ATHENS, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Greece's Ministry of Culture has reached a preliminary agreement to acquire a rare collection of World War II photographs documenting the execution of 200 Greek communists by Nazi forces in Kaisariani, Athens, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said Friday.
The 262 photos, part of the archive of Wehrmacht lieutenant Hermann Heuer, who served in Greece from 1943 to 1944, have been authenticated by ministry experts.
The announcement followed a meeting in Evergem, Belgium, between a Greek delegation and Belgian dealer Tim De Krane, who had offered the photos for sale online. Under the agreement, the remaining images were withdrawn from the auction. The ministry did not disclose the purchase price.
The executions on May 1, 1944, at the Kaisariani firing range, were carried out in retaliation for the killing of a German general by resistance fighters. The photographs appeared online last week, prompting calls for their preservation in a Greek museum or archive.
Earlier this week, the Culture Ministry designated the archive as a protected monument, citing its historical and cultural significance. ■