National Public Radio
February 21, 2012
Europe is still a continent that looks over its shoulder at a long and sometimes dark past. That extends even to the protracted Greek bailout negotiations, where Germany's dominant role has scratched at some historical wounds.
Germany occupied Greece during World War II, committing atrocities that some older Greeks can't forget. This history defines the pretty village of Distomo in central Greece, where Nazi soldiers killed 218 men, women and children in June 1944.
Panagiotis Sfountouris, 74, says he'll never forget that day. He was just 6 years old when he and his younger sister escaped death by hiding in a relative's basement. When they returned home, they found their parents shot dead and their 2-year-old brother gutted by a bayonet.
"I ran to the balcony and screamed, 'They've killed my father and my mother and our little Niko!' " Sfountouris recalls. "Nothing moved in Distomo, nothing at all. We saw dead people everywhere. When it started getting dark, we got scared all over again. My uncle came to get us, and we spent the night hiding in the mountains."
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