[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 70 (Monday, May 21, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E861]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E861]]



    IN HONOR OF THE SURVIVORS AND DEPENDENTS OF THE BATTLE OF CRETE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 21, 2001

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
the survivors and dependents of the Battle of Crete, May 20th, 1941. On 
that morning sixty years ago, Nazi military forces invaded the island 
of Crete through air, land and sea. This would be one of the many times 
where the proud people of Crete have been called to defend their land 
and their strong belief in freedom.
  As waves of German paratroopers landed on the Cretan soil, men, women 
and children fought with what little they had to defend against 
advancing fascist oppressors. During the first day of the invasion the 
Nazi military suffered high losses. The German military encountered a 
vicious resistance that they had not expected. Hitler's elite 7th 
Parachute Division had suffered casualties from an opponent who was 
equipped with knives and homemade weapons. The bombings that occurred 
in the cities such as Chania, Rethimnon, and Herakleion did not lower 
the morale of the people but strengthened their will to defend the 
island.
  The Nazi forces took nine days to finally conquer the island and 
endured a heavy number of casualties. The Cretan people sought refuge 
in the mountains and staged a resistance that continued on until the 
final defeat of the Germans in 1945.
  The Battle of Crete is viewed by many as significant in delaying 
Hitler's attack on the Soviet Union and hastening the defeat of the 
Nazi regime of World War II. The achievements of Cretan soldiers were 
praised by the Allied Powers and gave hope to those who struggled 
against the Nazi oppressors. More than twenty-five thousand Cretans 
lost their lives in the battle and the Nazi occupation that followed. 
Their villages were burnt to the ground as reprisals for their 
continued resistance while mass executions of women, children, and the 
elderly became a daily event. The Nazis were forced to place a large 
number of troops in the region due to the continued resistance from the 
heroic Cretans. Their bravery and willingness to sacrifice their lives 
for the well being of future generations deserves to be honored by all 
defenders of freedom and democracy.
  This year, the 60th year anniversary of the Battle of Crete, 
President Nikolaos Kastrinkis and the members of the Cretan Association 
``Omonoia'', President Voula Vomvolakis and the members of 
``Pasiphae'', President George Motakis and the members of ``Labrys'' 
President Emmanuel Michelakis and the members of ``Minos'', President 
Emmanuel Polychronkis and the members of ``Idomeneas'', President 
Emmanuel Piperakis and the members of ``Brotherhood'', President Dinos 
Mastorakis and the members of ``Kazantzakis'' and President Evangelos 
Xenakis and the members of ``Philoxenia'' will honor these brave 
guardians of freedom.
  It is our duty to preserve and honor their memory and heroic actions 
that brought forth the defeat of oppression and fascism. The freedom 
that we now enjoy became possible in part by the blood shed by these 
heroes. I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to a small 
island with brave inhabitants that significantly contributed to the 
preservation of our freedom today.

                          ____________________