Were Greeks fascists?

Everyday we see how Slavomacedonian's propagandic machine wants to convince the world that the Greeks were Fascists and Nazis. It is based generally on the regime of Metaxas (earlier) and some ultra-right organizations (today). Some day if you travel to FYROM don't be suprised if you see billboards like this.


Yeah, don't be surpised because this is cheap Slavomacedonian propaganda. At FYROM schools on the history lessons, they teach Slavomacedonian childrens that Greece was and is fascist country that made a lot of massacres over Slavomacedonians (read: Bulgarians) in Aegean Macedonia (read: Northern Greece).


Also don't be suprised if some Slavomacedonia wears T-Shirt like this. They use all methods to denounce the Greeks as a nation. This photo is during the basketball match between Greece vs. FYROM, at Eurobasket 2009 in Poland.






On the Slavomacedonian internet pages and blogs you can see photoshoped image, which shows former Greek Prime-Minister Mr. Kostas Karamanlis, dressed as a Nazi soldier.







With this pathethical attempts, Slavomacedonians want to present Greece as fascist country performing occupation on Aegean Macedonia and steal their name Republic of "Macedonia". But let's see serious side of this story.

Some Slavomacedonians forum members are using these images to confirm their claims. Images are taken during the Metaxas regime 1936-1941.

First at all we must to start with explaining to Slavomacedonians:

- On what is based fascism?
- For how many types of fascism we know?
- Metaxas and Italian fascism (similarities and opposites).
- Origin of salute?
- Relationships between Metaxas fascism and Italian Fascism.

1. Fascism as a phenomenon was appeared in Italy, and it was based on ancient Roman Empire tradition.

"Italian Fascists claim that modern Italy is the heir to ancient Rome and its legacy, and support the creation of an empire to provide "vital space" for colonization by Italian settlers and establishing control over the Mediterranean Sea as Italy's Mare Nostrum as it had been under the Roman Empire."

[Aristotle A. Kallis. Fascist ideology: territory and expansionism in Italy and Germany, 1922-1945. London, England, UK; New York, New York, USA: Routledge, 2000. Pp. 50.]

2. There are many typers of Fascism (Italian fascism, Hungarian fascism, Clerical fascism, Islamofascism...) but Metaxas regime is characterized as "Monarcho-Fascism".

3.Some historians argues that Metaxas regime or Metaxas Fascism hasn't same dynamic as Italian Fascism and Nazi German regime.

["A concise history of Greece" by Richard Clogg, Second edition 2002, pg. 115]

The Idea of Metaxas was:

"In Metaxas' case we can speak as well of some characteristics typical of authoritarian states such as 1930s Spain, Portugal, Germany and Italy: the regime's propaganda presented Metaxas as "the First Peasant", "the First Worker" and as "the National Father" of the Greeks. Metaxas adopted the title of Arhigos, Greek for "leader" or "chieftain", and claimed a "Third Hellenic Civilization" based upon ancient Greece and the Greek Byzantine Empire of the Middle Ages."

[Wikipedia, Free on-line Encyclopedia]

4. Now, few words for origin of fascistic salute. Slavomacedonians used several images where are showen Greeks (from 1936-1941 period) with high raised right hand. According to their logic, "the Greeks were fascists and Hitler supporters". But, are the Nazi Germans or Fascist Italians inventors of this salute? Fascist Italia as a successor of Roman Empire idea, continued to use this ancient Roman salute.

Ancient Roman coin with Emperor Aurelian (270-275 A.D.). Reverse side of coin: Sol treading left on captive while right hand is raised in salute and holding globe while other captive looks on.
The so-called "fascist" salute showen on the picture "The Oath of the Horatii" by Jacques-Lois Davis at 1784 A.D.

So dear Slavomacedonians, please tell to us "Are the ancient Romans fascist"? Or are those childrens from democratic state as U.S.A. fascists?


5. And now most intresting question! What are the relationships between Greek "Monarcho-fascism" of Metaxas and Italian Fascism of Mussolini?

Metaxas created the IKA(National Insurance), he fixed employment law at 8-working hours per day. He defeated Italy, he created the Metaxas Line, which was the Macedonian Line of Defense against the Germans, and is the reason why the Germans congratulated the Greeks for their defense, and allowed the prisoners of War to freedom. He established one of the finest legal frameworks..the Astikps Kodikas (Civil Codex) which determines in law the relationships between the citizens, not between State and citizen and what he created is hailed even to our days as a work of art, hence why the Greek enjoys such huge legal freedoms.

He became a dictator at the right time, cause Greece was changing government every 3 months at the time for many years and Italy was attacking.

Greece had her fascist Era for 5 years. That gave her the Dodekanese Islands after the Italian defeat, and Greece was hailed worldwide as the ultimate defender due to the Metaxas Line of Defense.

Author: Marsyas Periandrou (M.P.)