The Day Two Greek Teenagers Took Down the Nazi Flag From the Acropolis

Greek state fighters Manolis Glezos (L) and Apostolis Santas resisted the Nazis successful Greece. Credit: Public Domain

It was May 30, 1941 erstwhile 2 teenage Greek boys, Manolis Glezos and Lakis Santas, climbed up the Acropolis and took down the Nazi flag. It was the precise archetypal of galore brave acts of absorption against the occupying service successful World War Two successful Greece.

One of the astir humiliating moments—not lone for Greece but for each humanity—was erstwhile connected April 28, 1941, the Nazi flag, the swastika, was hoisted atop Acropolis Hill connected the precise cradle of ideology and Western Civilization.

It was the time erstwhile German troops entered Athens to instrumentality power of the surrendered city. The infinitesimal the Nazi emblem flew successful the entity of Attica marked the opening of 3 and a fractional years of pain, hunger, and decease under the Wermarcht boot.

Yet 2 young men, hardly 18, made a heroic determination that aboriginal proved to beryllium the opening of the large Greek absorption to the Nazis. The 2 youths, Manolis Glezos and Lakis Santas, climbed Acropolis Hill astatine nighttime and took down the swastika flag, dealing a symbolic stroke to the almighty occupying forces.

Taking down Nazi emblem was an enactment of defiance

It was a gallant act, an enactment of arrogant defiance which yet raised the tone of Greece and made them judge that, indeed, they could defy the Nazis. It was a objection of the powerfulness of the quality tone against the powerfulness of guns.

The young men’s program to propulsion down the Nazi emblem from the Acropolis had been organized days earlier. They work everything they recovered astir the Acropolis successful encyclopedias. Most importantly, they work astir earthy tunnels and crevices successful the Sacred Rock and different points wherever they could hide.

On the greeting of May 30, 1941, Glezos and Santas heard connected the vigor that Crete had fallen. The 2 young men decided it was clip to act.

At 9:30 pm, the Acropolis’ tiny defender was gathered successful Propylaia, drinking brew and getting drunk. The 2 men jumped implicit the ligament fences and crawled done the cave astatine the Pandroseion sanctuary.

They climbed up the archeologists’ scaffolding and came to wrong a fewer meters of the flagpole, without being spotted by immoderate guard. Moving quickly, they took down the hated Nazi flag.

The 2 students, equipped with lone a tiny knife, a lantern, and a ton of courage, had done what seemed impossible: They climbed 34 meters (111.5 feet) up Acropolis Hill successful the mediate of the nighttime nether a strict curfew, approached the flag, and chopped it down. They past went 34 meters downhill, crossing the bare streets of cardinal Athens, and softly returned to their homes.

Later successful their lives, Glezos and Santas spoke astir the cautiously orchestrated act, their signifier the time before, and the fearfulness they felt erstwhile returning to their homes. They were admittedly fortunate by immoderate measure, but luck is ever connected the broadside of the brave.

Sentenced to decease successful absentia for taking down flag

Early the adjacent morning, the German guards realized that the emblem was missing. The Nazi authorities ordered respective interrogations and by 11 AM, a caller Nazi emblem was flying supra the Acropolis.

On June 1st, the Greek paper Eleftheron Vima published a proclamation from the German commandant stating that the “unidentified culprits” liable for taking down the Nazi emblem from the Acropolis had been sentenced to decease successful absentia—a punishment that was ne'er applied.

Glezos ended up being arrested 3 times by the Nazis during the German concern of Greece for a assortment of different acts of defiance. He was adjacent temporarily imprisoned, but managed to escape, portion Lakis Santas escaped the force wholly and joined the leftist Greek People’s Liberation Army (ELAS), which resisted the Nazis.

Apostolos Santas died successful Athens astatine property 89 successful 2011, and Manolis Glezos passed distant astatine the property of 98 connected March 30, 2020.