Kleisoura ( , also Βλαχοκλεισούρα , '' Vlachokleisoúra '' ; ) is a traditionally Aromanian ( Vlach ) settlement and a former municipality in Kastoria regional unit , West Macedonia , Greece . Since the 2011 local government reform , it is part of the municipality of Kastoria , of which it is a municipal unit . The municipal unit has an area of 37.069 km2 . Population 259 ( 2011 ) . On 5 April 1944 , the German occupation forces under the command of Karl Schümers , commander of the 7th regiment of the 4th Armored Division of the SS , the same unit to later that year commit the massacre in Distomo , slaughtered the women and children of Kleisoura in retaliation for the execution of three German soldiers by ELAS close to the village . The ELAS guerrillas , led by Alexis Rosios from Siatisti ( " Captain Ypsilantis " ) , who were active in the region , had attacked a German military phalanx at Daouli , close to Kleisoura , and had killed a vanguard of three motorcyclists . According to testimonies , the male residents , fearing retaliation , fled to the mountains surrounding the village . After finding the mutilated bodies of the Wehrmacht soldiers close to the local church , the German SS unit went to the homes , broke the doors of the majority of the houses , shot the people within , set fire to the buildings and also killed whom they found in the streets . Altogether 270 residents were killed , the overwhelming majority of them being women , children and elderly people . Involved in the atrocities was also a Bulgarian militia under German command , led by Andon Kalchev . Colonel Karl Schümers was summoned by the German administration for having ordered the slaughter of women and children . He testified that his soldiers were forced to kill the civilians because rebel forces were hiding and firing through the village , whereupon he was acquitted , despite the contradictory statements of his subordinates . After the war it was proved that his testimony was false
massacre in Distomo
Distomo massacre
Kleisoura, Kastoria