Giorgios Siantos
Encyclopedia
Georgios Siantos was a prominent figure of the Greek
Communist party (Greek: Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, Kommunistiko Komma Elladas) who served as acting general secretary of the party and as a leader of the EAM
/ELAS
Resistance
movement during the German
occupation of Greece in World War II
.
, Thessaly
in 1890; his parents were farmers. When he graduated from primary school, Siantos started working as a tobacco
worker. He served in the Greek army as a sergeant during the Balkan Wars
of 1912-1913 and World War I
. By 1916 he had gone over to the liberals
of Eleftherios Venizelos
. Siantos also became involved in the labor movement, and, soon after his demobilization
in 1920, he was elected president of the trade union
of the tobacco workers in Karditsa.
of the politburo
of the party. During the internal ideological struggle of 1929-1931, Siantos as a leading member of the "left faction" was called to Moscow
, where he accepted the admonitions of Comintern
for unity in KKE. After his returning to Greece, Siantos participated in the administration of General Confederation of Greek Workers, and in 1934 he was reelected in the central committee and the politburo of the party.
In 1936 Siantos was elected member of the Greek Parliament, but he was arrested for Communist-related activities after the declaration of the 4th of August Regime
. He was displaced in Anafi
, but he managed to escape. A year late, in 1939, he was re-arrested and served time in prison in Corfu
, from where he escaped in 1941.
, the General Secretary of KKE was transferred by the Germans
to the Dachau concentration camp, and Siantos undertook the leadership of the party as acting Secretary General. During the German occupation of Greece from 1941–1944, Siantos led the Communist-dominated Greek National Liberation Army, and he also played an important role in the establishment of the Political Committee of National Liberation in 1944. The same year representatives from all political parties and resistance groups came together at a conference in Lebanon
, seeking an agreement about a government of national unity. According to another agreement signed in Caserta
of Italy in September 1944, all the resistance forces in Greece were placed under the command of a British officer, General Ronald Scobie
. Siantos opposed the signing of both agreements, but he then was one of those who argued for their full implementation.
During the Dekevriana Siantos undertook the conduct of the military forces of EAM. After the intervention of the British forces in Greece led by Scobie in favor of the government, EAM was defeated, and Siantos faced a fierce criticism by his own comrade
s for his choices; even Zachariadis called him "agent of the British". In February 1945 Siantos led the delegation of KKE and EAM that negotiated the Treaty of Varkiza with the Greek government and the other political parties. He signed the Treaty but after only four months he turned the command of the party over to Zachariadis, who returned to Greece. He typically remained member of the politburo, but had no leverage on the party; the defeat of 1944 had cast a slur on his reputation within the party.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
Communist party (Greek: Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, Kommunistiko Komma Elladas) who served as acting general secretary of the party and as a leader of the EAM
Ethniko Apeleftherotiko Metopo
The National Liberation Front was the main movement of the Greek Resistance during the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II. Its main driving force was the Communist Party of Greece , but its membership throughout the Occupation period included several other leftist and republican groups...
/ELAS
Ethnikos Laikos Apeleftherotikos Stratos
The Greek People's Liberation Army or ELAS , often mistakenly called the National People's Liberation Army , was the military arm of the left-wing National Liberation Front during the period of the Greek Resistance until February 1945.-Birth of ELAS:After Nazi Germany attacked the...
Resistance
Greek Resistance
The Greek Resistance is the blanket term for a number of armed and unarmed groups from across the political spectrum that resisted the Axis Occupation of Greece in the period 1941–1944, during World War II.-Origins:...
movement during the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
occupation of Greece in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Early years
Siantos was born in KarditsaKarditsa
Karditsa is a city in western Thessaly in mainland Greece. The city of Karditsa is the capital of Karditsa peripheral unit.Inhabitation is attested from 9000 BCE. Karditsa ls linked with GR-30, the road to Karpenisi, and the road to Palamas and Larissa...
