By Jonathan Davies
Greece has demanded that Germany pay €279bn in reparations for crimes committed by the Nazis.
Greece suffered a brutal occupation at the hands of the Third Reich - 40,000 people died of starvation in Athens alone.
The cost of the Nazi occupation had previously been estimated at around €160bn, including a loan that Greece was forced to make to the Nazis and national treasures.
But a parliamentary committee set-up by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has re-calculated the cost at €279bn.
It worth nearly €40bn more than Greece's €240bn bailout package, and is roughly 10% of Germany's entire GDP.
It is believed that Greek ministers have even considered seizing German assets in the country to pay towards the reparations.
The German government rejected the demand swiftly, with Chancellor Angela Merkel stressing that Germany has fulfilled its obligation to pay compensation by 1960.
Greece and Germany have been going head-to-head for several months over the future of Greece's finances. Greece, almost constantly on the verge of running out of money, has been looking for more short-term loans from Europe since Mr Tsipras' Syriza party took control in January. But Germany has been its biggest opposition to extend the €240bn bailout package.
