Remembrance of the 1940-1944 period in public spaces is largely preserved through monuments, battlefields, and places of martyrdom or execution. Whereas burial sites – sacred and historically significant- are rarely acknowledged. In the case of Athens, the Third Cemetery—originally established to meet the needs of citizens in peacetime—became a prominent site during the war and Occupation. Over time, the landscape of the dead has changed. Many traces of that period have been lost, while others have faded into obscurity.
The 1940-1944 Remembrance Route is dedicated to those who lost their lives during this period and now rest here. By searching for the past within the present, it unveils the stories of the place and its people. At the same time, it reintroduces the Third Cemetery to the public as a historic site of remembrance for “those who did not make it”—those who never lived to witness our country’s liberation.
The Route begins at the main entrance, with an uphill path that passes through the area where the defenseless victims of famine, cold, and disease were buried in mass graves. It then leads to the Memorial of the Executed and the honorary graves. The Route continues to the Military Section before descending to the Cemetery square, where visitors encounter the monuments of the National Resistance and the Aigaleo massacre. This tour is both thematic and chronological, covering the Occupation’s first year, the grim winter of 1941-1942, the executions of 1944, and finally, the post-war commemorative acts. It extends to the graves of those executed and continues to the Jewish Cemetery.
The goal of the 1940-1944 Remembrance Route is to listen to the stories of the victims and empathize with the tragedy of that time, both through our physical presence at the cemetery and through a digital search for personal stories and historical records. Let us follow the path.