The historical collection includes coins, weapons- guns, Cretan knives, pistols. Also revolutionary flags, maps of Crete, objects from the Ottomans presence on the island, from the era of Autonomy, the Russian presence in Rethymno until the union with the rest of Greece in 1913. It also includes objects from the 1st World War, the Macedonian Strugle and the Battle of Crete and the German occupation.
The battle of Crete 20-29 May 1941
The legendary ‘Battle of Crete’, which is considered one of the major crucial episodes in the Second World War, was fought over the last ten days of May 1941.
The epic resistance of the island’s defenders, the civilian population of men and women, against the German invaders, evoked universal admiration. The Germans were forced to deploy enormous forces on Crete. Their losses in men and materials were enormous. The supposedly invincible weapon of the parachutists was never used again in large-scale operations. Over 4,000 parachutists are buried in the German war cemetery at Malamé. Once again, the Cretans fought heroically, putting their native land and their freedom above their own life.
