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 the Second World War.
Origins
The rise of resistance movements in Greece was precipitated by the
invasionThe Battle of Greece was a World War II battle that occurred on the Greek mainland and in southern Albania. The battle was fought between the Allied and Axis forces...
and occupation of Greece by
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
(and its allies Italy and
BulgariaThe military history of Bulgaria during World War II encompasses an initial period of neutrality until 1 March 1941, a period of alliance with the Axis Powers until 9 September 1944 and a period of alignment with the Allies until the end of the war. Bulgaria was a constitutional monarchy during...
) from 1941 to 1944. Italy led the way with its attempted
invasionThe Greco-Italian War was a conflict between Italy and Greece which lasted from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. It marked the beginning of the Balkans Campaign of World War II...
from
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
in 1940, which was repelled by the Greek Army. After the
German invasionThe Battle of Greece was a World War II battle that occurred on the Greek mainland and in southern Albania. The battle was fought between the Allied and Axis forces...
, the occupation of Athens and the fall of Crete,
King George IIGeorge II, King of the Hellenes ruled Greece from 1922 to 1924 and from 1935 to 1947.-Early life, first period of kingship and exile:...
and his government escaped to
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
, where they proclaimed a government-in-exile, recognised by the Western
AlliesThe Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . The involvement of the Allies in World War II was either natural and inevitable they were invaded or under the direct threat of invasion by the Axis or compelled by concerns that the Axis powers...
, but not the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
. The Western Allies actively encouraged, even coerced, the King to appoint centrist, moderate ministers; only two of his ministers were members of the
dictatorial governmentThe 4th of August Regime was an authoritarian regime under the leadership of General Ioannis Metaxas that ruled Greece from 1936 to 1941. There is some debate over how the regime relates to other authoritarian regimes of the era: those of Franco's Spain, Italian Fascism, and German Nazism...
that had governed Greece before the German invasion. Some in the left-wing resistance claimed the government to be illegitimate, on account of its roots in the dictatorship of
Ioannis MetaxasIoannis Metaxas was a Greek General, appointed Prime Minister of Greece between April-August 1936 and dictator during the 4th of August Regime, from 1936 until his death in 1941.- Military career :...
from 1936 to 1941. Regardless of its pretensions, or of the dissenters, the government's inability to influence the governance of
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
rendered it irrelevant in the minds of most Greek people.
The Germans set up a collaborationist government, headed by General
Georgios TsolakoglouGeorgios Tsolakoglou was a Greek military officer who became the country's first Prime Minister of the Greek collaborationist government during the Axis Occupation in 1941-1942.-Military career:...
, before entering
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
. This government however, lacked legitimacy and support, being utterly dependent on the German and Italian occupation authorities, and discredited because of its inability to prevent the cession of much of Greek Macedonia and
Western ThraceThrace is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country. Together with the regions of Macedonia and Epirus, it is often referred to informally as northern Greece...
to
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
. The puppet regime was further undermined when economic mismanagement in wartime conditions created runaway inflation, acute food shortages, and even famine, amongst the Greek civilian population. Some high-profile officers of the pre-war Greek regime served the Germans in various posts.
First resistance acts
The first resistance act in Greece took place in
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
, on the night of 30 May 1941, even before the end of the
Battle of CreteThe Battle of Crete was a battle during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. The battle began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur Greek and Allied forces along with Cretan civilians defended the...
. Two young students,
Apostolos SantasApostolos Santas is a Greek veteran of the Resistance against the Axis Occupation of Greece during World War II, most notable for his participation, along with Manolis Glezos, in the taking down of the German flag from the Acropolis on 30 May 1941.Apostolos Santas was born on 22 February 1922 in...
, a
law studentA law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- United States:...
, and
Manolis GlezosManolis Glezos is a Greek left wing politician and writer, worldwide known especially for his participation in the World War II resistance. He was born on September 9, 1922 in the village of Apiranthos , Naxos. He moved to Athens in 1935 together with his family, where he finished high school....
