Photos of Nazi executions at Kaisariani surfaces - Culture Ministry to buy

Mr. Kaklamanis said Culture Minister Lina Mendoni informed him that the Belgian collector who recently listed 12 photos of the Kaisariani massacre on an online auction site possesses a complete album. 

He described the broader collection as "an indisputable historical relic that must come to Greece."

The revelation follows the Ministry of Culture's decision earlier this week to declare the photographs a protected national monument. 

Mr. Kaklamanis called the designation a strategic advantage, noting that eBay's policies prohibit the sale of items classified as evidence of Nazi war crimes. 

The restriction forces the seller to negotiate privately rather than through a public bidding war.

"I believe there will be a positive outcome," Mr. Kaklamanis told state broadcaster ERT, adding that discussions with the Ghent-based collector are proceeding constructively.

Greek experts are scheduled to meet with the seller in Belgium on Friday to physically examine the material and verify its authenticity.

The rare black-and-white images, believed to have been taken by German officers, capture the final moments of the condemned men—mostly communist prisoners from the Haidari camp—before they were marched to the firing squad on May 1, 1944. 

Their sudden appearance online has sparked a nationwide push to repatriate the archive as a vital piece of Greece's modern national heritage.