After the fall of Greece, General Georgios Tsolakoglou was appointed Prime minister of the new Greek government on April 30, 1941. As King George II had left the country with the legitimate Greek government-in-exile, the new regime avoided all reference to the Greek monarchy and used Hellenic State as the country's official, generic, name. The collaborationist regime lacked a precise political definition, although Tsolakoglou, a republican officer, considered the Axis occupation as an opportunity to abolish the monarchy, and announced its end upon taking office.[3] The existence of a native Greek government was considered necessary by the Axis powers, in order to give some appearance of legitimacy to their occupation, although it was never given more than an ancillary role. The country's infrastructure had been ruined by the war. Raw materials and foodstuffs were requisitioned, and the government was forced to pay the cost of the occupation, giving rise to inflation, further exacerbated by a "war loan" Greece was forced to grant to Nazi Germany. Requisitions, together with the Allied blockade of Greece, resulted in the Great Famine (Greek: Μεγάλος Λιμός) during the winter of 1941–42, which caused the deaths of an estimated 300,000 people.
Government and politicsedit
The regime was first led by Georgios Tsolakoglou, the general who signed the unconditional surrender of the Hellenic Army to the Germans. However, he was sacked a year later and replaced by Konstantinos Logothetopoulos, who himself was sacked in 1943. The last prime minister of the Hellenic State was Ioannis Rallis, who led the collaborationist regime until its dissolution in 1944. Georgios Bakos, a Greek Armymajor general, served as the minister of national defense, a position which Rallis had previously held in the regime. The Hellenic State was widely viewed as a puppet government and was unpopular with the Greek people.
Administrative divisionsedit
Administratively, the Hellenic State was divided into a number of prefectures.
Map showing the prefectures of Greece and the Bulgarian annexation of Eastern Macedonia and Western Thrace
Decline and falledit
The Hellenic State lacked the infrastructure and latitude for action to face the great difficulties of the Occupation period; it was also devoid of any political legitimacy, and was widely considered a puppet government. Tsolakoglou demanded greater political rights for his government, and soon threatened to resign.[3] The proclamation of a mandatory work service in Germany for Greek citizens proved widely unpopular and hastened the fall of Tsolakoglou; on 17 November 1942, he was sacked and replaced by his deputy, Konstantinos Logothetopoulos. The new government announced that 80,000 Greek citizens were to be sent to Germany. This led to widespread demonstrations and strikes, and the decision was eventually revoked.[citation needed] Logothetopoulos, who had protested against the measures taken by the Axis occupation authorities, was himself sacked on 6 April 1943. Against the wishes of the Italians, who favored Finance Minister Sotirios Gotzamanis, he was replaced by Ioannis Rallis, a monarchist politician. Rallis, who was looking beyond the German withdrawal from Greece to the restoration of the post-war political order, and who was alarmed by the growth of the mostly Communist-dominated Greek resistance, obtained German consent for the creation of the Security Battalions, armed formations that were used in anti-partisan offensives.
The collaborationist regime under Rallis set up Security Battalions, units of soldiers that aided the German Army in fighting the resistance. They are known for committing atrocities against the civilian population. An officer named Georgios Bakos served as the minister of national defense.
Exile and trialedit
In September 1944 a new collaborationist government was established at Vienna, formed by former collaborationist ministers. It was headed by Ektor Tsironikos. It ceased to exist after the withdrawal of German forces and the liberation of the country in October 1944. Tsolakoglou, Rallis and Logothetopoulos (in Germany, where he had escaped to) were all arrested, along with hundreds of other collaborationists. The restored government set up the Trials of Collaborationists (I Diki ton Dosilogon) to judge collaborators.[4] During 1945, Tsironikos was tried and sentenced to death. On 10 May 1945, he was arrested in Vienna by Allied forces and sent to Greece, where he was imprisoned.[5][6][7] The government did not fulfil its promise to make major efforts to punish collaborators; this contributed to the escalation of political enmities in Greece, which in turn played a part in the outbreak of the Greek civil war.[8]
Referencesedit
^Hubert de Vries (2017). . heraldica civica et militara De Rode Leeuw een site over heraldiek en verwante onderwerpen Hubert de Vries. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
^ Durand, Yves (1990). Le Nouvel ordre européen nazi: la collaboration dans l'Europe allemande (1938–1945) (in French). Editions Complexe. ISBN978-2-87027-358-6.
