* Greek government backs claims for compensation
* Villagers have pursued court cases for years
BERLIN/ATHENS, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Germany on Thursday criticised the Greek government for backing war crimes compensation claims against Berlin, further straining relations already made difficult by Europe's debt crisis.
Prime Minister George Papandreou on Wednesday said Greece would support Greek war victims' reparation claims for a World War Two village massacre, a case the Greek state had set aside for more than 15 years to avoid tensions with Germany.
"I don't have any understanding of the Greek government's decision," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in a statement. "We are emphatically sticking to our position, and are confident that our legal opinion will prevail in court."
Papandreou's decision to back the plaintiffs' case at the International Court of Justice could be a move to appease a public displeased with Germany's tough stance over Europe's debt crisis.
Nazi Germany occupied Greece from 1941 to 1944. Residents of the village of Distomo, where on June 10, 1944, SS troops killed 218 civilians in revenge for a partisan attack, have been trying to win compensation for years.
Berlin is the biggest contributor to a 110-billion euro EU/IMF bailout agreed in May which saved debt-laden Greece from bankruptcy but also inflicted harsh austerity that has sent unemployment soaring and wages slumping. [ID:nLDE70C0XX]
Greek government spokesman George Petalotis said on Thursday: "This is an important decision to protect the national interest, at this difficult juncture."
Since the debt crisis erupted, Greek groups have pushed their government to seek compensation worth dozens of billions of euros against Germany for damages and killings inflicted during the occupation.
Papandreou last year accused Germany of deepening Europe's debt crisis to the detriment of debt-laden nations such as Greece and Portugal. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble retorted by saying that Greece should remember that solidarity was "not a one-way street". [ID:nLDE6AE0TV]
Germany paid Greece a lump sum of ${esc.dollar}67 million in war reparations in the 1960s and has since refused to pay any more, fearing such a move would open the floodgates for more demands from other countries. (Reporting by Dave Graham in Berlin and Renee Maltezou in Athens; writing by Harry Papachristou; editing by Andrew Roche)
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