The European Court of Human Rights has thrown out a lawsuit by four Greek citizens whose parents were murdered by the Nazis in World War II.

The plaintiffs were demanding compensation from Germany. But the Strasbourg- based court ruled Wednesday that a European human rights treaty does not oblige nations to make reparations for crimes committed by previous governments.

The occupying Nazis massacred 218 civilians in the town of Distomo in June 1944. The murders were in reprisal for attacks from the Greek resistance.