, a student at the
Athens University of Economics and BusinessAthens University of Economics and Business was founded in 1920 in Athens, Greece. Its buildings are housed on Patision Street....
, secretly climbed the northwest face of the
AcropolisAcropolis literally means city on the edge . In Greek, Acropolis means "Highest City". For purposes of defense, early settlers naturally chose elevated ground, frequently a hill with precipitous sides...
and tore down the
swastika bannerReichskriegsflagge was the official name of the war flag used by the German armed forces from 1867 to 1945. A total of seven different designs were used during this period.-Imperial Germany:...
which had been placed there by the occupation authorities.
The first wider resistance movements occurred in northern Greece, where the Bulgarian annexation of Greek territories had inflamed nationalist passions. The first mass uprising occurred around the town of
DramaDrama is a town and municipality in northeastern Greece. Drama is the capital of the prefecture of Drama which is part of the East Macedonia and Thrace periphery. The town is the economic center of the municipality , which in turn comprises 53.5 percent of the prefecture's population, the highest...
in Eastern Macedonia, in the Bulgarian occupation zone. The Bulgarian authorities had initiated large-scale Bulgarization policies, causing the Greek population's reaction. During the night of 28 - 29 September 1941 the people of Drama and its outskirts rose up. This badly-organized revolt was suppressed by the Bulgarian Army, which executed 3,000 civilians in the city of
DramaDrama is a town and municipality in northeastern Greece. Drama is the capital of the prefecture of Drama which is part of the East Macedonia and Thrace periphery. The town is the economic center of the municipality , which in turn comprises 53.5 percent of the prefecture's population, the highest...
and the village of
DoxatoDoxato is a municipality and town within that municipality, in the Drama Prefecture, Greece. At the 2001 census, the municipality had a population of 11,000 and the town had 3,739....
.
At the same time, large demonstrations were organized in Greek Macedonian cities by the Defenders of Northern Greece (YVE), a right-wing organization, in protest to the Bulgarian annexation of Greek territories.
Armed bands consisted of
andartes - αντάρτες ("rebels") first appeared in the mountains of
MacedoniaMacedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in southeastern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...
by October 1941, and the first armed clashes resulted in 488 civilians being shot in reprisals by the Germans, which succeeded in severely limiting Resistance activity during the next few months. However, these harsh actions, together with the plundering of Greece's resources by the Germans, helped much to reduce the Greeks' initial awe and respect towards the
WehrmachtWehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe ....
and turn them against the occupiers.
The establishment of the first resistance groups
The lack of a legitimate government and the inactivity of the established political class created a power vacuum and meant an absence of a rallying point for the Greek people. Most officers and citizens who wanted to continue the fight fled to the British-controlled
Middle EastThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, southeastern Europe, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, and those who remained behind were unsure of their prospects against the Wehrmacht. This situation resulted in the creation of several new groupings, where the pre-war establishment was largely absent, which assumed the role of resisting the occupation powers.
The first major resistance group to be founded was the
VenizelistVenizelism was one of the major political movements in Greece from the 1900s until the mid 1970s.- Ideology :Named after Eleftherios Venizelos, the key characteristics of Venizelism were:*Opposition to Monarchy...
-oriented National Republican Greek League (EDES), led by a former army officer, Colonel
Napoleon ZervasNapoleon Zervas was a Greek general and resistance leader during World War II. He organized and led the National Republican Greek League , a resistance organization against the Nazi occupation of Greece....
, with exiled
republicanRepublicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of Republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context. The sometimes contrary definitions are all covered in...
General
Nikolaos PlastirasNikolaos Plastiras was a Greek general and politician, who served thrice as Prime Minister of Greece. A distinguished soldier and known for his personal bravery, he was known as "O Mavros Kavalaris" during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922...
as its nominal head.
Another organization, controlled by the KKE, was the
paramilitaryA paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military force, but which is not regarded as having the same status...
OPLAThe Organization for the Protection of the People's Struggle was an urban guerrilla organization of the Communist Party of Greece during the last phase of the Axis Occupation of Greece during World War II...
