Greece announced Monday it will attempt to acquire photographs believed to capture the final moments of 200 Greeks executed by Nazi forces in Athens during World War II, after the previously unseen images were listed for sale online.
The images that appeared on eBay over the weekend allegedly show the men being led to their deaths on May 1, 1944, at a shooting range in the Kaisariani suburb of the Greek capital. Although the executions were well known, there were no known photos or film documentation of the event.
Greece's Culture Ministry said Monday that "it is very possible that these are authentic photographs," adding that it will seek to obtain them as historical archives after they were put up for sale on Saturday by a collector in Belgium of German military memorabilia.
The series of pictures show men being led through a gateway and down a path. They stand straight as they are lined up in front of a wall.
The Kaisariani executions of 200 communist political prisoners were one of the worst atrocities during the Third Reich's occupation of Greece and remain a seminal moment for the country.
