Athens sends experts to Belgium to verify Nazi massacre photographs

19 February 2026

The Greek government has formally declared a series of photographs depicting a 1944 Nazi massacre as national heritage, after the images were offered for sale on eBay by a Belgian collector. Greece now intends to acquire the photographs once their authenticity has been confirmed. Greek minister of culture Lina Mendoni said on Wednesday that experts would travel to Belgium this week to examine them.

Belgian collector at centre of controversy in Greece over sale of Nazi photographs

A Belgian collector has found himself at the centre of a controversy in Greece after he listed unique photographs of the execution of 200 Greek...

belganewsagency.eu

According to Mendoni, the photographs, which show the execution of communist resistance fighters near Athens, are of exceptional historical significance. She described the massacre as one of the worst atrocities committed by the Nazi regime in Greece.

The photos "offer an opportunity to view the drama of occupied Greece through the eyes of the occupying forces," Mendoni said, adding that they were likely taken by Hermann Heuer, a German army lieutenant who also served in Belgium and France.

By designating the collection as national heritage, the ministry has established the legal basis to claim the images and secure them for the Greek state, the minister added. Specialists from the ministry are due to travel to Evergem on Friday to study the material.

The previously unknown photographs surfaced after Belgian collector Tim de Craene, who runs a trading platform specialising in Second World War documents and coins, put them up for auction. Uncovered by the Facebook group “Greece at WWII Archives”, the images show the execution of 200 Greek resistance fighters (most of them communists) in the Athens suburb of Kaisariani on 1 May 1944, reportedly capturing their final moments before they were shot by Nazi forces.

De Craene has since withdrawn the auction, stating that he understands the images are particularly sensitive. At the same time, the Belgian collector emphasised that his legal ownership of the photographs must be recognised.

^{#FlandersNewsService | A photo from the collection of Tim de Craene via Ebay. © EBAY / FACEBOOK GREECE AT WWII ARCHIVES}

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