1942- 1949
INTRODUCTION
The Greek Civil War was fought between 1942 and 1949 in Greece. On one side were the nationalist forces loyal to the Greek government, supported at first by Britain and later by the United States. On the other side were the forces that were controlled by the Communist Party of Greece.
The war had two phases. During the first phase (1942-44), the communist partizans (ELAS) tried to silence by force any other non communist recistance group in Greece. They also imposed a soviet style regime at the areas of Greece they managed to occupy. No objection of any kind was allowed and any critisicm againt communism was punished with the death penalty. In fact the communist controlled resistance killed much more Greeks than Germans. In rural mountainous Greece and in most small towns there was a reign of terror for non-communists. Murders, kidnappings and rapes were a daily practice by communists against anyone else. None could declare neutrality. You had to be either pro-communist or anti-communist. For the average Greek citizen who wanted only to survive the war the feeling was like being caught in cross fire between German and communist forces.
Later during this phase the communists were confronted by the forces of the returning Legal Greek government in exile, which was formed in Cairo.
During the second phase (1945-49), various central-wing governments, with British and US help, fought against the armed forces of the Greek Communist Party. It is noteable that the whole war was fought without any declaration of military law and that the Greek Communist Party was legal until 1948. This fact means that at the same time when communist guerillas were fighting against the legal Greek government the leaders of the Greek Communist Party were free in Athens protected by the laws of the democratic governments they wanted to overthrow.
The civil war left Greece with severe economic problems and a legacy of political division until today.
The Greek communists say that civil war was in some way the result of Yalta Conference. They say: "During the german occupation, a great anti-fascist people's movement had fought against the Nazi's and the day after the liberation all these people wanted peace and democratic reconstruction in a self-determined state". This looks silly to me since the civil war in Greece started long before the Yalta conference.
It is a great mistake to confuse the patriotic feelings of the people during the german occupation, and call them anti-fascist which in communist terminology is anti conservative. To them anyone who is not pro-communist is a fascist. Using such generalizations they manage to justify even the worst crimes against humanity. The liberation day was expected by all citizens to continue their pre war lives. Only the communist party of Greece (less than 5% before the war) wanted a political reconstruction in what they called a self-determined state (USSR satellite in fact). The communist controlled organizations managed very well to terrorize almost every opponent during the German occupation and prepare the ground for a soviet style regime. I can write noumerous cases of Greek citizens executed by OPLA a communist organization that was used to terrorize Greeks civilians only.
The communists say that the Greek government in exile was a puppet government that followed British orders. They also say that the public oppinion in Greece wanted true independence. My answer to these is that Greek government was as a puppet government as much as were the governments of all post war satellite states like Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary etc. But when the communists say public mean only their supporters. According to them their opponents do not have any right to speak.
Communists tend to discuss endlessly on their tactics and their criticism stays on that. They take as granted that they have the right to impose their dictatorship on a country. It is funny that although they say that they are fighting for freedom the first thing they do is to decline their personall freedom to the Communist party.
On the Greek civil war now, Greek communists criticism emphasizes to the fact that "the Stalin-loyal communist leadership was not mature enough to handle the movement it worked to build. Unable to control the movement, it was drawn by the political coincidence". They also say that "the Greek Communist Party had inspired but it could not control EAM and that during the war many non communists, some bishops, 30 university professors, 2 members of the Academy of Athens, 16 generals of the pre-War greek army as well as 34 colonels and 1,500 officers were members of EAM". This is true for the beginning of the resistance movement. Initially EAM managed to masquerade well its true intentions. They (the communists) tend to oversee the state of terror they had imposed on Greece. In hundreds of cases ex army officers who refused to enlist EAM had been executed.
The most prominent case is the case of Stefanos Sarafis who later became the military leader of ELAS. At the end of 1942 Sarafis tried to join the non-communist resistance group of Costopoulos along with some other Greek officers. Communists arrested him in Thessaly. After a few days and when all his comrades had been executed he agreed to join ELAS.
Communists say that: "it is completely inaccurate that most of ELAS fighters were eager to take control and begin the socialist revolution. Most of them, uneducated villagers, couldn't even define what socialist revolution was". The Communists also tend to focus on the second phase of the civil war justfying it partially by the idea of the so called impunity of the Nazi-collaborators. This "impunity" they say explains mostly the massacres of ELAS. It is true that, affraid of their lives in case of an ELAS victory, these so called collaborators were the strongest anti-communist fighters. BUT the massacres commited by the Communists started long before the Greek government in exile returns to Greece.
It is clear that the Greek Communist party and EAM had the intention to seize power in order to try their own socialist revolution. But Greek Communists were divided between Stalin's and Tito's influence. Those who shared the same ideas with Tito believed that EAM which controlled the country in the summer of 1944 should seize the power even fighting against the British. Those who were more obedient to Stalin tried to avoid an open confrontation during the war. As relations between the Soviet Union and the Western allies deteriorated with the onset of the Cold War, Communist parties everywhere moved to more militant positions, and the idea of a civil war was more attractive to the leadership of the Greek Communist party. Stalin adviced Greek communists to take part in the 1946 elections and later did not help them openly during the civil war. What the Greek communists do not want to understand is that the Greek civil war was a minor clash only. They tend to consider (like most Greeks) their country as the center of the world. They do not understand that for Stalin the Greek civil war was only a test to see if the Western allies would be decisive protecting their sphere of influence.