Category Archives: Greece

GREECE A Southern European Dictatorship with Western Backing

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Greece on the Frontlines of the Cold War

The rise of the Greek junta is inextricably linked to the Cold War. Greece had traditionally been under the British sphere of influence given its location in a region crucial to the strategic and economic interests of the British Empire. Britain had also played a decisive role in expelling the German occupiers in December 1944.

When the Greek Civil War broke out in 1946, Britain provided economic and military assistance to the Greek government. However, Britain informed the White House by late 1946 that it was unable to continue with military and economic assistance, and urged US intervention. The Greek Civil War was subsequently acknowledged as one of the “hot” fronts of the emerging Cold War.

US intervention in the Civil War was inaugurated by the Truman Doctrine in March 1947. Apart from military aid, the Truman administration provided a significant amount of economic aid to the Greek government, signalling a new phase in US foreign policy. Thus, Greece became a kind of test case for US leadership of the so-called “Free World” in its confrontation with what it portrayed as Soviet totalitarianism. Moreover, Greece was perceived to be the “birthplace” of democracy and thus had great symbolic importance.
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Despite the significant progress researchers have made in undermining some of the poisonous myths fostered by sympathizers of the junta, post-1974 governments only partially confronted its legacy in the state. As a result, the dictatorship enjoyed a favourable image among military and police personnel for decades after its collapse. Even among average Greeks, the widespread but unsubstantiated myth persists that the junta made a positive contribution to Greece’s economic development.

Recently, a number of opinion polls have confirmed that the overwhelming majority of Greeks reject the dictatorship as a “dark period” in Greek history and cherish democracy. Nevertheless, 32 percent of Greeks still appear to believe that the dictatorship was “a good period for the country’s economy”, 37 percent believe that “farmers benefited” from the dictatorship, while 56 percent share the view that the junta carried out major infrastructure works in the country’s road network.

Although these are just indices, they show that Greece’s authoritarian period continues to resonate with segments of Greek society even today.

https://www.rosalux.de/en/news/id/52349/a-southern-european-dictatorship-with-western-backing

How An Intrepid Greek Exile, The CIA And The Boston Globe Nearly Kept Richard Nixon Out Of The White House

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Elias Demetracopoulos was a fascinating character — World War II resistance fighter, journalist, opponent of the military junta in Greece and, ultimately, a political exile in the United States. Today, though, he is all but forgotten.

In a new biography, James H. Barron seeks to rectify that. “The Greek Connection: The Life of Elias Demetracopoulos and the Untold Story of Watergate” (Melville House) portrays a larger-than-life figure who could have altered the course of American history if his warnings about illegal Greek financial contributions to Richard Nixon’s 1968 presidential campaign had been made public. As Barron reveals, The Boston Globe came tantalizingly close to breaking that story — but it went untold until years later.

Given what we already know about Nixon’s attempts to sabotage the Vietnam peace talks during the 1968 campaign, the new details about secret Greek money described by Barron can only add to Nixon’s reputation as a corrupt, cynical politician willing to wade illegally into international affairs if he thought it would benefit him. Watching President Donald Trump clumsily bulldoze his way over the path blazed by Nixon calls to mind Marx’s observation that “history repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.”

https://www.wgbh.org/news/commentary/2020-08-26/how-an-intrepid-greek-exile-the-cia-and-the-boston-globe-nearly-kept-richard-nixon-out-of-the-white-house