With great honor and emotion, members of the Board of Directors of the Maritime Museum of Crete attended and participated in the official commemorative events held in Austria, marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Mauthausen concentration camp.
Mauthausen was one of the most brutal and inhumane concentration camps of the Nazi regime. It operated in Upper Austria from 1938 until its liberation in 1945 and served as a site of suffering and extermination for thousands of people from across Europe—Jews, political prisoners, resistance fighters, and others persecuted by the Nazi regime. Prisoners endured exhausting forced labor, torture, and mass executions. Particularly notorious was the “Stairs of Death,” a set of 186 steps leading from the quarry to the camp, which prisoners were forced to ascend and descend while carrying heavy stones.
Among those imprisoned were many Greeks, including Cretan resistance fighters who were arrested and deported for their active role in the struggle against the German occupation. Despite the horrific conditions, many displayed remarkable courage, dignity, and solidarity.
The presence of the Maritime Museum of Crete at the memorial events highlights the enduring importance of preserving historical memory and honoring the resistance of the Cretan people against fascism and oppression.
