In many ways history repeats itself, displacement has been echoed throughout the centuries. Following the end of the second World War, millions of people found themselves homeless, hungry and in search of refuge. In recent times we witnessed the images and footage of Syrians fleeing their home, devastatingly failing to reach the shores in Greece, and those who persevered crammed into refugee camps, hopelessly waiting in a foreign place. This history felt familiar, the route that migrant Syrians take today was used in reverse by 20,000 Greeks, in order to escape the Nazi Occupation during WWII.[1] One Turkish witness recalled, “They tied barrels together into makeshift rafts and crossed over. There was complete pandemonium in the sea. We all ran to the shore to witness the coming of the Greeks.”[2]
In the book, In War’s Wake: Europe’s Displaced Persons in the Postwar Order, by Gerard Daniel Cohen offers an insight to the complexities surrounding displacement, more specifically in in chapter one Battle of the Refugees, highlights the efforts and humanitarianism of middle eastern countries wiliness to take in tens of thousands of European refugees including Greek, Italian, Yugoslav and Polish soldiers. Humanitarian efforts continued and the development of organizations such as UNICEF which grew from the International Children’s Emergency Fund (ICEF) was created by the UN Relief Rehabilitation Administration to help children affected by World War II.[3] In addition to UNICEF, the International Refugee Organization (IRO), aimed to provide relief for refugees, but was portrayed as a “instrument of the west”.[4]
Displacement continued for the Greeks, just as WWII was ending a civil war was manifesting in the heart of the country, Athens. Political change filled the air and “the guerilla army of ELAS (National People’s Army of Liberation) under the leadership of the KKE (Communist Party of Greece), led the resistance to Nazi occupation during the War. Inspired by the success of Josip Broz Tito’s partisan army in Yugoslavia, ELAS held two-thirds of the country in February 1945, at which time a truce was negotiated with the Royalists.”[5] Then in October 1946, the DSE (Democratic Army of Greece) launched a campaign to win control of the whole country, with the neighboring support from Yugoslavia, Albania and Bulgaria. The allied forces made their way to Athens, though depleted physically and mentally and filled with discontent they continued the fight for the liberation of Greece.
In response and claimed breaching of Yalta Agreements in Romania, Poland and Bulgaria, the US President, Harry Truman launched the Cold War. The US decided to sever its ties with Joseph Stalin as well as cutting off aid to the USSR. Truman turned the attention towards the fight against communism and pledged significant monetary aid to the Royalists in Greece under the guise of the “Marshall plan.”[6] Political and leadership errors made by the KKE caused their demise, and in addition the DSE suffered a catastrophic defeat in the summer of 1948. After three years of a bloody civil war a ceasefire was signed the sixteenth of October 1949.[7]
For so many Europeans including the Greeks, displacement was not just physical, it became woven into society, it was a mindset. Families were forever altered, homelands changed, cities decimated, and for so many millions were lost. But hope was not lost, combined efforts of the allied forces, and the Marshall Plan contributed to the revival and resumption of the European economy and European societies.[8]
[1] Nidale Abou Mrad, “The Greek Refugees Who Fled to the Middle East in WW2.”
[2] “When greeks found shelter in syria – perichoresis.”
[3] “Emerging from the Ashes of War.”
[4] Cohen, In War’s Wake: Europe’s Displaced Persons in the Postwar Order, 16.
[5] “The Greek Civil War.”
[6] Warner, “The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan,” 2–3.
[7] Ed Vulliamy and Helena Smith, “Athens 1944.”
[8] Vonyo, “Recovery and Reconstruction.”
Featured Image: Greece, 1946: Children in Patras, a north-western port city, eat cereal provided by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.
Bibliography
Cohen, G.D. In War’s Wake: Europe’s Displaced Persons in the Postwar Order. Oxford Studies in International History. Oxford University Press, 2012. https://books.google.com/books?id=9ddoAgAAQBAJ.
Ed Vulliamy and Helena Smith. “Athens 1944: Britain’s Dirty Secret.” the Guardian, November 30, 2014. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/30/athens-1944-britains-dirty-secret.
“Emerging from the Ashes of War: 1946–1979.” Accessed September 4, 2021. https://www.unicef.org/stories/learning-experience-19461979.
Nidale Abou Mrad. “The Greek Refugees Who Fled to the Middle East in WW2.” BBC News, June 19, 2016, sec. Europe. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36499727.
“The Greek Civil War.” Accessed September 6, 2021. https://www.marxists.org/subject/greek-civil-war/index.htm.
Vonyo, Tamas. “Recovery and Reconstruction: Europe after WWII.” VoxEU.Org (blog), November 21, 2019. https://voxeu.org/article/recovery-and-reconstruction-europe-after-wwii.
Warner, Geoffrey. “The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan.” International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944-) 50, no. 1 (1974): 82–92. https://doi.org/10.2307/2615229.
“When the Greeks found shelter in Syria – Perichoresis.” Accessed September 4, 2021. https://www.perichoresis.ngo/en/template_ilama_creative/.
The ELAS attempt to free Greece of Nazi rule (up to two-thirds of the way by Feb. 1945) is something I am learning about for the first time from your post, so thank you. I suppose that half a year of defending against the Allies following D-Day left the German occupying forces in Greece vulnerable as Germany itself weakened. The downfall of the KKE after the war ended is an interesting point that I think supports the traditional Cold War narrative that once WWII was over, European countries became the dominion of either the US or USSR. It does seem the decision of awarding Marshall Plan aid to the Royalists of Greece was crucial to drawing Greece toward the economic west, as was often the effect in countries that benefitted from the Marshall Plan (West Germany, Japan, etc.)