page_title: Germany–Greece relations
section_title: History of bilateral relations
hierarchical_section_title: Germany–Greece relations / History of bilateral relations
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of Amalia of Oldenburg (1818-1875), Queen of Greece Deutsch: Amalie von Oldenburg, Maße: Papier: H: 44,3 cm, B: 34,2 cm (Träger) Bildmaße: H: 29,1 cm, B: 23 cm, Bildnis von Amalie (1818-1875), Königin von Griechenland, Hersteller: Franz Seraph Hanfstaengl (München, Druck)
context_page_description: The Germany–Greece relations are the relations between Germany and Greece. Greece has an embassy in Berlin and eight General Consulates in. Germany has an embassy in Athens and a General Consulate in Thessaloniki.
  Germany and Greece are full members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, of NATO, of the European Union, and of the Eurozone.
context_section_description: Diplomatic relations between Byzantine Greeks and Germans trace back to the Middle Ages and the Byzantine Empire.
  The first King of independent Greece, Otto I, was of German descent, and many Bavarians came and settled in the new state, while his father, Ludwig I of Bavaria, had aided financially and politically the Greeks during their War of Independence and after the enthronement of his son.
  Greece and Prussia established diplomatic relations in 1834, the same year both countries exchanged embassies.
  The two countries were enemies during both World Wars, with Germany taking part in the Axis Occupation of Greece during World War II. The issue of reparations for German war crimes and the forced loan during the Occupation continues to be unsettled. There is a 300,000 people Greek community living in Germany, most of them came during the 1960s and 1970s.
  The two nations enjoyed excellent relations for 60 years (1950- 2010) with Germans to be the first nation of tourist arrivals in Greece during 1970s, 1980s,1990s, 2000s and the first European destination of Greeks immigrating abroad (mainly 1950s, 1960s). Moreover, Greece supported the German Reunification during 1980s and the two countries cooperated in many sectors (culturally, technologically, army etc.) under the EU spectrum.
  In 1999 the Greek foreign minister Theodoros Pangalos caused a diplomatic crisis when he stated that "Germany is a political dwarf" and later apologized.
  However, relations were strained during the European sovereign-debt crisis between the nations. Although many media outlets tried to damage relations through polemical reporting, there was an initiative on the part of the state to counteract this. The most known is the founding of the german-Greek Youth organisation (Deutsch-griechisches Jugendwerk).
  In general, German-Greek relations are considered to be balanced, and at European level the countries work well together. One exception is the German position in relation to Turkish-Greek relations. Germany has increased its investments in Turkey in recent decades and, unlike France or Israel, does not take a clear view of Turkish aggression against Greece. A few months before Turkish warships entered Greek maritime territory in 2020, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas increased arms exports in the maritime sector. Germany was also hesitant when the EU wanted to impose sanctions on Turkey.
caption: Amalia of Oldenburg
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