Last year at the ceremony honouring Nikolas Stellas, a strange yet familiar face appeared, that of Erwin Ostmann, a German soldier who almost died in Paros during World War II. Ostmann had come back to honour the Greeks and to apologise for what the Germans did during the war.
Ostmann’s story is an interesting companion to the Stellas saga, because the same year that Germans killed Nikolas Stellas, the villagers of Paros saved Ostmann, who was just eighteen years old. Ostmann is now in his eighties, but the memories survive.
It was August 1944, a time when the German dictator Adolf Hitler was recruiting teenagers to fight, when Ostmann and a boatful of soldiers arrived in Molos to support the German occupation. He recalls a loud explosion as the British torpedoed the boat, after which his hearing was damaged. Twelve soldiers died on the spot, others were badly injured. Ostmann, one of the few survivors, walked onto the beach and was taken in by Greek villagers, even though he was an enemy and could not speak their language.
“I knew nothing about the war. I understood nothing,” Ostmann told Christine Aliprantis, a local who served as his interpreter during last year’s ceremony. Aliprantis, who speaks German, helped Ostmann talk to the locals, something he’d always wanted to do.
“It was very emotional for everyone involved,” Aliprantis told Paros Life in an interview in March. “There was nobody with dry eyes.”
Every year, the ceremony begins with a church service, after which everyone walks to the statue of Stellas and lays wreaths at his feet, Aliprantis explained. After the service last year, Aliprantis and Ostmann were introduced and started talking.
“He was very emotional and I immediately began crying,” she said. “We walked down to the statue and sat down. Stellas’ relatives were sitting close by and when they were introduced, he asked me to tell them, ‘Thank you for saving me, and I’m sorry for what the Germans did during the occupation.’ ”
Then the Greeks and the German embraced and cried, according to Aliprantis. She suggested that Ostmann sit down.
“No,” he said, remaining on his feet. “I want to honour him.” He pointed at the statue. After everyone else had laid down their wreaths, Ostmann kneeled in front of the statue, placed his wreath on top of the others and began sobbing.
“Everyone started saying, ‘Tell him this, tell him that,’ ” Alipranitis recalled. “They were delighted.”
Then Ostmann was invited to a ceremonial meal and given a seat opposite the table where Stellas’ family was sitting. He was accepted, in a brief and shining moment of international détente.
“This is the second best day of my life,” Ostmann told Aliprantis. “The first was the day I met my wife. I was born twice — once by my mother and once by the Greeks. I want to think I contributed this one little bit to good relations between the Germans and the Greeks.”
Notes on sourcing
These stories rely on three written accounts: An article that appeared in the July-September 2005 edition of Spiritual Ark, a magazine published by the Church of Ekatontapyliani in Paros; a story found at www.opas.gr, the Web site of the Federation of Parian Associations; and “The Parian Martyr Nikolas Stellas,” a booklet published by the Agricultural Co-operative of Angeria in 1984. (Originals in Greek only, translations by Paros Life contributor Massaliotis.)
Ilias Stellas was interviewed on 31 March 2010 at his home in Lefkes, with interpretation by Massaliotis. Christine Aliprantis was interviewed on 26 March 2010 at her home near Marpissa.
Source: Paros Life
Ανοιχτό Θεατράκι του Λυκείου Παροικιάς Πάρου.
Αντιφασιστική Πρωτοβουλία Πάρου - Αντιπάρου 