Liberation, the Dekemvriana, and the road to the Civil War
After Liberation in October 1944, the tensions between EAM and right-wing, nationalist or western-oriented republican forces, which were supported by Great Britain, escalated. Originally, as agreed at the Lebanon conference, EAM participated in the government of national unity under George Papandreou with 6 ministers. Due to disagreements regarding the disarmament of ELAS and the formation of a national army, on 1 December, the EAMite ministers resigned. EAM organized a demonstration in Athens on December 3, 1944 against British interference. The exact details of what happened have been debated ever since, but gendarmes opened fire on the crowd, resulting in 25 dead protesters (including a six-year-old boy) and 148 wounded. This clash escalated into a month-long conflict between ELAS and the British and Greek governmental forces, known as the "December events" (Dekemvrianá), which resulted in a British victory. In February, the Varkiza agreement was signed, leading to the disbandment of ELAS. In April, the SΚΕ and ΕLD parties left EAM. EAM was not dissolved, but was hence for all intents and purposes merely an expression of the KKE. During the 1945-1946 period, a conservative terror campaign (the "White Terror") was launched against EAM-KKE supporters. The country became polarized, eventually leading to the outbreak of the Greek Civil War in March 1946, which lasted until 1949. In its aftermath, and in the context of the Cold War, KKE was outlawed, and EAM/ELAS vilified as an attempt at "Communist take-over" and accused for various crimes against political rivals. The issue remains a highly controversial subject to this day.
In November 1944, six ministers of the EAM, most of whom were KKE members, resigned from their positions in the "National Unity" Government. Fighting broke out in Athens on December 3, 1944 during a demonstration, organised by EAM, involving more than 100,000 people. According to some accounts, the police, covered by British troops, opened fire on the crowd.[12][13][14] According to other accounts, it is uncertain if the first shots were fired by the police or the demonstrators.[15] More than 28 people were killed and 148 injured. This signalled the beginning of the "Dekemvriana" ("the December events"), a 37-day period of full-scale fighting in Athens between ELAS and the forces of the British Army and the Government.
The British tried to stay neutral, but when the battle escalated they intervened, with artillery and aircraft being freely used. At the beginning the government had only a few policemen and gendarmes, such as the Greek Mountain Brigade distinguished at the Gothic Line offensive III, lacking heavy weapons and militia units, and accused by EAM of collaboration with the Nazi forces in the case of the royalist group X, also known as Χίτες - Chites). On December 4 Papandreou gave his resignation to the British Commander, General Scobie. His resignation was not accepted by the General. By December 12 ELAS was in control of most of Athens and Piraeus. The British, outnumbered, flew in the 4th Infantry Division from Italy as reinforcements. During the battle with the ELAS, local militias fought alongside the British, triggering a massacre by ELAS fighters. It must be noted that although the British were openly fighting against ELAS in Athens, there were no such battles in the rest of Greece. In certain cases, such as Volos, some RAF units even gave equipment to ELAS fighters.
Conflicts continued throughout December with the British slowly gaining the upper hand. Curiously, ELAS forces in the rest of Greece did not attack the British. It seems that ELAS preferred a legitimate rise to power, but was drawn into the fighting by the indignation and, at the same time, the awe of its fighters after the slaughter on December 3, aiming at establishing its predominance. Only this version of the events might explain the simultaneous struggle against the British, the large-scale ELAS operations against trotskyists and other political dissidents in Athens, and the many contradictory decisions of EAM leaders. Videlicet, KKE's leadership, was supporting a doctrine of 'national unity' while eminent members, such as Stringos or Makridis and even Georgios Siantos, were elaborating revolutionary plans. Even more curiously, Tito was both the KKE's key sponsor and a key British ally, owing his physical and political survival in 1944 to British assistance.[16]
This outbreak of fighting between Allied forces and an anti-German European resistance movement, while the war in Europe was still being fought, was a serious political problem for Churchill's coalition government of left and right, and caused much protest in the British press and in the House of Commons. To prove to public opinion his peace-making intention, Churchill himself arrived in Athens on December 25 and presided over a conference, in which Soviet representatives also participated, to bring about a settlement. It failed because the EAM/ELAS demands were considered excessive and, thus, rejected. By his arrival in the Greek capital, the evacuation of British forces and the trial of those rightwingers accused by EAM of being nazi collaborators, was not on Churchill's agenda.