^ abBernhard R. Kroener, Germany and the Second World War Volume V/II, Oxford University Press, 2003, p. 44
^Markos Vallianatos, The untold history of Greek collaboration with Nazi Germany (1941–1944)
^Οι Τσιρονίκος και Ταβουλάρης συνελήφθησαν, Εφημερίδα «Ελευθερία», Παρασκευή 11 Μαΐου 1945, σελίδα 2.
^Ο Τσιρονίκος παρεδόθη χθες εις τας Ελληνικάς Αρχάς, Εφημερίδα «Εμπρός», Τρίτη 27 Αυγούστου 1946, σελίδα 5.
^Ο Ε.Τσιρονίκος υπέβαλε αίτηση χάριτος, Εφημερίδα «Εμπρός», Τρίτη 27 Αυγούστου 1946, σελίδα 5.
^Charles R. Schrader, The withered vine: logistics and the communist insurgency in Greece, 1945–1949, Greenwood Press, 1999, p. 38
External linksedit
German banknotes circulated only in Greece during the occupation (1941–1944)
October 26, 2023
hellenic, state, 1941, 1944, confused, with, hellenic, republic, other, uses, hellenic, state, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenge. Not to be confused with the Hellenic Republic For other uses see Hellenic State This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Hellenic State 1941 1944 news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Hellenic State Greek Ellhnikh Politeia romanized Elliniki Politeia also translated as Greek State 2 was the collaborationist government of Greece during the country s occupation by the Axis powers in the Second World War Hellenic StateἙllhnikh Politeia1941 1944Flag Coat of arms 1 Motto Eleftheria i Thanatos Eley8eria h 8anatos Freedom or Death Anthem Ymnos is tin Eleftherian Ὕmnos eἰs tὴn Ἐley8erian Hymn to Freedom source source track track track track track track track track track track track track track The Hellenic State in 1942StatusPuppet state of Italy and Germany 1941 43 Puppet state of Germany 1943 44 Government in exile September October 1944 CapitalAthensCommon languagesGreek languageReligionGreek OrthodoxDemonym s Greek HelleneGovernmentCollaborationist under Axis powers 1941 43 Plenipotentiary 1941 1943Gunther Altenburg 1943 1944Hermann NeubacherPrime Minister 1941 1942Georgios Tsolakoglou 1942 1943Konstantinos Logothetopoulos 1943 1944Ioannis RallisHistorical eraWorld War II Battle of Greece6 April 1941 Establishment30 April 1941 Battle of Crete20 May 1941 German withdrawal12 October 1944CurrencyGreek drachma Preceded by Succeeded byKingdom of Greece 4th of August Regime Kingdom of Greece Contents 1 Establishment 1 1 Government and politics 1 2 Administrative divisions 2 Decline and fall 2 1 Military 2 2 Exile and trial 3 References 4 External linksEstablishment edit nbsp Georgios Tsolakoglou with Wehrmacht officers arrives at Macedonia Hall of Anatolia College in Thessaloniki to sign the surrender April 1941 After the fall of Greece General Georgios Tsolakoglou was appointed Prime minister of the new Greek government on April 30 1941 As King George II had left the country with the legitimate Greek government in exile the new regime avoided all reference to the Greek monarchy and used Hellenic State as the country s official generic name The collaborationist regime lacked a precise political definition although Tsolakoglou a republican officer considered the Axis occupation as an opportunity to abolish the monarchy and announced its end upon taking office 3 The existence of a native Greek government was considered necessary by the Axis powers in order to give some appearance of legitimacy to their occupation although it was never given more than an ancillary role The country s infrastructure had been ruined by the war Raw materials and foodstuffs were requisitioned and the government was forced to pay the cost of the occupation giving rise to inflation further exacerbated by a war loan Greece was forced to grant to Nazi Germany Requisitions together with the Allied blockade of Greece resulted in the Great Famine Greek Megalos Limos during the winter of 1941 42 which caused the deaths of an estimated 300 000 people Government and politics edit The regime was first led by Georgios Tsolakoglou the general who signed the unconditional surrender of the Hellenic Army to the Germans However he was sacked a year later and replaced by Konstantinos Logothetopoulos who himself was sacked in 1943 The last prime minister of the Hellenic State was Ioannis Rallis who led the collaborationist regime until its