Distomo heirs demand Justice Minister authorize seizure of German assets

Through their lawyer, Christina Stamouli, the families are seeking permission under the Code of Civil Procedure to enforce a 1997 decision by the Livadeia Multi-Member Court.

The ruling held Germany liable for the SS slaughter of 218 civilians, including women and children.

Although the Greek Supreme Court upheld the decision in 2000, enforcement has been blocked for decades.

Greek law requires the justice minister's signature to seize foreign state property, a step successive governments have avoided to preserve diplomatic relations with Berlin.

The legal notice specifically requests that Mr. Floridis grant this approval or repeal the immunity provision entirely.

"This would prove to the few remaining WWII survivors… that the Greek state does not grant privileged immunity to foreign governments," the filing states.

Ms. Stamouli’s filing reignites the sensitive debate over uncompensated Nazi-era atrocities. While Germany considers the reparations issue legally closed, the Distomo case remains one of Greece’s most significant unhealed wartime wounds.