Wartime Wednesday: Greek Resistance During WWII

 Wartime Wednesday: Greek Resistance

Like all German-occupied countries during World War II, Greece suffered food shortages, heavy-handed mandates, forced labor conscription, and brutality. The Italians in October 1940, but the Greek army was able to push the enemy forces into Albania and hold them under siege. Seven months later in April 1941, Hitler answered Mussolini’s call for help by sending German troops. Fighting was brutal, and the king fled to Cairo where according to multiple sources waited for “Germany’s defeat at the hands of the British.” Germany was victorious, and in May a collaborative government was set up in Athens.

Within a short time, Greek resistance emerged, initially by sporadic individual acts of sabotage and civil disobedience such as an incident on May 30, 1941, during which two university students pulled down the Nazi flag that had been hoisted over the Acropolis.

The National Liberation Front (EAM) was the largest of the resistance groups to form and is thought to

have had almost 1.5 million members by 1944. The organization was founded by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and other “left-wing faction” and included a military branch (ELAS) that handled the sabotage and guerilla warfare against the occupying forces. Several sources indicate the group was highly successful in engaging Axis divisions and destroying infrastructure. In addition, EAM organized strikes and protests.

The second-largest resistance group was the National Republican Greek League (EDES) founded in September 1941 by Greek army officer Colonel Napoleon Zervas. Interestingly, the group fought the Axis powers but was also adamantly opposed to the exiled King George. EDES received support from British Intelligence as they performed acts of sabotage and guerilla warfare. One well-known act was the destruction of the Gorgopotamos railway line in November 1942 which disrupted German supply lines. Eventually, EDES’s philosophies led to a civil war, and conflict broke out between them and EAM who defeated EDES in December 1944.

Smaller resistance groups operated throughout the country and were composed of men and women. Many worked in partnership with Britain’s Special Operations Executive (SOE) collecting and passing along intelligence reports, running escape networks for refugees and downed airmen, conducted propaganda events, and staged public protests. Medical staff set up underground hospitals and medical centers.

The combination of sabotage, intelligence activities, and armed combat with resistance forces, sent German troops fleeing from Athens on October 12, 1944.

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About Eye of the Beholder (Apron Strings Tea Tales)

Shunned for his appearance, a disfigured veteran encounters acceptance and love where he least expects it.

Left with physical and emotional scars after the Great War, Hank Drake has been shunned by polite society as the Ugly Duckling. Fine by him. He’d much rather be alone. Until he meets the kind proprietress of a tea stand at New York’s World’s Fair who isn’t repulsed by his appearance. Can he hope for acceptance…or even love?

Grace Sutton has no interest in marrying and is tired of her parent’s snide comments that she’s still single on the eve of her 40th birthday. After she loses her job thanks to budget cuts, she decides it’s time to follow her dream of feeding others. Armed with Mrs. Canfield’s cookbook, she opens a refreshment stand at the World’s Fair unaware how one man will turn her life upside down and upset the apple…er, tea cart.

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3Pz88KO

Sources:
https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/greek-resistance-during-world-war-ii
https://radicalteatowel.co.uk/radical-history-blog/a-free-greece-how-the-greek-resistance-defeated-fascism
https://greekancestry.net/yiayiaandme-15/
https://redflag.org.au/article/greek-resistance-wwii-triumph-defeat/

Photo Credits:

Members of EAM/ELAS: By Demetrios Andrianis - Own work

Soldiers raising Swastika over the Acropolis: By Ekdotiki Athinon

Protest of University Students: By National Museum of the U.S. Navy - Lot 11618-4, Public Domain