On October 12, Athens celebrates the 81st anniversary of liberation from Nazi Germany

Raising the emblem connected the Sacred Rock of the Acropolis successful the beingness of the President of the Republic, Costas Tasoulas.

On October 12, Athens celebrated the 81st day of liberation from Nazi Germany. The ceremonial of raising the Greek emblem took spot connected the Acropolis – it was an nonstop recreation of the lawsuit of October 12, 1944, with the information of Athenian lyceum students successful nationalist costumes.

81 years later, connected the ineffable stone of the Acropolis, Greece celebrates the liberation of Athens from the Nazis, with representatives of the governmental and subject enactment taking portion successful the solemnisation of this humanities anniversary.

Among them was the President of the Hellenic Republic, Konstantinos Tasoulas, who was contiguous astatine the show of the nationalist anthem and the raising of the flag.

How it was…..

On the evening of October 11, the Germans began to gradually permission Athens, moving north. On October 12 astatine 8:00 am, the fewer remaining Wehrmacht units successful Athens gathered astatine the monument to the Unknown Soldier. There, successful an impromptu and hasty ceremony, the commander-in-chief of the concern forces, General Helmut Felmy, accompanied by the politician of Athens, Angelos Georgatos, laid a wreath.

The Germans near Athens connected October 12, 1944. Following the missive Caserta Agreementregular parts ELAS did not participate Athens.

But adjacent during the years of occupation, lightly equipped detachments, united successful the 1st Corps, operated successful the metropolis ELAS, who took power of the metropolis and fought to prevention galore metropolis facilities, including powerfulness plants, from demolition by the departing Germans.

In those days Greek People’s Liberation Army (ELAS) gave the past large battle, preventing the invaders from blowing up the powerfulness works successful Keracini.

At 9 am, ELAS metropolis troops entered the metropolis halfway and removed the remaining Nazi symbols from the Acropolis of Athens. Residents of the metropolis of Athens virtually poured retired into the streets to the joyful ringing of religion bells, jubilantly welcoming their freedom.

Citizens observe the liberation of Athens connected October 12, 1944. Source: Wikipedia/ Ministry of Foreign Affairs / CC-BY-SA-2.0

Crowds of radical walked holding Greek and Allied flags, arsenic well arsenic posters of Resistance groups, with astir of the banners belonging to EAM-ELAS: National Liberation Front (EAF) – Greek People’s Liberation Army (ELAS) and his organizations. There were besides posters the Greek National Democratic League (EDES) and the Panhellenic Union of Struggling Youth (PEAN).

People sang the Greek nationalist anthem and “Christ is Risen,” and this was followed by nationalist festivities with dancing and singing.

The festive ambiance continued for respective days – until October 18, when came to powerfulness Government of National Unity led by Georgios Papandreou and with the subsequent authoritative hoisting the Greek emblem connected the Acropoliswhich took spot successful a touching and breathtaking atmosphere.

The people, successful the afloat consciousness of the word, bathed successful waves of happiness, being assured that this was the extremity of each their hardships…

For galore this was the past chance, provided by ELAS to travel to power, but she, observing agreement signed successful the Italian metropolis of Caserta betwixt the “free” Greek authorities of nationalist unification, formed successful Cairo, and the partisan formations EAM and EDES operating successful Greece, was waiting for the accomplishment of the Greek government.

Subsequently, however, tragic events followed fratricidal war (December events /Dekemvriana/ and Civil War /Emphilios polemos/) is 1 of the darkest pages of Greek history.

The archetypal British paratroopers arrived connected October 14 astatine the airfield successful Tatoisupposedly for nutrient distribution. They were met by partisans ELASwho occupied the airfield connected October 12. On 13 October the BBC made a “mistake” by reporting that Athens had been liberated by ELAS. This displeased Churchill, who was preparing for a clash with ELAS and, still extracurricular Greece, Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou, who demanded that the Foreign Office close the mistake. The “error” was corrected by Wilson’s English commander-in-chief, Henry Maitland, who reported to Churchill that Athens was liberated from October 13 to 14 by British units and the Sacred Detachment. Today, the liberation of the metropolis is celebrated connected October 12, when it was liberated by units ELASand not according to the fantasies of the British general.

The authorities of Georgios Papandreou and the British “military-political network” arrived successful Athens October 18, greeted by a defender of grant ELAS.
The behaviour of the British towards erstwhile collaborators began to “irritate” the Greeks. Even a period later, not a single worker of the occupiers was convicted and galore behaved defiantly. The British determination to wage delayed salaries to the information battalions established by the Germans caused outrage among the fighters ELAS.

After the liberation of the Greek capital, the occupiers were expelled from different regions of the country:

• October 18 – Lamia city,
• October 19 – Volos city,
• October 23 – metropolis of Larisa,
• October 26 – Katerini city,
• October 30 – Thessaloniki.

It is due to enactment present that the metropolis of Chania connected Crete was liberated lone successful May 1945. At the aforesaid time, the British sent the Wehrmacht units that had antecedently capitulated to woody with the Greek partisans, who thoughtWhat the British brought them freedom.

An English serviceman and German soldiers successful Crete during the war with the partisans.

According to humanities data, Greece resisted the force for 219 days (for comparison, Norway resisted the Nazi invaders for 61 days; France, which successful that epoch was considered a superpower – 43 days; Poland – 30 days, Belgium – 18 days, Holland – 4 days; Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Luxembourg and Denmark surrendered without resistance).

After 4 years of concern and the Resistance movement, the state emerged from World War II with important losses:

• 155,000 buildings acceptable connected fire;
• 111,000 families of occurrence victims passim Greece;
• 1,700 wholly burned Greek villages;
• 500,000 died successful battle, executed and murdered successful German attraction camps, arsenic well arsenic those who died from hunger and deprivation, which, compared to the total population, was 10%! For comparison, quality losses successful the USSR amounted to 2.8%, successful Holland – 2.2%, successful France – 2.0%, successful Poland – 1.8%, successful Yugoslavia – 1.7% and successful Belgium – 1.5%.

The harm to the system is estimated:

• a alteration successful cultivation accumulation (various cultivation products) by 40-80%;
• reduction successful livestock numbers: ample – by 50%, small – by 30%;
• reduction of wood areas – 20%;
• destruction of metallic mining enterprises and, arsenic a consequence, stoppage of the corresponding production;
• a diminution successful concern accumulation by 50%;
• disruption of transport links: demolition of the railway web and equipment, arsenic well arsenic roads;
• confiscation of cars – 70%;
• destruction of ports and the Corinth Canal;
• loss of commercialized and rider fleet – by 73%.

Greece was the lone state that had to combat with 4 countries during World War II: Albania, Italy, Germany and Bulgaria.

“You fought unarmed and won, small against big. We explicit our gratitude to you for giving us clip to support our Motherland. As Russians and arsenic people, we thank you.”

(Moscow radio, during the days of the German onslaught connected the USSR)

Mid-May 1945, Tiger tanks with German crews, together with the British subject Greek rebels are captured and executed connected the land of Crete.

Do you think this is simply a crippled from an alternate history? Nothing of the kind, this is simply a existent (albeit cautiously hushed up) humanities fact, which was reported by the Greek work Cretan Magazine. You tin work much astir this stage successful Greek past successful our work Why did the Nazis stay connected Crete for different 8 months aft the land was liberated?.

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