Greek resistance

This article is about the Greek Resistance during World War II. For information about the resistance to Ottoman occupation, see klepht. For information about the post-war activities of resistance groups, see Greek Civil War.

The Greek Resistance is the blanket term for a number of armed and unarmed groups from across the political spectrum that resisted the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II.

Origins

The background to the civil war lay in the occupation of Greece by Nazi Germany (and its allies Italy and Bulgaria) from 1941 to 1944. King George II and his government escaped to Egypt, where they set up a government in exile which was recognised by the Allies. The British forced the King to use center wing politicians as ministers. Only two of his ministers were members of the previous dictatoric government. However, for most Greek citizens under occupation this government in exile was "too far". On one hand, followers of the left-wing resistance movement claimed it was illegitimate even before the war, since it descended from the dictatorship of General Ioannis Metaxas from 1936 to 1941. On the other hand, its inability to influence the events in Greece rendered it irrelevant in the minds of most Greek people.

The Germans set up a collaborationist government in Athens, but this government too lacked legitimacy and support, particularly once German economic exploitation of Greece created runaway inflation, acute shortages and eventually famine among the Greek civilian population. Some officers of the pre-War Greek regime served the Germans in various posts. During the war, this government created paramilitary forces armed by the Germans. These forces (whose maximum number was about 14.000 men in 1944) were never used against the allies but only against the pro-communist guerillas. In fact, most of them were ex-criminals.

Table of resistance groups

Group name	Political affiliation	Estimated peak membership
Ellinikos Dimokratikos Ethnikos Syndesmos (EDES)	military anti-communist, Venizelist, republican	14,000
Ethniki Kai Koinoniki Apeleftherosis (EKKA)	anti-communist, Venizelist, republican
Ethnikos Laikos Apeleftherotikos Stratos (ELAS)	military Communist group affiliated with the KKE	50,000
Ethniko Apeleftherotiko Metopo (ΕΑΜ)	civilian Communist group affiliated with the KKE	500,000*

• It is estimated that almost 2 million people cooperated with EAM or its sister ELAS - the most powerful resistance groups - at some point in resistance to the German occupation, without becoming actual members of the organizations.

See also

• Greco-Italian War
• World War II
• Greek Civil War
• OSS