During World War II and the triple occupation (German, Italian, Bulgarian) of the country, Greece paid a particularly heavy price, losing approximately 10% of its population either in armed conflicts, from hunger and malnutrition, or due to the execution of civilians.The indomitable spirit and the strong reaction of the Greek people to the fascist occupation provoked the fierce reprisals of the occupiers, who destroyed approximately 1,700 settlements for the action of the National Resistance, committing mass executions, burning houses and looting.Massacres such as those of Distomo (Mainland Greece), Kalavryta (Peloponnese), Kommenos (Epirus), Doxato (Macedonia) and Viannos (Crete) are among the greatest atrocities committed in World War II.In the Bulgarian occupation zone, the persecutions had the character of ethnic cleansing, as they aimed at the violent Bulgarization of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. The martyr villages and towns of Greece are recognized by Presidential Decree and participate in the homonymous network, which currently has 131 members.