Greek Civil War

The Greek Civil War was a war fought between 1942 and 1949. On one side was the conservative part of the Greek society and the armed forces of the Greek government, supported at first by Britain and later by the United States. On the other side was the revolutionary part of the Greek society and the forces of the biggest wartime resistance organization (ELAS) against the German occupation, whose leadership was controlled by the Communist Party of Greece.

The end of the war: 1949

The fatal blow to the KKE and the DSE, however, was political, not military. In June of that year, the Soviet Union and its satellites broke off relations with Prime Minister Tito of Yugoslavia, who had been the KKE's strongest supporter since 1944. The KKE thus had to choose between their loyalty to Stalin and their relations with their closest and most important ally. Inevitably, after some internal conflict, the great majority of them, led by Zachariadis, chose Stalin. In January 1949 Vafiadis was accused of "Titoism" and removed from his political and military positions, being replaced by Zachariadis.

Related Topics:
KKE - Soviet Union - Tito - Yugoslavia - 1944 - Stalin - Zachariadis - 1949 - Vafiadis

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After a year of increasing acrimony, Tito closed down the Yugoslavian border to the guerrillas of DSE in July of 1949 and disbanded their camps inside Yugoslavia. The DSE could still operate from Albania, but to the DSE that was a poor alternative. The split with Tito set also off a witch-hunt for "Titoites" inside the Greek Communist Party, leading to disorganisation and demoralisation within the ranks of DSE and decline of support of KKE in urban areas.

Related Topics:
1949 - KKE

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At the same time, the National Army found a talented commander in the face of General Alexander Papagos. In August of 1949, Papagos launched a major counter-offensive against the DSE forces in northern Greece, code-named "Operation Torch". The plan was a major victory for the National Army and resulted in heavy losses for the DSE. The DSE army, could no longer able to sustain resistance in a set-piece battle. By September of 1949, most of its fighters had surrendered or escaped over the border into Albania. By the end of the month, the Albanian government, presumably with Soviet approval, announced to KKE that it would no longer allow the DSE to perform military operations from within Albanian territory. On October 16, Zachariadis announced a "temporary cease-fire to prevent the complete annihilation of Greece." That treaty marked the end of the Greek Civil War.

Related Topics:
Alexander Papagos - 1949 - October 16 - Zachariadis

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The United States saw the end of the Greek Civil War, as a victory in the Cold War against the Soviet Union. The paradox was that the Soviets never actively supported the Communist Party's efforts to seize power in Greece, and at the crucial moment at the end of 1944, when ELAS controlled most of the country, intervened decisively to restrain KKE, in the interests of the Soviet Union's larger strategy. KKE's major supporter and supplier had always been Tito, and it was the rift between Tito and the KKE which marked the real demise of the party's efforts to assert power.

Related Topics:
United States - Greek Civil War - Cold War - Soviet Union - Paradox - 1944 - KKE

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The Civil War left Greece in ruins and in even greater economic distress than it had been after the end of WWII and the end of the German occupation. The war divided the Greek people for the following four decades. Thousands of Greeks languished in prison for many years. Many thousands more went into exile in Communist countries, or emigrated to Australia Germany, USA and other countries. The polarisation and instability in the 1960s of Greek politics was a direct result from feelings and ideologies lingering from the Civil War. Right-wing extremist organisations played a part in the politics of the time by instigating conflict and tension, leading to the murder of the left-wing politician Gregoris Lambrakis in 1963. In April 21, 1967, a group of right-wing Army officers succeded in performing a coup d' êtat and seizing power from the government, using as an excuse the political instability and tension of the time. The leader of the coup, George Papadopoulos, was a member of the extra-military organization IDEA (Ieros Desmos Ellinon Axiomatikon -????? ????????? ??????? ??????????? - or Sacred Bond of Greek Officers). Before the Junta was in power, officers belonging to the ASPIDA group, a left-wing organization of anti-royalist officers, were accused of planning an attempt to take power through a coup. The attempt never took place and the officers were court martialed for "treason against the Greek state", and "following a known communist". They were alledgedly followers of Andreas Papandreou, son of George Papandreou, senior, former prime minister of Greece, who fled Greece, after the 1967 coup. After the fall of the military junta in 1974, a conservative centre-right wing government under Constantine Karamanlis legalised the KKE and established a constitution which guaranteed political freedoms, individual rights and free elections. In 1981 the center/left-wing government of PASOK, which was elected with a substantial majority, voted to give all ELAS warriors a pension for their action during occupation, even if they had later revolted against the state during the "third round". PASOK claimed that this law diminished the consequenses of the civil war in Greek society. Nonetheless, the same party has repeatedly come under fire for allegedly inflaming civil-war era passions with divisive rhetorics for its own political gain.

Related Topics:
WWII - Australia - 1960s - Gregoris Lambrakis - 1963 - April 21 - 1967 - George Papadopoulos - Court martialed - Andreas Papandreou - George Papandreou, senior - 1974 - KKE - 1981 - PASOK

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