Viannos massacres
| Viannos massacres | |
|---|---|
| Location | Viannos, Heraklion, Crete, Kingdom of Greece (under German-occupation) |
| Coordinates | 35°2′49″N 25°29′22″E / 35.04694°N 25.48944°E |
| Date | 14–16 September 1943 |
Attack type | Mass execution |
| Weapons | machine guns and rifles |
| Deaths | 500+ Cretan men (Mass murder) |
| Perpetrators | Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller 22nd Air Landing Division |
| Motive | Anti-Greek sentiment, reprisal |
The Viannos massacres (Greek: Σφαγές της Βιάννου / Ολοκαύτωμα της Βιάννου) were a mass extermination campaign launched by German forces against the civilian residents of around 20 villages located in the areas of east Viannos and west Ierapetra provinces on the Greek island of Crete during World War II. The killings, with a death toll in excess of 500, were carried out on 14–16 September 1943 by Wehrmacht units. They were accompanied by the burning of most villages, looting, and the destruction of harvests.
The loss of life amounted to one of the deadliest massacres during the Axis occupation of Greece, second only to the massacre of Kalavryta. It was ordered by Generalleutnant Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller, in retaliation for the support and involvement of the local population in the Cretan resistance. Müller, who earned the nickname "the Butcher of Crete", was executed after the war for his part in this and other massacres.