In contrast to the Greek mainland, the Nazis occupied most of Crete between 1941 - 45. After the German troops' defeat in North Africa, Crete was turned into a fortress.

This study examines the goals, methods and effectiveness of the German occupation policy, the reactions of the Cretan administration and of the population in particular, and also describes the opponents' combat operations.

The study is based not only on written papers, documents and files of Greek, Cretan, British and German origin, but also on letters, manuscripts, expos'es and interviews by and with contemporary witnesses.