Massacre village wins compensation

By the BBC's Paul Wood

The Greek Supreme Court has ruled that Germany must pay compensation to the small Greek village of Distomo.

Some 218 residents were murdered by summary execution by German troops in June 1944.

The cold-blooded killings were part of a last-ditch German effort to crush partisan resistance.

In 1997, a lower court in Greece ordered Germany to pay $27m to relatives of the dead.

However Germany said then that reparation cases could not be tried by the Greek courts, as all compensation demands had been settled in 1960.

Historic ruling

Now, in what is being hailed as an historic ruling, the Greek Supreme Court has disagreed, handing down a final ruling in favour of the relatives.

The relatives' lawyers are examining what their next moves will be if Germany refuses to comply with the court's decision.

They say the options include moves to seize German state property in Greece, or taking the case to the German courts.

Failing that, they may press the issue with the European Court for Human Rights, or persuade the Greek Government to open direct negotiations with Berlin.

Brutal occupation

The Germans' World War Two occupation of Greece was often brutal, with many civilian casualties, especially in areas where the resistance movement was strong.

It is likely that the modern-day German authorities will continue to point to the 1960 agreement, opposing a settlement in favour of Distomo that might open the way for a flood of new claims.