Remains of Archbishop Stylianos' father identified after 83 years – The Greek Herald

Lina Portman3 weeks ago

2 2 minutes read

For the first time in Greek history, DNA analysis was carried out on victims of Nazi executions during World War II and among the remains identified was the father of the late Greek Orthodox Archbishop Stylianos Harkianakis of Australia .

Archbishop Stylianos' father was among 18 victims identified in a Nazi massacre that took place in a small town on the Greek island of Crete called Adele. Other victims included four relatives of the Alexandrakis family.

The name of the father of the late Archbishop Stylianos is included in the list of recently identified victims (last name listed).

18 men aged 67 to 16 were rounded up by Nazi forces in the town of Adele on June 2, 1941, marched to an isolated area among olive groves, ordered to start digging, shot on site and buried in a common grave. Their remains were found two weeks later and transferred to another grave. In 1960, the remains were exhumed but they could not be individually identified until today.

The identification effort led and sponsored by the Alexandrakis family is a collaboration between Dr. George Alexandrakis, the University of Crete and the Foundation for Technology and Research (HTE). This effort hopes to not only bring closure to an 83-year-old wound, but also raise awareness of many forgotten injustices that have taken place, not only in Greece, but around the world.

Memorial at the place of execution — Memorial at the execution site.

“I have been working on a family project for several years now and was hoping that part of the project would match the remains of the massacre with surviving family members through DNA analysis, but the whole process was beyond me . Two years later, my dad had the idea to make this, and here we are,” said two-time Grammy nominated musician Eric Alexandrakis.

Eric Alexandrakis holding one of the bullets found in one of the skulls — Eric Alexandrakis holds one of the bullets found in one of the skulls.

“It's been an interesting journey watching the progress, holding the balls, seeing my father unknowingly looking at his grandfather's wallet and the money in it, and even helping one scientists to handle the remains.”

In leading and sponsoring this effort, Dr. Alexandrakis said: “Our most sacred oath in Crete rests on the bonds of our ancestors. I fundamentally oppose the inhumane nature of mass executions, an act that deprives people of their identity.