. In the area of
FlorinaFlorina is a town and municipality in mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece and its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. It is also the Metropolitan seat for the region. It lies in the central part of Florina Prefecture, of which it is the capital. Florina belongs to the periphery of West Macedonia...
there was also the
Slavo-MacedonianThe Macedonians also referred to as Macedonian Slavs are a South Slavic people who are primarily associated with the Republic of Macedonia. They speak the Macedonian language, a South Slavic language...
organization
NOFThe National Liberation Front , also known as the People's Liberation Front, was a communist political and military organization created by the ethnic Macedonian minority in Greece. The organization operated from 1945–1949, most prominently in the Greek Civil War...
, which changed its name to SNOF during the third phase of the civil war.
Resistance in the mountains - Andartiko
Greece is a mountainous country, with a long tradition in
andartiko (αντάρτικο, "guerrilla warfare"), dating back to the days of the klephts of the Ottoman period and the bandits of the 19th century, who often enjoyed folk-hero status. In the 1940s, the countryside was extremely poor, the road network primitive, and state control outside the cities usually exercised by the trio of gendarme, priest and teacher. But by 1942, due to the weakness of the central government in Athens, the countryside was gradually slipping out of its control, while the Resistance groups had acquired a firm and wide-ranging organization, parallel and more effective than that of the official state.
Emergence of the armed resistance
In February 1942, EAM’s central Committee decided to form a military corps, called the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS), that would first operate in the mountains of
Central GreeceContinental Greece or Central Greece , colloquially known as Roúmeli , is a geographical region of Greece. Its territory is divided into the peripheries of Central Greece, Attica, and one prefecture of West Greece...
, with
Aris VelouchiotisAris Velouchiotis , the nom de guerre of Athanasios Klaras , was the most prominent leader and chief instigator of the Greek People's Liberation Army , the military branch of the National Liberation Front , which was the major resistance organization in occupied Greece from 1942 to 1945...
as their chief captain. Later, on 28 July 1942,
Napoleon ZervasNapoleon Zervas was a Greek general and resistance leader during World War II. He organized and led the National Republican Greek League , a resistance organization against the Nazi occupation of Greece....
announced the foundation of the "National Groups of Greek Guerrillas" (EOEA), as EDES' military arm, to operate, at first, in the region of Aetoloakarnania. EKKA also formed a military corps, the "5/42
EvzonesThe Evzones, or Evzoni, is the name of several historical elite light infantry and mountain units of the Greek Army. Today, it refers to the members of the Proedriki Froura , an elite ceremonial unit that guards the Greek Tomb of the Unknown Soldier , the Hellenic Parliament and the Presidential...
Regiment" under
Dimitrios PsarrosDimitrios Psarros was a Greek army officer and resistance leader.Psarros was born in 1893 in the village of Chryso, Phocis. He graduated Greek military school in 1916 and became a Second Lieutenant in the artillery....
, that was mainly localized in the area of
Mount GionaMount Giona is a mountain in Central Greece, in the prefecture of Phocis, located between the mountains of Parnassus and Vardousia. Known in classical antiquity as the Aselinon Oros , it is the highest mountain south of Olympus and the fifth overall in Greece...
.
Until the summer of 1942, the occupation authorities had been little troubled by the armed Resistance, which was still in its infancy. The Italians in particular, in control of most of the countryside, considered the situation to have been normalized. From that point, however, the Resistance gained pace, with EAM/ELAS in particular expanding rapidly, with armed groups attacking and disarming local gendarmerie stations and isolated Italian outposts, or touring the villages and giving speeches. The Italians were forced to re-evaluate their assessment, and take such measures such as the deportation of Army officers to camps in Italy and Germany, which naturally only encouraged the latter to join the underground
en masse by escaping "to the mountains".
