by Andreas Markessinis

During the interwar years fascist tendencies had been manifested in various ways in Greece and admiration had been repeatedly expressed for the Italian and German systems. What follows here is a brief approach to the foundations of Greek National Socialism in last century’s 20’s and 30’s decades.

At the theoretical level, Ion Dragoumis had developed National Socialist ideas just before his death and Ioannis Sykoutris openly advocated the need for drastic change towards a militant totalitarian system, while Fotos Politis regarded the Fascist and Nazi regimes as agents of a “positive new way of thinking”. In everyday politics acclaim for fascism, and in particular Mussolini’s Italy, came from even staunch republicans as the Liberal leader Eleftherios Venizelos and the head of the 1922 Revolutionary Commitee General Plastiras.

The chief admirer of fascist methods, however, was the leader of the National Radical Party, General Alexander Kondylis. Kondylis unreservedly praised Hitler and was invited by the Italian War Veterans, an organization controlled by the fascit state, to visit Italy where he eventually met Mussolini. As a climax, he was even planning to imitate on February 1, 1936 the Duce’s triumphant march to seize power. A former war veteran hero (he was nicknamed “Thunderbolt” for his effectiveness in suppressing revolts), Kondylis was the leader of the National Republicans, and took part in several right-wing government cabinets in the 20’s and 30’s.

Varios organizations of fascist character made their appearance at times but they remained more or less insignificant both in following and political influence. The extremist Th. Skylakakis founded in Thessaloniki the “Organization of the National Sovereign State”. He also chose this city and center of a flourishing Jewish community to publish the newspaper Kratos, with both a distinct fascist coloring and an anti-semitic line. Anti-semitism was a rare but not unknown feature in Greek political life and by no means an attitude only of the extreme right.

The EEE (Elliniki Ethnikistiki Enosis, Greek for “Greek Nationalist Union”), was also an obscure anti-semitic organization founded in 1933-1934, while the “Steel Helmets” appeared in the early thirties on the model of the German Stahlhelmers. Finally, the politician George Merkouris produced in his work The Corporatist State the most serious and systematic exposition in Greece of fascist ideas, of which he also stood as champion. It was he who eventually organized a public meeting on Nov 27, 1935, in support of G. Kondylis, and banners were displayed bearing the swastika and the crown. Merkouris leaded the Elliniko Ethnikososialistiko Komma (Greek National Socialist Party, EEK). The Sidera Irini was yet another obscure party of far-right extremists. In 1934 and 1935 about 70 Nationalist, Fascist and National Socialist cells united under one single movement called Greek National Front, which carried violent actions against the Republican establishment; one of their most notorious actions was their attempt to kill Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos.

Most of these hardcore Ultra-Nationalists and National Socialists quickly obtained prominent positions in the following Metaxas regime. In May 1936, Metaxas named Kontzias as Second Prime Minister, Skylakakis Minister of the Interior, Maniadakis as Minister of Security and Theodoros Nikoloudis as Minister of Press and Tourism. This latter ministry acted in reality as the regime’s propaganda machinery. As chief of the propaganda ministry, Nikoloudis edited the Neon Kratos magazine, which deployed the regime’s ideology to the people. Kondylis also joined the Metaxas regime, claiming that “all conflict and disaccord must be vanished in the future; our policy of internal affairs shall not be different from that of the great creator of the new Germany, Adolf Hitler”.