In the basement of 4 Korai Street: The most important part of the memorial are the many messages scratched into the walls by desperate prisoners.
Image: Michael Martens
In the heart of Athens lies a memorial that is easy to miss. If you go down the steps, you end up in German-occupied Athens during the Second World War.
JEvery metropolis has its unknown corridors, chambers and corners, which sometimes even many locals know nothing about. One such place is in the middle of Athens, just a few steps from the National Library, a Starbucks and the neoclassical main building of the university. Very few locals have ever been there, some have never heard of it – and many have probably walked past it hundreds of times without even noticing it. “Historical Memorial 1941-1944” is written on a sign above the door – but what it is about and what or if there is anything to see behind it, the board does not reveal.
Anyone who still decides to open the doors is a few steps later in another world. It immediately goes downstairs, and six meters below you are in the middle of German-occupied Athens during the Second World War. It’s quiet, the noise of the Greek capital doesn’t penetrate down here. The first thing you notice are the German inscriptions on the doors between the individual rooms: “Gas protection door. Mannesmann Stahlblechbau Aktiengesellschaft. Berlin C 2. Identification no. RL 3-86/64. Sales approved in accordance with Section 8 of the Air Protection Act.”