These developments emerged most dramatically as the Greek Resistance announced its presence to the world with one of the war's most spectacular sabotage acts, the blowing up of the Gorgopotamos railway bridge, linking northern and southern Greece, on 25 November 1942. This operation was the result of British mediation between ELAS and EDES (Operation "Harling"), carried out by 12 British
SOEThe Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct warfare by means other than direct military engagement...
saboteurSaboteur is someone who commits sabotage.Saboteur may also refer to:*Saboteur , a 1942 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock*Morituri , a 1965 film also known as The Saboteur*Saboteur , a 1985 video game...
s and a joint ELAS-EDES force. This was the first and last time that the two major Resistance groups would cooperate, due to the rapidly developing rivalry and ideological retrenchment between them.
The establishment of "Free Greece"
Nevertheless, constant attacks and acts of sabotage followed against the Italians, such as the Battle of Fardykampos, resulting in the capture of several hundred Italian soldiers and significant amounts of equipment. By the late spring of 1943, the Italians were forced to withdraw from several areas. The towns of
KarditsaKarditsa is a city in western Thessaly in mainland Greece. The city of Karditsa is the capital of Karditsa Prefecture.Inhabitation is attested from 9000 BCE. Karditsa ls linked with GR-30, the road to Karpenisi, and the road to Palamas and Larissa...
,
GrevenaGrevena is a town and municipality in Greece, capital of the Grevena Prefecture. The town's current population is 10,177 citizens; it lies about 400 km from Athens and about 180 km from Thessaloniki. The municipality's population is 15,481...
, Trikkala, Metsovon and others were liberated by July. The Axis forces and their collaborators remained in control only of the main towns and the connecting roads, with the interior left to the
andartes. This was "Free Greece", stretching from the
Ionian SeaThe Ionian Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula to the west, and by southwestern Albania, including Saranda and Himara, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante,...
to the
AegeanThe Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey respectively. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
and from the borders of the German zone in Macedonia to
BoeotiaBoeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , formerly Cadmeis, was a region of ancient Greece, north of the eastern part of the Gulf of Corinth. It was bounded on the south by Megaris and the Kithairon mountain range that forms a natural barrier with Attica, on the north by Opuntian Locris and the...
, a territory of 30,000 km² and 750,000 inhabitants.
Italian collapse and German takeover
By this time (July 1943), the overall strength of the
andartes was around 20-30,000, with most belonging to the ELAS, newly under the command of General
Stefanos SarafisStefanos Sarafis was an officer of the Hellenic Army who played an important role during the Greek Resistance.- Early life and career :...
. EAM/ELAS was by that time the only truly nationwide Resistance group, as EDES was limited in operations to
EpirusEpirus is a geographical and historical region of Greece in southeastern Europe, currently divided between the periphery of Epirus in Greece and the prefectures of Gjirokastër, Vlorë, Berat, and Korçë in southern Albania.-Name & Etymology:...
, and EKKA operated in a small area in Central Greece. The
Italian capitulationThe Armistice with Italy was an armistice signed on September 3 and publicly declared on September 8, 1943, during World War II, between Italy and the Allied armed forces, who were then occupying the southern end of the country, entailing the capitulation of Italy...
in September 1943 provided a windfall for the Resistance, as the Italian Army in many places simply disintegrated. Most Italian troops were swiftly disarmed and interned by the Germans, but in many places significant amounts of weaponry and equipment, as well as men, fell into the hands of the Resistance. The most spectacular case was that of the
Pinerolo division and the
Aosta Cavalry Regiment, which went completely over to the EAMite
andartes.
The Germans now took over the Italian zone, and soon proved to be a totally different opponent from the demoralized, war-weary and far less brutal Italians. Already since the early summer of 1943, German troops had been pouring into Greece, fearing an Allied landing there (in fact falling victims to a grand-scale Allied strategic deception operation, "
Operation BarclayOperation Barclay was an Allied deception plan in support of the invasion of Sicily, in 1943, during World War II.This operation was intended to deceive the Axis military commands as to the location of the expected Allied assault across the Mediterranean and divert attention and resources from Sicily...
