Proposed Kalamata WW2 commemorative trail receives a boost

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As we attack this year’s OHI Day commemoration it was important that successful 1 important portion of Greece – the Peloponnese – the conception of commemorative tourism was precocious fixed a boost with an planetary treatment aimed astatine promoting consciousness of the WW2 commemorative trail within Kalamata.

This gathering was 1 of a fig held successful Kalamata connected World Tourism Day to beforehand treatment connected tourism opportunities.

The working gathering was organised by the Messinian Chamber of Commerce and Tourism and its’ Deputy President Pavlos Grekis, connected the juncture of World Tourism Day – 27 September – and held successful Kalamata, with overseas participants taking portion via zoom.

Participants included representatives of section and determination authorities, tourism professionals, members of section taste associations and clubs, salient academics from the University of the Peloponnese – Dr’s Vagia Panagiotidis and Marios Athanasopoulos – arsenic well arsenic those progressive successful promoting the conception locally, such arsenic Sotiris Theodoropoulos and Panagiotis Andrianopoulos (who is besides Director of State Archives-Department of Messinia).

Sotiris was 1 of the driving forces initiating the meeting. It was my pleasance to beryllium invited to take portion successful the treatment owed to my agelong relation with the portion and its subject heritage, particularly its transportation to the Anzacs successful Greece successful 1941.

The gathering included keynote addresses by Dr Panagiotidis (entitled Kalamata & Messinia: Battles, Memories, Perspectives – Military Tourism arsenic a Lever for Development), Dr Athanasopoulos (entitled The prospects of thematic tourism of Memory for Messinia) and my ain (entitled Commemorative Tourism – Messinian Opportunities), followed by discussion.

The inheritance to the gathering was the information that Kalamata and the surrounding portion played a important portion successful the Greek run of 1941.

This is well documented and preserved successful archives crossed the world. These sources place the cardinal locations connected to the run successful Kalamata, locations that could signifier a WW2 subject practice trail.

These uncover Kalamata’s relation arsenic 1 of the main evacuation ports arsenic the run drew to a close. Some 18-20,000 Allied soldiers – including British, Australian, New Zealand and different Commonwealth troops arsenic well arsenic different Allied troops – made their way to the harbour metropolis hoping for evacuation.

They arrived from the north, marching done the streets of the metropolis and down to the harbour. While some camped connected the bluish borderline of the city, galore Allied troops went on the harbour beforehand and connected to temporary camps established under olive groves.

While the troops waited, the infrastructure of a temporary evacuation basal would beryllium established, including astatine the section Customs House connected the harbour coordinating the evacuation.

With each evacuation, those fortunate troops selected for evacuation would determination down to the harbour successful screen of acheronian to allotted places on the harbour from where they would depart to safety.

The evacuation was interrupted by an beforehand German forces temporarily seizing power of the Customs House.

This unit was overwhelmed by an Allied unit pulled together from the troops available successful the conflict of Kalamata Waterfront.

One of the leaders of the Allied onslaught was Captain Albert Gray from Red Cliffs successful Victoria.

On 29 April the Germans yet captured the metropolis and with it some 8,000 Allied troops. Kalamata’s story would proceed arsenic some Allied troops escaped aft the autumn of Kalamata itself, walking on the seashore and evading captured.

Some sailed from Koroni and 200 were evacuated from Trahila and different ports successful Mani.

Those who took portion oregon witnessed these events astatine Kalamata carried these memories for years aft the war. Soldiers remembered the warm welcome they received from the locals arsenic they marched done the town.

One of the astir moving accounts successful our caller documentary ‘Anzac The Greek Chapter’ is that of the veteran Don Stephenson recounting being offered sustenance by a section woman arsenic helium marched done Kalamata.

It is besides reflected successful the photographs of locals by different veteran, Private Syd Grant. This transportation is felt by the descendants of these veterans and others, who instrumentality to Kalamata to retrieve the wartime experiences of their loved ones.

British veterans formed their Brotherhood of Veterans of the Greek Campaign (Brotherhood) successful the aboriginal 1990’s, published ‘Tell Them We Were Here’ (an fantabulous sourcebook of veterans’ memoirs of the run compiled by veteran Edwin Horlington OBE) and established their dedicated ιστότοπος containing overmuch sought aft accusation connected the campaign.

This is why the Brotherhood erected their large memorial successful Kalamata, which is the ιστοσελίδα of an yearly commemoration supported by the section municipality.

They besides placed a memorial within the town hallway itself to commemorating its use arsenic a temporary infirmary for wounded Allied troops.

It is besides why I projected and helped successful the instauration of the Kalamata Battle and the Mani Evacuation Memorials, supported by Melbourne’s Pammessinian Brotherhood Papaflessas and the section municipalities.

The second was installed and unveiled astatine Trahila by the West Mani municipality successful May this year.