, Thessaly
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
in 1890; his parents were farmers. When he graduated from primary school, Siantos started working as a tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
worker. He served in the Greek army as a sergeant during the Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
of 1912-1913 and World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. By 1916 he had gone over to the liberals
Liberal Party (Greece)
The Liberal Party was one of the major Greek political parties of the early 20th century.- History :Founded as the Xipoliton party in Crete , its early leaders were Kostis Mitsotakis and Eleftherios Venizelos...
of Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century. Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932...
. Siantos also became involved in the labor movement, and, soon after his demobilization
Demobilization
Demobilization is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and military force will not be necessary...
in 1920, he was elected president of the trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
of the tobacco workers in Karditsa.
Political career until World War II
In 1922, Siantos was elected Secretary General of the Greek Confederacy of Tobacco Workers, while, during the same period, he became a member of the Socialist Labour Party of Greece (Acronym: SEKE, Greek: Σοσιαλιστικό Εργατικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, Sosialistiko Ergatiko Komma Elladas), the forerunner of KKE. In 1927 Siantos became member of the central committeeCentral Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
of the politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
of the party. During the internal ideological struggle of 1929-1931, Siantos as a leading member of the "left faction" was called to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, where he accepted the admonitions of Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
for unity in KKE. After his returning to Greece, Siantos participated in the administration of General Confederation of Greek Workers, and in 1934 he was reelected in the central committee and the politburo of the party.
In 1936 Siantos was elected member of the Greek Parliament, but he was arrested for Communist-related activities after the declaration of the 4th of August Regime
4th of August Regime
The 4th of August Regime , commonly also known as the Metaxas Regime , was an authoritarian regime under the leadership of General Ioannis Metaxas that ruled Greece from 1936 to 1941...
. He was displaced in Anafi
Anafi
Anafi is a Greek island community in the Cyclades. In 2001, it had a population of 273 inhabitants. Its land area is 40.370 km². It lies east of the island of Thíra...
, but he managed to escape. A year late, in 1939, he was re-arrested and served time in prison in Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
, from where he escaped in 1941.
Role during the Resistance and the Civil War
The same year Nikolaos ZachariadisNikolaos Zachariadis
Nikolaos Zachariadis was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece from 1931 to 1956.-Early life:Born in Adrianopole in 1903, the son of an employee of the Ottoman tobacco monopoly. He worked as a seaman on the Black Sea, where he came under the influence of the Bolshevik Revolution...
, the General Secretary of KKE was transferred by the Germans
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to the Dachau concentration camp, and Siantos undertook the leadership of the party as acting Secretary General. During the German occupation of Greece from 1941–1944, Siantos led the Communist-dominated Greek National Liberation Army, and he also played an important role in the establishment of the Political Committee of National Liberation in 1944. The same year representatives from all political parties and resistance groups came together at a conference in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, seeking an agreement about a government of national unity. According to another agreement signed in Caserta
Caserta
Caserta is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial and industrial comune and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Campanian Subapennine mountain range...
of Italy in September 1944, all the resistance forces in Greece were placed under the command of a British officer, General Ronald Scobie
Ronald Scobie
Lieutenant-General Sir Ronald MacKenzie Scobie KBE, CB, MC was a British Army officer who commanded III Corps.-Military career:...
. Siantos opposed the signing of both agreements, but he then was one of those who argued for their full implementation.
During the Dekevriana Siantos undertook the conduct of the military forces of EAM. After the intervention of the British forces in Greece led by Scobie in favor of the government, EAM was defeated, and Siantos faced a fierce criticism by his own comrade
Comrade
Comrade means "friend", "colleague", or "ally". The word comes from French camarade. The term is frequently used by left-wing organizations around the globe. "Comrade" has often become a stock phrase and form of address. This word has its regional equivalents available in many...
s for his choices; even Zachariadis called him "agent of the British". In February 1945 Siantos led the delegation of KKE and EAM that negotiated the Treaty of Varkiza with the Greek government and the other political parties. He signed the Treaty but after only four months he turned the command of the party over to Zachariadis, who returned to Greece. He typically remained member of the politburo, but had no leverage on the party; the defeat of 1944 had cast a slur on his reputation within the party.