"). Soon they became involved in wide-ranging
counterguerrillaCounter-insurgency is a military term for the armed conflict against an insurgency by forces aligned with the recognised government of the territory in which the conflict takes place...
operations, which they carried out with great ruthlessness, based on their experiences in Yugoslavia. In the course of these operations, mass
reprisalIn warfare, a reprisal is a limited and deliberate violation of the laws of war to punish an enemy who has already broken them. A legally executed reprisal is not an atrocity....
s were carried out, resulting in war crimes such as at
KommenoKommeno is a community in the prefecture of Arta, Greece. Population 835 . During the Axis Occupation of Greece in World War II, the village was the site of a massacre perpetrated by the German 1. Gebirgs-Division, which, on 16 August 1943, executed 317 inhabitants and torched the village.-...
on August 16, the
Massacre of KalavrytaThe Holocaust of Kalavryta , or the Massacre of Kalavryta , refers to the extermination of the male population and the subsequent total destruction of the town of Kalavryta, in Greece, by German occupying forces during World War II on 13 December 1943...
in December or the Massacre of Distomo in June 1944. At the same time, hundreds of villages were systematically torched and almost one million Greeks left homeless.
Prelude to Civil War: the first conflicts
Despite the signing of an agreement in May 1943 between the three main Resistance groups (EAM/ELAS, EDES and EKKA) to cooperate and to subject themselves to the Allied Middle East High Command under General Wilson (the "National Bands Agreement"), in the political field, the mutual mistrust between EAM and the other groups escalated. EAM was the dominant political and military force in Greece, and EDES and EKKA, along with the British and the Greek government-in-exile, feared that after the inevitable German withdrawal, it would try to dominate the country. This prospect was not only linked with the increasing distrust shown by many conservative and traditional liberal members of the Greek society towards the Communists and EAM, but also with British fears of "losing Greece", which they considered a vital part of their sphere of influence. EAM, on its part, considered itself the only true resistance group, as it contributed the overwhelming majority of activities against the Axis. Its leadership was rightly distrustful of British policies for Greece, and viewed Zervas' wooing of London and King George with suspicion, especially after it surfaced that he had established an unofficial truce with the Germans in Epirus.
At the same time, EAM found itself under attack by the Germans and their collaborators. Dominated by the old political class, and looking already to the oncoming post-Liberation era, the new
RallisIoannis Rallis was the third and last collaborationist prime minister of Greece during the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II, holding office from 7 April 1943 to 12 October 1944, succeeding Konstantinos Logothetopoulos in the Nazi-controlled the Greek puppet government in Athens.-...
government established the notorious
Security BattalionsThe Security Battalions were Greek collaborationist military groups, formed during the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II in order to support the German occupation troops....
, with the blessing of the German authorities, in order to fight exclusively against ELAS. Other anti-communist fringe groups, such as the royalist Organization "X", received arms and funding.
A virtual civil war was now being waged under the eyes of the Germans. In October 1943, ELAS attacked EDES. This conflict continued until February 1944, when the British agents in Greece negotiated a ceasefire (the Plaka agreement). But the fight continued amongst the Battalions and ELAS, even in the streets of Athens, until the German withdrawal in October 1944. In March, EAM established a rival government in Free Greece, the
Political Committee of National LiberationThe Political Committee of National Liberation was a communist-dominated government established in Greece in 1944 in opposition to both the collaborationist German-controlled government at Athens and to the royal government-in-exile in Cairo. It is commonly known as the "Mountain Government"...
, clearly staking its claim to a major role in post-war Greece. At this point, ELAS made a fatal move: on Easter Monday, 17 April 1944, ELAS forces attacked and destroyed EKKA's 5/42 Regiment. Colonel Psarros was captured and executed, as were many of his men. This action drove many liberals and moderates, especially in the cities, towards the right, and cemented the rift between the two segments of the Greek population.
Resistance in the islands and Crete
The resistance in Crete was centred in the mountainous interior, and despite the heavy presence of German troops, developed significant activity, most notable being the abduction of General
Heinrich KreipeKarl Heinrich Georg Ferdinand Kreipe was a German general, who served in World War II. He is most famous for his spectacular abduction by British and Cretan resistance fighters from occupied Crete in April 1944....
and the battle of Trahili. Notable figures of the Cretan Resistance include
Patrick Leigh FermorSir Patrick 'Paddy' Michael Leigh Fermor DSO OBE is a British author, scholar and soldier, who played a prominent role behind the lines in the Battle of Crete during World War II...
and
George PsychoundakisGeorge Psychoundakis was a Greek Resistance fighter on Crete during the Second World War. He was a shepherd, a war hero and an author. He served as dispatch runner between Petro Petrakas and Papadakis behind the German lines for the Cretan resistance Movement and later, from 1941 to 1945, for the...
