Kommeno and the massacre of 1943
The village at the mouth of the Arachthos, where German troops killed 317 civilians on 16 August 1943.
- Location
- About 16 km southeast of Arta, by the Arachthos
- Residents
- 411 (2021 census)
- Massacre
- 16 August 1943
- Victims
- 317 (official list)
Kommeno is a village in Arta on the coast of the Ambracian Gulf, beside the Arachthos just before it reaches the gulf, about 16 km southeast of the town. It is first mentioned in 1696, when the villagers paid a tithe to the Ottomans and an annual tribute of 60 reals to Venice for protection against pirates.
16 August 1943
On the morning after the feast of the Dormition, a German army unit entered the village in reprisal for food requisitioning by the Greek Resistance. It killed 317 civilians, including 73 children under ten, and burned almost all the houses. German reports falsely claimed that 150 partisans had been killed. Figures: the English Wikipedia gives 317 victims with 73 children, the Greek one 317 with 97 children and 119 women, so the breakdown depends on the source. Another 17 people drowned in the Arachthos when an overloaded boat capsized as they tried to escape.
Today
In the main square a monument bears the names and ages of the dead. A memorial service is held every August. The area lives from farming, livestock and fishing.
