Germany refuses to discuss WWII compensation with Greece

New leftist PM in Athens says that his country never received full reparations, but Berlin rejects allegation

By AP 12 March 2015, 5:09 am

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Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras greets supporters following victory in the election in Athens on January 25, 2015. (photo credit: Aris Messinis/AFP)

BERLIN — The German government says it isn’t prepared to re-open the issue of compensation for the Nazis’ WWII occupation of Greece.

Greek radical left Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has revived the question of war-time reparations, saying in a parliamentary debate Tuesday in Athens that his debt-ridden country has never been fully compensated by Germany.

The issue has heightened tensions between Athens and Berlin amid the ongoing negotiations over Greece’s financial bailout, to which Germany has contributed a large share.

German Finance Ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger said Wednesday that Berlin believes the issue was resolved in a 1960 accord requiring Germany to pay 115 million Deutschmarks to Greece.

Jaeger told reporters in Berlin that “backward-looking allegations don’t help in the context of the work we need to tackle with the Greeks.”