Nazi commander who beheaded a priest & burned hundreds of Greek women, children and elders alive

Karl Schümers was a Waffen-SS officer whose name became associated with some of the most brutal reprisals carried out during the Nazi occupation of Greece in the Second World War. Born in 1905 in Düsseldorf, Schümers grew up amid the instability of post–First World War Germany and joined the Nazi Party shortly after Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1933. After entering the SS at the outbreak of war, he participated in early German campaigns in Western Europe and later on the Eastern Front, earning recognition and promotion within the Waffen-SS. In April 1941, Nazi Germany launched Operation Marita, invading Greece to secure its southern flank ahead of Operation Barbarossa. Following the occupation, German forces faced growing resistance from Greek partisans. By 1944, Schümers had been transferred to Greece, where his unit became notorious for harsh anti-partisan reprisals that targeted civilians. One of the most infamous actions linked to Schümers occurred on 5 April 1944 in Kleisoura, where German troops massacred around 270 residents, most of them women, children, and the elderly, after a partisan attack. Weeks later, his forces participated in the destruction of Pyrgoi, where hundreds of civilians were burned alive. The violence escalated further with the Distomo massacre on 10 June 1944, during which German troops killed 228 villagers in a brutal reprisal marked by shootings, arson, and widespread atrocities. Additional actions in Ipati and Spercheiada continued the pattern of terror, illustrating the devastating impact of German counterinsurgency operations on Greek civilians. Despite the scale of these war crimes, Schümers never faced trial. On 18 August 1944, he was killed in Greece when his vehicle struck a mine. His story reflects the brutality of occupation warfare and the lasting trauma inflicted on Greece during Nazi rule. Join World History channel and get access to benefits:    / @worldhistoryvideos   Disclaimer: All opinions and comments below are from members of the public and do not reflect the views of World History channel. We do not accept promoting violence or hatred against individuals or groups based on attributes such as: race, nationality, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation. World History has right to review the comments and delete them if they are deemed inappropriate. ► CLICK the SUBSCRIBE button for more interesting clips:    / @worldhistoryvideos   #KarlSchümers #ww2documentary #nazigermany #kommando #historydocumentary #holocaustdocumentary #greecehistory #worldwartwo #worldwar2videos #worldhistory #secondworldwar #warcriminals #warcrimes #revengestory #axis #wehrmacht #operationbarbarossa #warcrimestribunal #ww2story #thirdreich Karl Schümers biography, Holocaust in Greece, Nazi occupation of Greece, German war crimes, German invasion of Greece, Greece World War 2, Second World War Greece, Greece during WW2, Greece WW2, WW2 Greece, Invasion of Greece, Greece German, Axis occupation of Greece, Operation Marita, Nazi general, Hitlers generals, Nazi generals WW2, German generals WW2, German 12th Army, When did Hitler come to power, How did Hitler rise to power, Hitler rise to power, What was the Waffen-SS, Waffen-SS meaning, Kleisoura massacre, Pyrgoi massacre, Distomo Massacre, Viannos massacre, Spercheiada massacre, Liberation of Greece, Nazi criminals, Nazi war criminals, German war criminals, WW2 war criminals, Holocaust war criminals,