Annual Memorial for the Kalavrita Massacre

The Kalavrita massacre (Σφαγή των Καλαβρύτων) was the near extermination of the male population and the total destruction of the town of Kalavrita, by the German Army during World War II, on December 13 1943. In an effort to destroy the Greek resistance movement that has gained traction in Greece, the German Army initiated Project Kalavrita. In the early morning of December 13 1943 the German Army rounded up all residents in the town of Kalavrita and forced them into the school building where they separated the older boys and men from the women and children. They moved the men to a field just overlooking the town. After looting the town and setting it ablaze, the Germans machine-gunned the men. 438 men, boys and seniors were killed. Following this atrocity the German army then proceeded to lock the rounded up women and children into a primary school. After doing so the Germans set the school on fire. Luckily, they found a way to escape the school. The following day the German troops burned down the Agia Lavra monastery, a landmark of the Greek War of Independence. During the reprisals of Operation Kalavrita 693 civilians were killed; their names are listed on memorials in Kalavrita and other villages. Twenty-eight communities – towns, villages, monasteries and settlements – were destroyed. In Kalavrita itself about 1,000 houses were looted and burned. Every year in December the Pankalavritinon Association of Toronto holds a memorial service after Sunday Liturgy. Join us this year at St. John The Baptist Greek Orthodox Church (1385 Warden Ave. Toronto ON) for our annual memorial service commemorating those that lost their lives in the days around December 13 1943. After the memorial service the council will host a meet and greet at the lower level of the church to introduce itself to all attending and to go over this years’ planned events.