Antiquities looted during Nazi occupation of Greece to be repatriated from Austria

Twenty six antiquities that were illegally taken out of Greece in the period of Nazi occupation will be repatriated on Monday.

Credit: ANA-MPA

The repatriation event will be held at the Greek Embassy in Vienna, said a Culture Ministry announcement.

Eleven antiquities dated back to the Minoan Period, seven from the Classical-Hellenistic Period along with fragments of idols, clay vessels and jars and other are among the repatriated objects.

The antiquities were smuggled by German general Julius Ringel in 1941 from the archaeological site of Knossos, Crete island, and were offered by the general to the University of Graz before 1945, said the Culture Ministry adding that after the identification the University of Graz, in a letter to the Greek Culture Ministry, expressed its intention to return the stolen antiquities.

Source: ANA-MPA [November 19, 2017]