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The Greek Resistance is the blanket term for a number of armed and unarmed groups from across the political spectrum that resisted the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II . ORIGINS The rise of resistance movements in Greece was precipitated by the invasion and occupation of Greece by Nazi Germany (and its allies Italy and Bulgaria ) from 1941 to 1944 . Italy led the way with its invasion of Albania in 1940 . By 1941 , Athens had fallen and King George II and his government escaped to Egypt , where they set up a government in exile which was recognized by the Allies. The British forced the King to use center-wing politicians as ministers. Only two of his ministers were members of the previous dictatorial government. However, for most Greek citizens under occupation this government in exile was "too far". On one hand, followers of the left-wing resistance movement claimed it was illegitimate even before the war, since it descended from the dictatorship of General Ioannis Metaxas from 1936 to 1941 . On the other hand, its inability to influence the events in Greece rendered it irrelevant in the minds of most Greek people. The Germans set up a collaborationist government in Athens , but this government too lacked legitimacy and support, particularly once German economic exploitation of Greece in combination with the Allied embargo created runaway inflation, acute shortages and eventually famine among the Greek civilian population. Some officers of the pre-War Greek regime served the Germans in various posts. During the war, this government created paramilitary forces, armed by the Germans, the so-called Security Battalions . These forces (whose maximum number was about 20,000 men in 1944) were never used against the allies but only against the pro-communist guerillas. The resistance put up by the Greeks in World War II was reckoned to be prodigious given the country's resources, by the Allies and Axis Powers alike. At a time when a mighty nation such as France with 45 million population had collapsed in 17 days, the famously said after the Greek-Italian battle, "From now one we won't say Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks". The measure of resistance was also paid considerable homage to by German officals. Hitler's Chief of Staff, Field Marshall Wilhelm Keitel stated "The unbelievably strong resistance of the Greeks delayed by two or more vital months the German attack against Russia; if we did not have this long delay, the outcome of the war would have been different in the eastern front and in the war in general." A speech made at the Reichstag in 1941 said of the campaign: βIt must be said, for the sake of historical truth, that amongst all our opponents, only the Greeks fought with such endless courage and defiance of death.β The diary of Joseph Goebbels 9 April 1941: βI forbid the Press to underestimate the Greeks, to defame them... The Fuhrer admires the bravery of Greeks.β RISKS INVOLVED TABLE OF RESISTANCE GROUPS
ACTIVITIES NOTABLE RESISTANCE MEMBERS SEE ALSO Greece & World War II
Allied involvement in Greece EXTERNAL LINKS FURTHER READING
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