In the meanwhile, the Soviet Union remained surprisingly passive about developments in Greece. True to their "percentages agreement" with Britain, the Soviet delegation in Greece did not encourage or discourage EAM's ambitions, as Greece belonged to the British sphere of influence. Pravda did not mention the clashes at all. If this position of the Soviet leadership had been brought home to KKE's leadership, the Dekemvriana might have been averted. It appears that Stalin did not intend to avert the Dekemvriana, as he would profit no matter the outcome. If EAM rose to power, he would gain a country of major strategic value. If not, he could use British actions in Greece to justify to the Allies any intervention in his own sphere of influence.
By early January, ELAS had been driven from Athens. As a result of Churchill's intervention, Papandreou resigned and was replaced by a firm anti-Communist, General Nikolaos Plastiras. On January 15, 1945 Scobie agreed to a ceasefire, in exchange for ELAS' withdrawal from its positions at Patras and Thessaloniki, and its demobilisation in the Peloponnese. This was a severe defeat, but ELAS remained in existence and the KKE had an opportunity to reconsider its strategy.
KKE's defeat in 1945 was mainly political. The exaltation of terrorism on the communist side made a political settlement even more difficult. The hunting of "collaborators" was extended to people who had not been involved in collaboration. Several Trotskyists had to leave the country in fear for their lives (Cornelius Castoriadis fled to France). After the fighting in Athens, KKE support declined sharply, and as a result most of the prominent non-Communists in EAM left the organisation. However, terrorism amongst rightwing extremist gangs was strengthened.
Greek Civil War
Dekemvriana
December 1944
Western Allies tried to stay neutral but when the battle escalated, they intervened with artillery and aircraft being freely used. At the beginning the government had only a few policemen and a brigade without heavy weapons. On 4 December, Papandreou attempted to resign but the British Ambassador convinced him to stay. By 12 December ELAS was in control of most of Athens and Piraeus.
The outnumbered Western Allies flew in the 4th Infantry Division from Italy as reinforcements. During the battle with ELAS, local militias fought alongside the Western Allies, triggering a massacre with the ELAS fighters. Although the British were fighting openly against ELAS in Athens there were no fights in the rest of Greece. In certain places, like Volos, some RAF units even gave equipment to ELAS fighters.
Conflicts continued through December, (hence the name Decemvriana) with the Western Allies slowly gaining the upper hand. Curiously, ELAS forces in the rest of Greece did not attack the Western Allies. It seems that ELAS primarily preferred a legitimate rise to power but, drawn into the fighting by the indignation and the awe of its fighters due to the slaughter on 3 December and after, it chose Stalinist methods and violence.
Only this version of the events can explain the, simultaneous to the fight against Western allies, large-scale ELAS operations against trotskyists and other political dissenters in Athens and many contradictory decisions of EAM leaders. Videlicet, KKE's leadership, was supporting a doctrine of 'national unity' while eminent members like Stringos or Makridis and even Siantos where elaborating revolutionary plans.
The outbreak of fighting between Western Allied forces and an anti-German resistance movement, while the war was still being fought, was a serious political problem for Churchill's coalition government and caused much protest in the British and American press and in the House of Commons. To prove his peace-making intention, Churchill himself arrived in Athens on 25 December where he presided over a conference, in which Soviet representatives participated, to bring about a settlement. It failed because the EAM/ELAS demands were considered excessive and thus, they were rejected.
The Soviet delegation in Greece wasn't encouraging or discouraging EAM's ambitions, as, according to the Moscow agreement, Greece belonged to the British sphere of influence. Any notification about this fact of the Soviet sided towards KKE's leadership, could have staved off the December's clash. It seems that Stalin didn't have the intention to avert the Dekemvriana as he would profit no matter the outcome. If EAM rose in power, he would add a country of major strategic value in his realm. If not, he could justify any intervention in his sphere of influence, like the British had done in Greece.
By early January ELAS had been driven from Athens. As a result of Churchill's intervention, Papandreou resigned and was replaced by a firm anti-Communist, General Nikolaos Plastiras. On 15 January 1945, Scobie agreed to a ceasefire, in exchange for ELAS' withdrawal from its positions at Patras and Thessaloniki and its demobilization in the Peloponnese. This was a severe defeat but ELAS remained in existence and the KKE had an opportunity to reconsider its strategy.
KKE's defeat in 1945 was mainly political. The exaltation of terrorism on the communist side made a political settlement even more difficult. The hunting of "collaborators" was extended to people who had not been involved in collaboration. The KKE made many enemies by summarily executing up to 8.000 people for various political "crimes", during their period of control of Athens and they took another 20.000 hostages with them when they departed.
