The untold history of Greek collaboration with Nazi Germany (1941-1944)

By Markos Vallianatos

greek collaborators, greek collaboration, nazi germany, greece, ww2, puppet government, german occupation, hitler, tsolakoglou, rallis

This outstanding book explores Greek collaboration with the Nazis during the Axis occupation of Greece in the Second World War, a topic so far overlooked by scholars in the English language and one that continues to be one of the biggest taboos in Greek society. It tells the mostly unknown story of the Greek quislings, an heterogeneous amalgam of fascists, germanophiles, anti-Semites, criminals and opportunists, but also of genuine patriots and ordinary citizens.

The author provides a clear picture on the Axis-held puppet government in Athens and the court of obscure Greek Nazi political organizations which supported it, as well as their activities within a context of a de facto civil war between conservatives and communists. He also examines specific aspects of collaboration, from the issuing of German-sponsored propaganda to the creation of paramilitary units to fight along the Wehrmacht, from the intrigues within the collaborationist government to the questionable economic profiteering of some locals.

The book also explains why so many Greeks chose to ally themselves with the enemy instead of choosing Resistance, and how dramatically that determined Greece's fate after the war. By sheding light on the most obscure period of modern Greek history, the author also reveals the most occult secrets of Greece such as the role of Greeks in the Jewish Holocaust, the Greeks who fought against the Soviets in the Eastern Front, the participation of Greek auxiliary militias in massacres against civilians and partisans or the plans for a Hellenic Waffen-SS legion of Greek volunteers.

This book is an illuminating account on one of the darkest aspects of Greek society, and should be read by anyone interested in the history of modern Greece.

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