.
Resistance in the cities
Resistance in the cities was organized quickly, but of necessity groups were small and fragmented. The cities, and the working-class suburbs of Athens in particular, witnessed appalling suffering in the winter of 1941-42, when food confiscations and disrupted communications caused widespread famine and perhaps hundreds of thousands of deaths. This caused fertile ground for recruitment, but lack of equipment, funds and organization limited the spread of the resistance. The main roles of resistance operatives were intelligence and sabotage, mostly in cooperation with British Intelligence. One of the earliest jobs of the urban resistance was helping stranded Commonwealth soldiers escape. The resistance groups stayed in touch with British handlers through wireless sets, met and helped British spies and saboteurs that parachuted in, provided intelligence, conducted propaganda efforts, and ran escape networks for allied operatives and Greek young men wishing to join the Hellenic forces in exile. Wireless equipment, money, weapons and other support was mainly supplied by British Intelligence, but it was never enough. Fragmentation of groups, the need for secrecy, and emerging conflicts between right and left, monarchists and republicans, did not help. Urban resistance work was very dangerous: operatives were always in danger of arrest and summary execution, and suffered heavy casualties. Captured fighters were routinely tortured by the
AbwehrThe Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
and the
GestapoThe was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning in April 1934, it was under the overall administration of the Schutzstaffel under Heinrich Himmler in his position as leader of the SS and Chief of German Police...
, and confessions used to roll up networks. The job of wireless operators was perhaps the most dangerous, since the Germans used direction-finding equipment to pinpoint the location of transmitters; operators were often shot on the spot, and those were the lucky ones, since immediate execution prevented torture.
Urban protest
One of the most important forms of resistance were the mass protest movements. The first such event occurred during the national anniversary of 25 March 1942, when students attempted to lay a wreath at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier. This resulted in clashes with mounted
CarabinieriThe Arma dei Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both the military and civilian populations. The Carabinieri is now a branch of the armed forces , thus ending their long standing role as the first corps of the Italian army.-Early history:The corps was created by King Victor...
, and marked the awakening of the spirit of Resistance amongst the wider urban population. Soon after, on 12-14 April, the "TTT" (Telecommunications & Postal) workers began a strike in Athens, which spread throughout the country. Initially the strikers' demands were financial, but it quickly assumed a political aspect, as the strike was encouraged by EAM's labour union organization, EEAM. Finally, the strike ended on April 21, with the full capitulation of the collaborationist government to the strikers' demands, including the immediate release of arrested strike leaders.
In early 1943, rumours spread of a planned mobilization of the labour force by the occupation authorities, with the intent of sending them to
work in GermanyArbeitseinsatz was forced labour during World War II when German men were called up for military service and German authorities rounded up labourers from the occupied territories to fill in the vacancies. Arbeitseinsatz was not restricted to the industry sector and to arms factories, it also took...
. The first reactions began amongst students on 7 February, but soon grew in scope and volume. Throughout February, successive strikes and demonstrations paralyzed Athens, culminating in a massive rally on the 24th. The tense climate was amply displayed at the funeral of Greece's national poet,
Kostis PalamasKostis Palamas was a Greek poet who wrote the words to the Olympic Hymn. He was a central figure of the Greek literary generation of the 1880s and one of the cofounders of the so-called New Athenian School along with Georgios Drosinis and Nikos Kampas.-Biography:Born in Patras, he received his...
, on 28 February, which turned into an anti-Axis demonstration.
Risks involved
Resisting the Axis occupation was fraught with risks. Foremost among these for the partisans was death in combat as the German military forces were far superior. However, the guerrilla fighters also had to face starvation, brutal environmental conditions in the mountains of Greece, while poorly clothed and shod.
