The invasion of Crete in May 1941 was the first major airborne assault in history. Despite their victory, the elite German paratroopers suffered such heavy losses that Adolf Hitler forbade further airborne operations of such large scale for the rest of the war. The memorial was erected at the end of a stone staircase leading to the top of a small hill. It consisted of a tall pedestal built from stone blocks, atop which stood a concrete diving eagle gripping a swastika in its talons.
Present stateedit
The memorial's pedestal as it is today.
Originally in the countryside, Germaniko pouli is today encompassed by dense urban buildings and has lent its name to the surrounding area. Apart from the swastika which was covered with cement soon after the liberation of Crete, the memorial stood more or less intact until the early 2000s. In the winter of 2001, a storm demolished most of the eagle's body.[1] Today, the pedestal and its inscription are in a derelict state and mostly covered with graffiti. There were some discussions and controversy whether it should be restored or demolished. However, in the summer of 2018, the memorial was taken down due to frequent outrage expressed by tourists.[1][2]
Anna Maria Droumpouki, Μνημεία της λήθης. Ίχνη του Β΄ Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου στην Ελλάδα και στην Ευρώπη, prologue: Hagen Fleischer, Athens: Polis Editions, 2014, pp. 215-222. (in Greek)
External linksedit
Germaniko pouli pictures
Referencesedit
^ abΤο πουλί είχε τη δική του ιστορία, Ιός της Κυριακής, Ελευθεροτυπία, 31/3/2001. Archived here
^. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2010-05-13.
fallschirmjäger, memorial, german, fallschirmjäger, denkmal, german, memorial, german, parachutists, fell, during, battle, crete, world, memorial, known, cretans, german, bird, greek, Γερμανικό, πουλί, germaniko, pouli, evil, bird, greek, Κακό, πουλί, kako, po. The Fallschirmjager memorial German Fallschirmjager Denkmal is a German war memorial for German parachutists who fell during the ten day Battle of Crete in World War II The memorial known to Cretans as the German bird Greek Germaniko poyli Germaniko pouli or the Evil bird Greek Kako poyli Kako pouli was erected in 1941 by the occupation forces and is located about three kilometers west of Chania on the road to Agii Apostoli Wreath deposits at the memorial during the Axis occupation Contents 1 Original memorial 2 Present state 3 See also 4 Bibliography 5 External links 6 ReferencesOriginal memorial edit nbsp The memorial in 1973 The invasion of Crete in May 1941 was the first major airborne assault in history Despite their victory the elite German paratroopers suffered such heavy losses that Adolf Hitler forbade further airborne operations of such large scale for the rest of the war The memorial was erected at the end of a stone staircase leading to the top of a small hill It consisted of a tall pedestal built from stone blocks atop which stood a concrete diving eagle gripping a swastika in its talons Present state edit nbsp The memorial s pedestal as it is today Originally in the countryside Germaniko pouli is today encompassed by dense urban buildings and has lent its name to the surrounding area Apart from the swastika which was covered with cement soon after the liberation of Crete the memorial stood more or less intact until the early 2000s In the winter of 2001 a storm demolished most of the eagle s body 1 Today the pedestal and its inscription are in a derelict state and mostly covered with graffiti There were some discussions and controversy whether it should be restored or demolished However in the summer of 2018 the memorial was taken down due to frequent outrage expressed by tourists 1 2 See also editFallschirmjager World War II Brothers von Blucher Cretan Resistance Kidnap of General KreipeBibliography editAnna Maria Droumpouki Mnhmeia ths lh8hs Ixnh toy B Pagkosmioy Polemoy sthn Ellada kai sthn Eyrwph prologue Hagen Fleischer Athens Polis Editions 2014 pp 215 222 in Greek External links editGermaniko pouli picturesReferences edit a b To poyli eixe th dikh toy istoria Ios ths Kyriakhs Eley8erotypia 31 3 2001 Archived here Crete FJ memorial August 2009 Archived from the original on 2016 03 03 Retrieved 2010 05 13 35 30 22 07 N 23 59 36 32 E 35 5061306 N 23 9934222 E 35 5061306 23 9934222 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fallschirmjager memorial amp oldid 1208964022, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