Much section probe has already been undertaken into Kalamata’s relation successful the Greek Campaign. The pioneering work of the precocious section historiographer Nikos Zervis resulted successful his work ‘Kalamata: Occupation, Resistance and Liberation’, which was subsequently translated and published by the Brotherhood.

Local journalists and researchers Ilias Bitsanis and Vasileios Bakopoulos person besides written galore articles connected the battle, with Ilias publishing an e-book connected the subject.

All of this has brought maine into interaction with section colleagues anxious to beforehand this vision.

In May 2016 I met with section researchers Sotiris and Panagiotis who were capable to place a scope of locations photographed by Australian troops arsenic they marched done Kalamata successful April 1941.

Along with Ilias Bitsanis, George Argyroiliopoulos and Vasileios Bakopoulos, Sotiris and Panagiotis successful '22 organised a tour of the cardinal locations successful Kalamata successful conjunction with the yearly Kalamata commemorative service.

Many members of the Brotherhood took portion successful this inaugural tour. Sotiris and Panagiotis besides created a elaborate “Battle of Kalamata, April 1941” taste tourism way connection successful 2019.

For my ain portion I person besides researched the Anzac nexus to Kalamata resulting successful a fig of articles and my work Grecian Adventure and person advocated for and supported section efforts for the instauration of a commemorative trail.

In meetings with Dr Marios Athanasopoulos and with the municipality including Kalamata’s Mayor Thanasis Vassiliopoulos I person argued for the instauration of the trail, supported by plaques oregon markers.

In May this year the Kalamata Municipality screened ‘Anzac The Greek Chapter’ successful Kalamata and I presented a transcript of ‘Grecian Adventure’ to section Messinia MP Perikles Mantas successful support of the trail concept.

The conception for a trail connecting the cardinal sites successful Kalamata and surrounds to assistance commemorative visitors has been galore years successful the making. This is why the working gathering successful Kalamata is of such significance.

Dr Athanasopoulos’ presumption pointed to subject tourism arsenic 1 of the caller and emerging trends successful planetary tourism which aligns taste practice absorption and representation studies.

The conflict of Kalamata constitutes some a ιστοσελίδα of corporate representation and an accidental for the improvement of heritage-based tourism.

Its improvement requires deliberate intervention, with a cardinal relation for municipal authorities successful curating, institutionalising and promoting these sites within broader taste and tourism policies.

He suggested a cardinal constituent could beryllium the operation of a salient commemorative monument successful the harbour-front area, “symbolically embedding the humanities lawsuit within the municipality landscape”.

Other elements should see the work of a multilingual commemorative volume (integrating visual archives, oral testimonies and humanities analysis) and the constitution of an yearly “honoured country” inaugural embedded successful commemorations held passim May.

Dr Panagiotidis said subject practice tourism tin beryllium some a operator for sustainable tourism and taste improvement and a catalyst for determination growth.

She hoped that Kalamata could beryllium a recognised destination for what she referred to arsenic “remembrance tourism”, bringing thousands of visitors, renewed planetary visibility and a deeper transportation betwixt history, individuality and the city’s future.

My presumption pointed to some of the tourism opportunities for the portion offered by the instauration of the trail, amongst veteran’s descendants, those successful the Messinian diaspora arsenic well arsenic each those funny successful the region’s history. Many overseas associations supply connection vehicles to pull these visitors.

I besides pointed retired that a trail should person some carnal and internet-based components. The trail indispensable besides beryllium based connected sound humanities research, with trail locations supported by the evidence. In this I supported Dr Athanasopoulos’ suggestion of a harbour-front memorial.

The caller trail could besides nexus up with different related memorials including astatine Trahila, Pylos, Methone and Corinth.

The Kalamata gathering is simply a important step guardant successful the instauration of a Kalamata WW2 commemorative trail.

Its improvement would stimulate the tourism assemblage with a caller and innovative visitation stream arsenic well arsenic honour the commemorative practice of the region, its radical and those who came to support Greece.

It would reenforce the connections betwixt Diaspora communities and Kalamata done this designation of the relation of Allied countries successful this portion of Greece’s history.

It would besides complement akin developments successful different parts of Greece, such the Lemnos Remembrance Trail presently being established.

I americium sure galore veterans’ descendants and the Messinian Diaspora successful Australia will articulation maine successful looking guardant to the realisation of these proposals.

*Jim Claven is simply a trained historian, freelance writer and published writer who has been researching the Hellenic nexus to Anzac for galore years. His publications see Grecian Adventure, Anzac stories from the 1941 Greek campaign. He is besides the Associate Producer of the documentary Anzac The Greek Chapter. He has assisted galore veterans’ families successful donating their Greek run archives to the State Library of Victoria and has assisted successful the instauration of a fig of commemorative memorials successful Greece, including astatine Kalamata, Trahila, Corinth, Pylos and Methone. He tin beryllium contacted via email – [email protected]

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