians destroyed and burned it in its entirety, on 13/6/43, while they executed many civilians, mainly elderly people who, due to weakness, did not leave their homes. The insurgents led by Pericles Papadimitriou (Itamos), in order to prevent the ascent of the Italians who were crossing the Karditsis-Agrini road, blew up the bridge over the stream “Mylos tou Papadoulis” forcing the Italians to climb on foot, from the path that leads to Mesenicola. There the conquerors executed those they found, while burning the village as a whole. In Moschato in June, the Italians burned down the Primary School, Ai-Yiannis, a cafe and a sheepfold on the outskirts of the village. They intended to burn the village, but it was saved thanks to a resident named Kolofotias from Moschato, who had worked for several years in Paris as a hotel clerk, knew English – French and successfully negotiated the salvation of the village. In November 1943, the Germans, as part of the “Panther” liquidation operations, decide to destroy all the villages in order to suppress the Resistance. The operations lasted from 27-11-1943 to 3-12-1943 and were carried out by the infamous “Edelweiss” division. The German raid on Nevropolis (now Plastira Lake area) would have had more devastating results, but the winter weather conditions (rainy weather, fog and snow on the mountain tops) limited the action of the bomber planes, while the humidity prevented the transmission of fire. The destruction of Popular Culture is incalculable, because the special architectural color of the villages, most two-story large houses, many of them mansions, were lost forever. What was built afterwards was of necessity and without particular architectural value and most of the ground floors.

The damages to the ecclesiastical monuments, monasteries and churches of our villages, which were not respected by the conquerors, were also significant. From the report of the Civil Engineer of the Prefecture of Karditsa filed on 28-9-1945, (which is preserved in the Archive of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, file of National War Issues, Cultural destruction), it appears that in the Prefecture of Karditsa during the period of the Occupation, disasters occurred in churches and monasteries, which were valued at 2,237,000,000 pre-war drachmas (which had a different value and value than the post-war ones). Of this amount, 549,000,000 pre-war drachmas concern the churches of the former Municipality of Nevropolis and today the Municipality of Limni Plastira, except for the villages of Kastania – Moucha and Agios Georgios which today belong to Karditsa. In the Municipality of Limni Plastira of Thessalian Agrafa, Mr. Nanos emphasizes, war crimes were committed which eighty years later remain in the dark, without anyone ever asking for even a single apology for them, even for symbolic reasons. An unknown war crime which was not highlighted as much as it should have been, are the dead Italian soldiers of the Pinerolo Division, who were found by conquerors as guests in the villages of Agrafio, after the capitulation of Italy in the fall of 1943 with the allies and the cooperation of the Pinerolo Division with the National Resistance, ELAS and the British who were responsible. More than 1,000 Italians perished in the makeshift camp in Neraida, some were executed by the Germans, others perished from hunger, cold, disease and generally the miserable living conditions that led to their death. About 5,500 Italians were saved because they were accommodated in the villages of Agrafio and escaped certain death.

He concludes by stressing to the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency: “It is the duty of the modern Local Government, alongside the projects, infrastructures and services that improve the quality of life, to highlight History in a dynamic way. We have a duty to teach the new generation to learn lessons from History. But not with sterile and wooden words, not as “teaching material”, but through the example of their own family, their own relatives who starred as “anonymous” Greeks. To realize that their grandfather’s name is among those heroes who wrote History. And we are not only referring to the war events, but to the local economic and social reality. We have to deal with the epics of peace, to highlight values ​​such as: Folk Culture, Tradition, Local Production and Economy, which can wonderfully give us even today goods with quality and economic value. Above all, let’s show the new generation the aesthetics and philosophy over time, so that the young people can choose what they deserve and has a place in their lives, to walk safely with Beauty and Harmony”.