The resistance also involved risks for ordinary Greeks. Attacks often incited
reprisalIn warfare, a reprisal is a limited and deliberate violation of the laws of war to punish an enemy who has already broken them. A legally executed reprisal is not an atrocity....
killings of civilians by the German occupying forces. Villages were burned and its inhabitants massacred. The Germans also resorted to hostage taking. Quotas were even introduced determining the number of civilians or hostages to be killed in response to the death or wounding of German soldiers.
Table of main resistance groups
| Group name |
Political orientation |
Political leadership |
Military arm |
Military leadership |
Estimated peak membership |
National Liberation Front (Ethnikó Apeleftherotikó Métopo/ΕΑΜ)
|
Broad leftist front affiliated with the Communist Party of Greece |
Georgios Siantos |
Greek People's Liberation Army (Ellinikós Laikós Apeleftherotikós Stratós/ELAS) |
Aris Velouchiotis Aris Velouchiotis , the nom de guerre of Athanasios Klaras , was the most prominent leader and chief instigator of the Greek People's Liberation Army , the military branch of the National Liberation Front , which was the major resistance organization in occupied Greece from 1942 to 1945...
, Stefanos SarafisStefanos Sarafis was an officer of the Hellenic Army who played an important role during the Greek Resistance.- Early life and career :...
|
|
National Republican Greek League
(Ethnikós Dimokratikós Ellinikós Sýndesmos/EDES) |
VenizelistEleftherios Venizelos was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century...
, republicanRepublicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of Republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context. The sometimes contrary definitions are all covered in...
, socialist, anti-communistAnti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism, especially Marxism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the growing popularity of the communist movement, and took on many forms during the 20th century....
|
Nikolaos Plastiras Nikolaos Plastiras was a Greek general and politician, who served thrice as Prime Minister of Greece. A distinguished soldier and known for his personal bravery, he was known as "O Mavros Kavalaris" during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922...
(nominal), Komninos PyromaglouKomninos Pyromaglou , was a Greek teacher and politician, and one of the driving forces behind the foundation of the National Republican Greek League , the second-largest Resistance organization in Axis-occupied Greece during World War II...
|
National Groups of Greek Guerrillas
(Ethnikés Omádes Ellínon Antartón/EOEA) |
Napoleon Zervas Napoleon Zervas was a Greek general and resistance leader during World War II. He organized and led the National Republican Greek League , a resistance organization against the Nazi occupation of Greece....
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14,000 |
National and Social Liberation
(Ethnikí Kai Koinonikí Apelefthérosis/EKKA) |
VenizelistEleftherios Venizelos was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century...
, republicanRepublicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of Republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context. The sometimes contrary definitions are all covered in...
, liberalLiberalism is the belief in the importance of individual freedom. This belief is widely accepted today throughout the world, and was recognized as an important value by many philosophers throughout history...
, anti-communistAnti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism, especially Marxism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the growing popularity of the communist movement, and took on many forms during the 20th century....
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Georgios Kartalis |
5/42 Evzones Regiment |
Dimitrios Psarros Dimitrios Psarros was a Greek army officer and resistance leader.Psarros was born in 1893 in the village of Chryso, Phocis. He graduated Greek military school in 1916 and became a Second Lieutenant in the artillery....
and Evripidis Bakirtzis |
1,000 |
Notable Resistance members
EAM/ELAS and affiliated:
- Aris Velouchiotis
Aris Velouchiotis , the nom de guerre of Athanasios Klaras , was the most prominent leader and chief instigator of the Greek People's Liberation Army , the military branch of the National Liberation Front , which was the major resistance organization in occupied Greece from 1942 to 1945...
- Giorgios Siantos
Georgios Siantos was a prominent figure of the Greek Communist party 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.- Early years :Siantos was born in Karditsa, Thessaly in 1890; his...
- Stefanos Sarafis
Stefanos Sarafis was an officer of the Hellenic Army who played an important role during the Greek Resistance.- Early life and career :...
