Compared to the other two zones , the Italian occupation regime was relatively mild , which can be seen from the relatively low number of executions and atrocities committed in the Italian zone of occupation when compared with the atrocities and executions committed in the German and Bulgarian zones . Furthermore , unlike the Germans , and aside from some local commanders , the Italian military protected the Jews in their zone . The Germans were purportedly perturbed as the Italians not only protected Jews on their territory , but in parts of occupied France , Greece , the Balkans , and elsewhere , where they protected local Jewish populations also . On 13 December 1942 , Joseph Goebbels , Hitler 's propaganda minister , wrote in his diary , '' " The Italians are extremely lax in the treatment of the Jews . They protect the Italian Jews both in Tunis and in occupied France and will not permit their being drafted for work or compelled to wear the Star of David . This shows once again that Fascism does not really dare to get down to fundamentals but is very superficial regarding problems of vital importance . " '' Significant mass reprisals did sometimes occur , such as the Domenikon massacre in which 150 Greek civilians were killed . As they controlled most of the countryside , the Italians were the first to face the rising resistance movement in 1942 – 43 . By mid-1943 , the Resistance had managed to expel a few Italian garrisons from some mountainous areas , including several towns , creating liberated zones ( " Free Greece " ) . After the Italian armistice in September 1943 , the Italian zone was taken over by the Germans . As a result , German anti-partisan and anti-Semitic policies were extended to it
Domenikon massacre
Domenikon massacre
Axis occupation of Greece