Black Friday

At 16:00 on Friday 23^rd May, scores of German bombers darkened the sky over Heraklion. Rather than targeting military defence positions, the bombardment was directed against the entire town. Chaos reigned, as bombs exploded, machine gun fire rattled and the sirens on Junkers Ju87 Stuka dive bombers wailed. Buildings collapsed, shrapnel and rubble flew in all directions and the town was covered in a pall of flames and smoke. Those who had not left over the previous days ran for cover in basements and in the chambers inside the city walls. Some civilians and soldiers never made it, and casualties were heavy. By the time the air raid was over, approximately one third of all buildings in the town had been destroyed. The day went down in Heraklion popular memory as "Black Friday".