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Greek justice minister: German property seizure possible as WWII compensation

According to estimates of Greek parliamentarians, Germany must pay Greece $7.1 billion in 1938 prices, which makes up €108 billion in current prices, excluding interest

© EPA/HANNIBAL HANSCHKE

ATHENS, March 11. /TASS/. Greek Justice Minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos said on Wednesday the assets of German companies in Greece could be confiscated as compensation for crimes committed during WWII Nazi occupation.

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In an interview with the Greek TV Channel Ant1, Paraskevopoulos confirmed he was ready to give the green light to the implementation of a decision passed by Greece’s Supreme Court in 2000 on the confiscation of German assets in Greece.

According to data of the German media, a total of 130,000 civilians were executed, 70,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps and another 300,000 Greeks died of starvation during the Nazi occupation of Greece. The Nazis also destroyed 50% of the country’s infrastructure and 75% of its industry.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said during a parliamentary session in Athens on Tuesday that Germany must pay Greece WWII reparations for the damage done and crimes committed during the war.

Meanwhile, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday Germany was not going to make any payment to Greece.

"The issue of reparations and damage compensation, in our view, has been finally resolved and closed," the spokesman said.

According to estimates of Greek parliamentarians, Germany must pay Greece $7.1 billion in 1938 prices, which makes up €108 billion in current prices, excluding interest.

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