National Liberation Front (Greece)

The National Liberation Front (Greek: Εθνικό Απελευθερωτικό Μέτωπο, Ethniko Apeleftherotiko Metopo, ΕΑΜ) was the main movement of the Greek Resistance during the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II. Its main driving force was the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), but its membership throughout the Occupation period included several other leftist and republican groups. ΕΑΜ became the first true mass social movement in modern Greek history, and even established its own government, the Political Committee of National Liberation, in the areas it had liberated in spring 1944. At the same time, from late 1943 onwards, the political enmity between ΕΑΜ and rival resistance groups from the centre and right evolved into a virtual civil war, which was ended only with the Lebanon conference in May 1944. The organisation reached its peak after Liberation in late 1944, when it controlled most of the country, before suffering a catastrophic military defeat in the December 1944 events. This marked the beginning of its gradual decline and the open persecution of its members (accusing it for crimes against political rivals and Soviet perspective) and leading eventually to the outbreak of the Greek Civil War.

Background

During the Metaxas Regime, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) was outlawed and its members persecuted. Its hierarchy and organisation suffered heavy blows from Metaxas' efficient security forces, and more than 2,000 Communists were imprisoned or sent to internal exile. With the German invasion and occupation of the country in April–May 1941, several hundred members were able to escape and flee to the underground.^[1] Their first task was to reform the Party, along with subsidiary groups like the "National Solidarity" (Εθνική Αλληλεγγύη, ΕΑ) welfare organization May 28. After the German attack on the Soviet Union on 22 June and the break of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the newl-reconstituted Communist Party found itself firmly on the anti-Axis camp , a line confirmed by the Party's 6th Plenum during 1–3 July. The Communists were committed to a "Popular Front" tactic, and tried to engage other parties from the left and the centre, including established pre-war politicians. However, the efforts proved largely fruitless. On 16 July, however, the "National Workers' Liberation Front" (Εθνικό Εργατικό Απελευθερωτικό Μέτωπο, ΕΕΑΜ) was established, bringing the country's labour union organisations together.^[1]

Establishment

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At the ΚΚΕ's 7th Plenum, the establishment of ΕΑΜ was decided despite the refusal of mainstream politicians to participate. ΕΑΜ was founded on 27 September 1941 by representatives of four left-wing parties: Lefteris Apostolou for the ΚΚΕ, Christos Chomenidis for the Socialist Party of Greece (ΣΚΕ), Ilias Tsirimokos for the Union of People's Democracy (ΕΛΔ) and Apostolos Vogiatzis for the Agricultural Party of Greece (ΑΚΕ). ΕΑΜ's charter called for the "liberation of the Nation from foreign yoke" and the "guaranteeing of the Greek people's sovereign right to determine its form of government". At the same time, while the door was left open to cooperation with other parties, the ΚΚΕ, with its large size in relation to its partners, assumed a clearly-dominant position within the new movement. Furthermore, the ΚΚΕ's well-organized structure and its experience with the conditions and necessities of underground struggle were crucial to ΕΑΜ's success. Georgios Siantos was appointed as the acting leader, since Nikolaos Zachariadis, the ΚΚΕ's proper leader, was interned in Dachau concentration camp.

Expansion and preparation for armed struggle =

On 10 October, ΕΑΜ published its manifesto and announced itself and its aims to the Greek people. During the autumn of 1941, its influence expanded throughout Greece, either through pre-existing Communist cells or through the spontaneous actions of local "people's committees".^[2] Following Communist practice, ΕΑΜ took care to set up a refined system with which to engage and mobilize the mass of the people. ΕΑΜ committees were thus established on a territorial and occupational basis, starting from the local (village or neighbourhood) level and moving up, and subsidiary organizations were created: a youth movement, the "United Panhellenic Organisation of Youth" (EPON), a trade union, the "Workers' National Liberation Front" (ΕΕΑΜ), and a social welfare organization, "National Solidarity" (EA).^[3] ΕΑΜ's military wing, the "Greek People's Liberation Army" (ELAS) was formed in December 1942, and a crude navy, the "National People's Liberation Navy" (ELAN), was established later, but its strength and role were severely limited.

First Civil War and "Mountain Government"

One of the great successes of ΕΑΜ was the mobilization against the plans of the Germans and the collaborationist government to send Greeks into forced labour in Germany. Public knowledge of the plans created "a kind of pre-insurrectional atmosphere", which in February 1943 led to a mounting series of strikes in Athens, culminating in an ΕΑΜ-organized demonstration on 5 March, which forced the collaborationist government to back down. In the event, only 16,000 Greeks went to Germany, representing 0.3% of the foreign labour force total.^[4]

ELAS fought against German, Italian and Bulgarian occupation forces as well as, by late 1943, anticommunist rival organizations, the National Republican Greek League (EDES) and the National and Social Liberation (EKKA). It succeedied in destroying the latter entirely in April 1944.

ΕΑΜ-ELAS activity resulted in the complete liberation of a large area of the mountainous Greek mainland from Axis control, where in March 1944, ΕΑΜ established a separate government, the "Political Committee of National Liberation" (PEEA). ΕΑΜ even carried out elections to the PEEA's parliament, the "National Council", in April; for the first time in Greek electoral history, women were allowed to vote. In the elections, it is estimated that 1,000,000 people voted.

In the territories that it controlled, ΕΑΜ implemented its own political concept, known as laokratia (λαοκρατία, "people's rule"), based upon "based upon self-administration, involvement of new categories (mainly women and youths) and popular courts".^[5] At the same time, the mechanisms of the "revolutionary order" created by ΕΑΜ were often employed to eliminate political opponents.^[6]

Liberation, Dekemvriana and road to Civil War

Booklet by Dimitris Glinos, "What is the National Liberation Front and what does it want?", 1944 edition

After Liberation in October 1944, the tensions between ΕΑΜ and anticommunist forces, which were supported by Britain, escalated. Originally, as agreed at the Lebanon conference, ΕΑΜ participated in the government of national unity under George Papandreou with 6 ministers. Disagreements regarding the disarmament of ELAS and the formation of a national army made their ministers, on 1 December, resign. ΕΑΜ 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. The 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 government victory. In February, the Varkiza agreement was signed, leading to the disbandment of ELAS. In April, the ΣΚΕ and ΕΛΔ parties left ΕΑΜ. ΕΑΜ was not dissolved but was now for all intents and purposes merely an expression of the ΚΚΕ. During the 1945-1946 period, a conservative terror campaign (the "White Terror") was launched against ΕΑΜ-ΚΚΕ 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, ΚΚΕ was outlawed, and ΕΑΜ/ELAS vilified as an attempt at "Communist takeover" and accused of various crimes against political rivals. The issue remains a highly controversial subject. With the coming of Andreas Papandreou to power in 1981 however, ΕΑΜ was recognized as a resistance movement, and the fighters of ELAS were honoured and given state pensions.

See also

• Refugees of the Greek Civil War

References

Sources

• Mazower, Mark (2001). Inside Hitler's Greece - The Experience of Occupation, 1941-44. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-08923-6. 
• Wievorka, Olivier; Tebinka, Jacek (2006). "Resisters: From Everyday Life to Counter-state". In Gildea, Robert; Wievorka, Olivier; Warring, Anette. Surviving Hitler and Mussolini: Daily Life in Occupied Europe. Oxford: Berg. pp. 153–176. ISBN 978-1-84520-181-4.