Several Trotskyites had to leave the country to save their lives (i.e. Cornelius Castoraidis fled to France). After the Athens fighting, KKE support declined sharply and, as a result, most of the prominent non-Communists in EAM left the organization. However, terrorism among the right-wing extremist gangs was strengthened.1941-1945: Andartiko - the Greek Resistance
In September 1944 as the Red Army threatened to cut them off, German morale collapsed. Gradually troops were withdrawn from various parts of the country, allowing the EAM and ELAS to liberate new towns and cities. Battalion units still held on in some towns, refusing to surrender to the andartes, preferring to stick it out and wait for the British to come. As they were defeated by the insurgents, the enraged communities they terrorised often carried out brutal reprisals. Meanwhile, the EAM set out to restore order rather than seize power, though the de-centralised nature of their army meant some bands behaved with more moderation than others. Athens was liberated on October 12th and celebrations embraced everything; Greek flags, red flags, singing the Marseillaise and the Internationale, even priests chanting the EAM slogan – 'Laokratia' (People's Democracy). When the British arrived, they too were greeted with enthusiasm, like elsewhere showered with kisses and flowers.
Yet politically, the capital was rapidly being turned into a tinderbox, ready to ignite. The government of national unity invited former collaborators into its ranks, even heading the particularly sensitive security services. Churchill had prepared his troops for war with the ELAS (who he expected to try and seize power), and tension continued to rise in the city, as workers and youth pressed their grievances in the streets. Returning after liberation an exiled Greek leader had his landmark speech constantly interrupted by the crowd shouting 'LA-OK-RA-TIA' over and over again, finally urging them to quiet by saying “I'm not here to talk about laokratia.” Finally on December 2nd, the EAM broke with the national government after negotiations over disarming the andartes broke down. The following day, the police opened fire on an EAM demonstration. Their supporters responded by attacking police stations, and the city was pitched into open warfare (the Dekemvriana). This caught resistance leaders off-guard and left them once again without a plan. British troops now set out to clear the city in 2 to 3 days, but were still fighting over a month later, finally reaching a ceasefire on 11 January. ELAS snipers turned central Athens into a 'little Stalingrad', and after failing to retake the city with ground troops, the British resorted to strafing apartment blocks and wooded areas from the air.
Churchill was unrepentant, falsely claiming that the EAM had sought to seize power and had to be put down, even though the partisans had spurned a better chance of victory before Allied troops arrived. British forces then rounded up 15,000 leftists, deporting 8,000 of them, with ELAS responding by seizing thousands of wealthy Greeks. The tragic struggle in Athens broke the EAM. The agreement they came to with the British forced most of the guerrillas to turn in their weapons, with only a minority refusing and taking to the hills. Aris – one of the most prominent Kapetans – led one band that refused; he was eventually caught and beheaded. A White Terror gripped Greece as the newly formed National Guard (mostly ex-Security Battalionists) set about persecuting the EAM. War-crimes went unpunished, as former guerrillas were arrested, sometimes for acts of resistance; by the end of 1945 ten times as many resistance fighters as collaborators had been convicted, a trend that was to worsen with the beginning of the Civil War. Even in the 1960s Greek jails still held people whose only crime was fighting Nazism.
'In a Rather Emotional State'? The Labour Party and British Intervention in Greece, 1944–5
Andrew Thorpe
University of Exeter
In December 1944 events in Greece intruded briefly but violently onto the Labour party's political agenda. When police shot Communist-sympathising civilians in British-occupied Athens, and the Coalition government under Churchill appeared to support the act, constituency Labour parties and trade unions all over Britain passed angry resolutions of condemnation. The impact of the crisis was all the greater because the delayed annual conference of the Labour party was about to convene. The crisis was, in the event, soon overcome by adroit party management, a softening of Churchill's own position, the conclusion of a ceasefire in Greece, and the difficulty of sustaining grassroots anger over a complex and unfamiliar issue, while clear indications that Greece was not, for the time being, a Soviet priority inhibited British Communists from agitating more strongly on the issue. But the crisis did briefly threaten the carefully-crafted unity that had enabled Labour to profit from the circumstances of the war and which was to stand it in good stead at the July 1945 general election. It is also argued, however, that the extent and depth of Labour anger cannot be understood without a wider appreciation of Labour's rather febrile mood in the final winter of the war, in which events in Greece could be seen as yet another manifestation of an increasingly anti-Labour line being taken by the Coalition. The extent of Labour's crisis over Greece in that last wartime winter was at least as much about the future of Labour as it was about the present and future of Greece.
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