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Recently, photographs surfaced of the melodramatic executions astatine the Kaisariani shooting scope connected May 1, 1944. The images are some tragically quality and historically significant, arsenic were galore different moments from that era. They represent an invaluable humanities grounds for the federation and for the families of those who perished. The “Kaisariani 200” were Greeks who, without immoderate judicial process oregon decease sentence, were handed implicit by a Greek authorities to the occupying forces, with tacit acceptance that they would beryllium treated astatine the occupiers’ discretion – until the very end.
In effect to these photographs, galore anxious voices sought to resistance nationalist sermon backmost into the civilian war ambiance of earlier decades, ignoring the information that such a clime – and the atrocities committed connected some sides – ended betwixt 1974-1980 and 1981-1988. These years saw the legalization of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) under the authorities of Konstantinos Karamanlis; the authoritative designation of the National Resistance; and different measures implemented by Andreas Papandreou’s government. There were, of course, attempts to revive the civilian war communicative during the 2010s, astir Greece’s bailout agreements, exploiting it politically amid a play of utmost κοινωνικά and economical hardship. Fortunately, that effort did not endure. Yet today, it has resurfaced, prompted by a acceptable of photographs.
But truly, has anyone ever questioned whether those killed successful Distomo by the Nazi raid, oregon successful Crete oregon anyplace other successful the country, were communists, Venizelists, oregon royalists? Has anyone considered whether the Jews – Greek oregon different – who were exterminated by the Nazis adhered to communist, Venizelist, oregon royalist ideologies? Or, much broadly, the tens of millions of victims of the atrocities of that era? In truth, does it marque immoderate difference?
In a society that has closed the wounds of its past and acknowledged – formally oregon silently – the atrocities it endured, nary idiosyncratic killed successful Kaisariani oregon elsewhere should beryllium framed successful civilian war terms. Doing so is an insult to our ideology and to the dead, echoing caller episodes crossed the Atlantic pursuing the decease of a nationalist figure. Who benefits from such retrospection? Who seeks to revive narratives that outgo Greece decades of developmental delay? For what reasons – revenge, ideology, politics, oregon self-interest? Hasn’t this past already been paid for successful human, social, political, and economical terms implicit the past decades?
Alongside enactment affiliation comes the statement of “traitor,” used indiscriminately and liberally. Incredibly often, and incredibly easily. According to self-appointed “patriots,” traitors are not lone recovered crossed the governmental spectrum; they besides look successful the realm of planetary relations, peculiarly regarding Greek-Turkish affairs, the Cyprus issue, and related matters. Cyprus, Turkey, North Macedonia, Greece – these are each arenas where “traitors” circulate. This story runs deep, astatine slightest within the modern Greek state; otherwise, we would beryllium tracing it backmost to the clip of Ephialtes, with countless examples.
Political oregon different figures whose utmost ideologies caused superior human, material, and systemic costs were often near unscathed. Others, who happened to clasp positions of powerfulness when events unfolded contrary to nationalist interests, were openly defamed. Have we considered who other mightiness beryllium labeled a “traitor” under this logic? Have we reflected connected the profoundly irrational consequences for nationalist interests if everyone adopted such reasoning? Perhaps the limits of quality perception, combined with entrenched stereotypes, forestall galore from grasping the ramifications.
Marguerite Yourcenar, who loved modern Greece deeply, wrote successful “With Open Eyes: Conversations with Matthieu Galey” a achy reflection astir pre-Christian Greece: “The Greeks decimated themselves successful petty quarrels.” This is true, though it is not constricted to the past era. Moreover, it overlooks a captious magnitude of these “petty quarrels”: they were – and still are – a tool for idiosyncratic oregon corporate governmental survival by insignificant actors, conditioned to comprehend betrayals and different acheronian processes wherever it suits them, careless of the quality of the problems. Meanwhile, elsewhere radical laughter with – oregon possibly adjacent astatine – us. They take pleasance successful our inability to formulate strategies for cardinal issues and successful our nonaccomplishment to spot – oregon to enactment connected – the colossal upheavals successful global, European, and Mediterranean political, economic, and geopolitical realities, alternatively expending vigor connected petty quarrels oregon unsafe ideological regressions.
We person moved past the epoch successful which enactment identities unsocial were capable to statement someone a “traitor.” We person moved beyond the womb of nationalist divisions, which was besides a source of repeated nationalist failures and dense corporate costs. With such antics, of course, we could instrumentality there. Yet the postwar past of Greece is marked by large setbacks – possibly to a grade unmatched successful the West: the Civil War, the dictatorship, the Turkish penetration of Cyprus, the 2009 economical crisis. Are these not enough? Should they not suffice for us, descendants of the pinnacle of past Greek civilization, to admit that our way often goes astray, that such missteps represent self-harm, and that past exists to teach us some what to debar and what to pursue?
Tassos Giannitsis is emeritus prof of the University of Athens and erstwhile curate of overseas affairs.
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