Greek PM says Germany used ‘legal tricks’ to avoid paying WWII reparations

The issue of war reparations dating from the 1941-44 Nazi occupation of Greece is likely to increase already heightened tensions between Athens and Berlin. The two countries are already squabbling over Greek demands to renegotiate the terms of a €240 billion ($260 billion) bailout. However, with Germany showing few signs of leniency, the new left-wing Syriza government has decided to raise the issue of war reparations again with Berlin.

Central to Greece’s grievances was a loan the Nazis forced the Greek national bank to pay them of 476 million Reichsmarks, now worth roughly $12 billion. The loan was never repaid, while Greece is also seeking further reparations from Germany due to the destruction wrought upon the nation during the Nazi occupation.

PM Tsipras on war reparations Full speech http://t.co/3ZV2JXqKHN#Greece#Germanyhttp://ift.tt/1AhNQ4n

— Derek Gatopoulos (@dgatopoulos) March 10, 2015

"Germany has never properly paid reparations for the damage done to Greece by the Nazi occupation," Prime Minister Tsipras told the Greek parliament Tuesday. "The crimes carried out by the Nazis are still vivid, and we have a moral obligation to remember what the forces did to the country."

Greece has been trying to get Germany to pay war damages for decades, but Athens has never quantified its reparation claims. The movement to get Berlin to pay up has become stronger over the last few years as Athens experiences financial hardships following austerity measures, which were a prerequisite of being given the bailout money, to stop the country from falling into financial ruin.

Tsipras says 115mn DMarks given Greece by Germany in 1961 in no way covers forced loan and reparations for war crimes, infrastructure razed.

— George Gilson (@ggathens) March 10, 2015

Tsipras says he will get a parliamentary commission to look into the matter, saying: "After the reunification of Germany in 1990, the legal and political conditions were created for this issue to be solved. But since then, German governments chose silence, legal tricks and delay.”

"And I wonder, because there is a lot of talk at the European level these days about moral issues: is this stance moral?" he said.

READ MORE: Payback time? Greek PM seeks reparations over Nazi occupation & war-time loan

Berlin has flatly denied it owes Athens any more money, saying it has already settled its debts following German reunification in 1990. The “Two Plus Four” treaty, which involved East and West Germany, as well as the four occupying nations following the Second World War, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States, saw them renounce all rights they formerly held in Germany. The document was also approved by Greece, which would effectively draw a line under any future possible claims for war reparations.

Germany says it paid Greece war damages of $25 million in the 1950s, equivalent to $220 million today, and also paid out 115 million Deutschmarks (a sum worth around $230 million today), to victims of Nazi crimes in the early 1960s.

Athens has said it always considered that money as only an initial payment and expected the rest of the money to be paid back following German reunification.