- Markos Vafiades
- Evripidis Bakirtzis
- Alexandros Svolos
Alexandros Svolos , was a prominent Greek legal expert, who also served as president of the Political Committee of National Liberation, a Resistance-based government during the Axis Occupation of Greece.- Early life :Svolos was born in 1892 in Modern Kruševo Alexandros Svolos , (1892, Kruševo,...
- Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis was a Greek composer, music theorist and architect. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...
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EDES:
- Napoleon Zervas
Napoleon Zervas was a Greek general and resistance leader during World War II. He organized and led the National Republican Greek League , a resistance organization against the Nazi occupation of Greece....
EKKA:
- Dimitrios Psarros
Dimitrios Psarros was a Greek army officer and resistance leader.Psarros was born in 1893 in the village of Chryso, Phocis. He graduated Greek military school in 1916 and became a Second Lieutenant in the artillery....
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Other:
- George Psychoundakis
George Psychoundakis was a Greek Resistance fighter on Crete during the Second World War. He was a shepherd, a war hero and an author. He served as dispatch runner between Petro Petrakas and Papadakis behind the German lines for the Cretan resistance Movement and later, from 1941 to 1945, for the...
- Elias Degiannis
Elias Degiannis was a Greek navy officer and second in command of the resistance group PROMETHEUS.He was arrested, tortured and executed by the Germans in 18 June 1943. He was promoted posthumously to Naval Commander....
- Mikhail Demertzis
- Apostolos Santas
Apostolos Santas is a Greek veteran of the Resistance against the Axis Occupation of Greece during World War II, most notable for his participation, along with Manolis Glezos, in the taking down of the German flag from the Acropolis on 30 May 1941.Apostolos Santas was born on 22 February 1922 in...
- Manolis Glezos
Manolis Glezos is a Greek left wing politician and writer, worldwide known especially for his participation in the World War II resistance. He was born on September 9, 1922 in the village of Apiranthos , Naxos. He moved to Athens in 1935 together with his family, where he finished high school....
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British agentsThe Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency .-Origins and activities:...
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- Edmund Myers
- Christopher Woodhouse
Christopher Woodhouse may refer to:*Montague Woodhouse, 5th Baron Terrington, full name Christopher Montague Woodhouse, , Conservative MP*Christopher Woodhouse, 6th Baron Terrington , urologist and son of the former...
- Patrick Leigh Fermor
Sir Patrick 'Paddy' Michael Leigh Fermor DSO OBE is a British author, scholar and soldier, who played a prominent role behind the lines in the Battle of Crete during World War II...
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See also
- June 1942 Crete airfield raids
In June 1942, Allied commando forces carried out a series of raids on German airfields in the Axis-occupied Greek island of Crete, to prevent them from being used for supporting the Afrika Korps in the Western Desert Campaign in World War II...
- French Resistance
The French Resistance is the collective name used for the French resistance movements which fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and the collaborationist Vichy Regime during World War II...
- Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , abbreviated "AK", was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
- Partisans (Yugoslavia)
The Yugoslav Partisans, or simply the Partisans were a Communist-led World War II resistance movement engaged in the fight against Axis forces and their collaborators in Yugoslavia during the Yugoslav People's Liberation War from 1941 to 1945...
Sources
- W. Byford-Jones, The Greek Trilogy: Resistance-Liberation-Revolution, London 1945
- R. Capell, Simiomata: A Greek Note Book 1944-45, London 1946
- W. S. Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer...
, The Second World War
- N.G.L. Hammond, Venture into Greece: With the Guerillas, 1943-44, London, 1983. (Like Woodhouse, he was a member of the British Military Mission)
- Reginald Leeper, When Greek Meets Greek: On the War in Greece, 1943-1945
- C. M. Woodhouse, Apple of Discord: A Survey of Recent Greek Politics in their International Setting, London 1948 (Woodhouse was a member of the British Military Mission to Greece during the war)
- Center of Military History, German Antiguerrilla Operations in The Balkans (1941-1944) Washington DC: United States Army
The United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
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External links