dissolution in 1944 Georgios Bakos a Greek Army major general served as the minister of national defense a position which Rallis had previously held in the regime The Hellenic State was widely viewed as a puppet government and was unpopular with the Greek people Administrative divisions edit Administratively the Hellenic State was divided into a number of prefectures nbsp Map showing the prefectures of Greece and the Bulgarian annexation of Eastern Macedonia and Western ThraceDecline and fall editThe Hellenic State lacked the infrastructure and latitude for action to face the great difficulties of the Occupation period it was also devoid of any political legitimacy and was widely considered a puppet government Tsolakoglou demanded greater political rights for his government and soon threatened to resign 3 The proclamation of a mandatory work service in Germany for Greek citizens proved widely unpopular and hastened the fall of Tsolakoglou on 17 November 1942 he was sacked and replaced by his deputy Konstantinos Logothetopoulos The new government announced that 80 000 Greek citizens were to be sent to Germany This led to widespread demonstrations and strikes and the decision was eventually revoked citation needed Logothetopoulos who had protested against the measures taken by the Axis occupation authorities was himself sacked on 6 April 1943 Against the wishes of the Italians who favored Finance Minister Sotirios Gotzamanis he was replaced by Ioannis Rallis a monarchist politician Rallis who was looking beyond the German withdrawal from Greece to the restoration of the post war political order and who was alarmed by the growth of the mostly Communist dominated Greek resistance obtained German consent for the creation of the Security Battalions armed formations that were used in anti partisan offensives Military edit Main article Security Battalions The collaborationist regime under Rallis set up Security Battalions units of soldiers that aided the German Army in fighting the resistance They are known for committing atrocities against the civilian population An officer named Georgios Bakos served as the minister of national defense Exile and trial edit In September 1944 a new collaborationist government was established at Vienna formed by former collaborationist ministers It was headed by Ektor Tsironikos It ceased to exist after the withdrawal of German forces and the liberation of the country in October 1944 Tsolakoglou Rallis and Logothetopoulos in Germany where he had escaped to were all arrested along with hundreds of other collaborationists The restored government set up the Trials of Collaborationists I Diki ton Dosilogon to judge collaborators 4 During 1945 Tsironikos was tried and sentenced to death On 10 May 1945 he was arrested in Vienna by Allied forces and sent to Greece where he was imprisoned 5 6 7 The government did not fulfil its promise to make major efforts to punish collaborators this contributed to the escalation of political enmities in Greece which in turn played a part in the outbreak of the Greek civil war 8 References edit Hubert de Vries 2017 HELLAS heraldica civica et militara De Rode Leeuw een site over heraldiek en verwante onderwerpen Hubert de Vries Archived from the original on 2023 06 29 Retrieved 2023 10 13 Durand Yves 1990 Le Nouvel ordre europeen nazi la collaboration dans l Europe allemande 1938 1945 in French Editions Complexe ISBN 978 2 87027 358 6 a b Bernhard R Kroener Germany and the Second World War Volume V II Oxford University Press 2003 p 44 Markos Vallianatos The untold history of Greek collaboration with Nazi Germany 1941 1944 Oi Tsironikos kai Taboylarhs synelhf8hsan Efhmerida Eley8eria Paraskeyh 11 Maioy 1945 selida 2 O Tsironikos paredo8h x8es eis tas Ellhnikas Arxas Efhmerida Empros Trith 27 Aygoystoy 1946 selida 5 O E Tsironikos ypebale aithsh xaritos Efhmerida Empros Trith 27 Aygoystoy 1946 selida 5 Charles R Schrader The withered vine logistics and the communist insurgency in Greece 1945 1949 Greenwood Press 1999 p 38External links editGerman banknotes circulated only in Greece during the occupation 1941 1944 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hellenic State 1941 1944 amp oldid 1179944776, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
