Geography The village of
Mousiotitsa is situated 33 km south of the city of
Ioannina and 55 km northwest of
Arta in the
Epirus region. It is located on the east slopes of Mt.
Tomaros, near the springs of the
Louros river. Mousiotitsa consists of two distinct neighborhoods that are two kilometers apart (i.e., Ano and Kato Mousiotitsa). According to the
1940 Greek census, the village had 816 residents who were engaged in free-range livestock farming and subsistence agriculture. Since partisans relied upon civilians for food and intelligence, the Wehrmacht systematically used mass reprisals to terrorize local communities, labeling their population as "
bandits". On 7 July 1943, Stettner issued an order stipulating that villages deemed to be of use to partisans should be wiped out and their population executed or deported. Many Division personnel, having previously fought on the
Eastern Front, were accustomed to carrying out ruthless reprisals against local populations. Mousiotitsa was the first victim of a series of mop-up operations that in the coming months would result in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and the destruction of their property in villages such as
Kommeno and
Lingiades.
July 1943 in Mousiotitsa By the summer of 1943, villagers from Mousiotitsa had joined the armed bands of the
EDES partisan organization which harassed the
German occupation forces. Soon after the arrival in the region of the 1st Mountain Division, reports of the presence of partisans west of the
Arta -
Ioannina road reached its headquarters. On 18 July, a force commanded by
Oberst advanced south towards Arta and clashed with partisans near
Kopani, leaving behind 9 dead Germans. This engagement prompted Salminger to request an even harsher stance in dealing with the locals, which was ultimately approved by Stettner and hence Mousiotitsa was targeted. On 24 July, leaflets were thrown above Mousiotitsa from a low-flying German aircraft, demanding residents to refrain from abandoning their homes. ==First massacre (25 July)==