Ypsipyli wanders around feeling frightened. She feels threatened, as if someone is watching her. She sneaks past “Portara” and suddenly finds herself in another world, an even more dangerous one for her.
“Portara” was the name given by the local inhabitants of Moudros to the huge double-door that under German occupation separated the village of Moudros from the harbor, which was under full German siege as it was a German naval base. The passage through the “Portara” was only possible with a special pass. The German occupation of Lemnos began on the 25th of April 1941. According to sources, 15,000 occupiers had settled in Moudros and Lemnos was one of their four Naval Headquarters in the Aegean. The port of Moudros was home to the Admiralty and the German Headquarters, with its tower used as an observation post. From May 1942, the 11th Lemnos Coast Guard Fleet was formed, which had guard and minesweeping teams. The harbor was connected by train to the quarries located under the refugee settlement. Inside the village two houses had been requisitioned and were used by the Gestapo for interrogation and torture. Many residents of Moudros and the neighboring villages slaved away in the quarries and other difficult jobs to secure some oil, legumes, flour, raisins and to support their families. The end of the German occupation came on October 17, 1944, when the men of the Sacred Band surrounded Moudros. At the same time, the destroyer “Themistocles” closed the entrance to the bay, while an aerial bombardment by British aircraft was carried out. The Germans were forced to surrender.
