GREECE DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR -(1940-1945)

GREECE DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR -(1940-1945)

The Greek-Italian and Greek-German War (1940-1941)

German political and military successes (1938-1940) encouraged Italy to lead a more militant policy in the Balkans. After occupying Albania (April 7, 1939), Italy expressed a more aggressive policy towards Greece. On October 28, 1940, Gratsiani, the Italian ambassador to Greece, handed the Greek government a note with an ultimate. The Italian government demanded that Greece allow Italy to establish bases on Greek soil until the end of the war. The Greek government responded with no.

All Greek political parties, from the left to the right, placed their unconditional support behind Metaxas’s government. The CPG, through its Secretary General Nikos Zahariadis, called on the Greek people to “turn every hill, every barn, every city and every house into a turret” because the war led by the Metaxas government in Greece is a struggle “for freedom, honor and national independence”.

After Italy’s initial military successes, the Greek army began a counteroffensive and pushed its way into southern Albania (Koritsa, Saranda and Argirokastro). The Greek-Italian war, as well as Dusan Simovich’s coup in Yugoslavia, seriously upset Nazi Germany, which decided to solve the Balkan problem through its own military means. On April 6, 1941, Prince Ehrbarh, the German ambassador in Athens, sent a note to the Greek government declaring war. Following that, the German military attacked Greece and forced it to swiftly capitulate. On April 23, 1941, generals G. Chalakoglu, E. Bakhos and P. Demestihas, signed Greece’s capitulation. The king, the government and some of the military left for Crete and later, after the German occupation, left for Egypt (Cairo).

After its capitulation, Greece was divided into three zones: Italian, German and Bulgarian. Most of the Greek territory fell under Italian occupation (Peloponnese, Sterea Hellas without Athens, Thessaly, Epirus and the Cyclades). The German zone covered central Aegean (Greek occupied) Macedonia and was placed under the administration of G. Chakalogu’s Quisling government. The German zone also covered the islands Crete, Lesbos, Chios and part of Western Thrace. The Bulgarian zone covered part of eastern Aegean (Greek occupied) Macedonia and Western Thrace. These were territories that Bulgaria lost with the signing of the Treaty of Bucharest and Neuilly Peace Accord.

Anti-Fascist Resistance

The anti-fascist resistance in Greece began symbolically. A couple of young men, Manolis Glezos and Lakis Santas, took down the German flag from the Acropolis and raised the Greek flag. In 1941, at the initiative of the Left (CPG), the organizations EAM (Greek Liberation Front) and ELAS (Greek People’s Liberation Army) were formed and led by General S. Saraphis, military commander, and Aris Veliahiotis, political commissar. Later, at the political initiative of N. Plastiras the organization EDES (Greek Democratic and National League), was formed and led by Napoleon Zervas. Similarly, on the initiative of G. Kartalis the organization EKKA (Greek Committee for National and Social Liberation) was formed and led by Colonel Psaros. Ideologically dissimilar (some supporting evolution without a revolution and others supporting evolution with revolution) the organizations were united nationally on the basis of Greek national interests (sovereignty and national integrity of the Greek state). However these Greek resistance forces cooperated only under conditions. They cooperated on the basis of Greek national interests and fought on the basis of social class. For the time being however, they jointly resisted against the Axis forces during this period. In September 1941, the Drama Uprising began with the Greek population attacking the Bulgarian authorities for trying to expel the Madziri (Asia Minor colonists and settlers) that were deposited in Greek occupied Macedonia in the period between the two world wars, and send them back to where they came from. In 1942, English diversionists along with ELAS and EDES fighters mined the Giorgopatomos bridge in order to make it difficult to supply German troops from the Middle East.

But, as Greece came closer and closer to been liberated and Greek national interests realized, the class struggle began to escalate and civil war was inevitable. After Italy capitulated and the Bodoglio

government was formed (1943), clashes between ELAS-EDES and ELAS-EKKA became common and began to look like a real civil war. Over time however ELAS became a stronger force and attacked and defeated EKKA. All its units were destroyed and those captured, along with its leader Colonel Psaras, were liquidated. After that ELAS became the main bearer of the anti-fascist resistance in Greece. At its peak ELAS had 65,000 soldiers, all heavily motivated guerrillas. On March 10, 1944, in a place called Viniani, the left wing of the Greek anti-fascists formed the organization PEEA (Political Committee for National Enforcement), which served as a shadow government, a government which severely disturbed the English and the Greek government in exile.

The EAM-ELAS anti-fascist primacy, as well as the presence of Macedonian and Vlach armed formations in its ranks, severely disturbed the English who were worried that after Greece was liberated the Greek left would take power. Because of this the English began to implement policies to strip EAM-ELAS from its primacy as the main bearers of the anti-fascist struggle in Greece, and advocated for putting the Greek left under its control at all costs.

The evolutionary capitulation process of EAM-ELAS began following the Yalta Agreement (by which 90% of Greece fell under English influence), the Lebanon Agreement (20.6.1944), the Caserta Agreement (26.9.1944) and the Varkiza Agreement (12.2.1945). The Lebanon Agreement envisioned the establishment of a “national unity government and the creation of a national army that would be subordinated to the national unity government. The national unity government would then be responsible for implementing “state law” and “freedom” for all after the liberation. All sides were unanimous about “fulfilling all national rights” and creating “a new free and Greater Greece”.

The English took their first step in resolving the Greek crisis with the Caserta Agreement. The Caserta Agreement envisioned “all guerrilla groups being placed under the national unity government’s control. The Greek national unity government would then place all guerrilla groups under English General Skobi’s command, and any attempt by the guerrilla groups to take power would be considered a criminal act and those involved would be severely punished”. On

October 18, 1944, after the German forces withdrew from Greece, the national unity government, led by Georgios Papandreou, along some of General Skobi’s English forces, arrives in Athens. Before their arrival Greece was facing unresolved difficult economic and political issues. Papandreou’s government encountered a severe economic situation in the country. The road, rail and sea traffic was completely destroyed. Due to the difficult living conditions during the occupation, nearly 400,000 people were killed or starved to death.