1942: Greece

After victoriously repelling Italian aggression from October 1940 to April 1941 Greece fell a victim to German invasion in April 1941, and the following year lived through a period of greatest anxiety. Large parts of its territory, Macedonia and Thrace, with a population of about 2,000,000 were occupied and annexed by Bulgaria and the rebelliousness of the Greek population put down with greatest severity. The remaining territory of Greece was occupied by Italian troops with very few German elements added, and in Athens a puppet government under Gen. George Tsolakoglu had been set up. But the greatest problem of the country was the lack of food and of medical supplies. As a result, there was widespread starvation in Greece, aggravated by many cases of epidemics. The causes for this serious situation are twofold: Greece is not a fertile country, only one-fifth of its area can be cultivated; and the Germans carried off all the available food, even more than in other countries, because they wished to punish the Greeks for their spirited resistance. They also found little use for Greek labor, as the Greek population is not industrially proficient. Reliable reports from Greece put the number of daily deaths by starvation in Athens and Piracus at several hundred. Under these conditions prices for food reached astronomical figures. The Turkish government tried to furnish some medical supplies and foodstuffs, her efforts, however, were limited to quantities insufficient for the great need. Great sympathy for Greece was expressed in Great Britain and the United States, but though special food ships were sent, they hardly met the most urgent demands.

Greek Government-in-Exile.

Greece had been a dictatorship since 1936 when King George II appointed Gen. John Metaxas dictator. The democratic constitution was suspended and Fascist institutions were imitated. On Feb. 7, 1942, King George decided to end the dictatorship which had always been unpopular with the majority of the freedom-loving Greek people. King George's action was very well received by the Greeks living in the Near East and in the democracies. The repudiation of the Metaxas régime strengthened also the democratic elements in the Greek army which was being trained in the Near East. As a sign of the change Prof. Panayotis Kannelopoulos, the leader of the Greek resistance to Fascism, was appointed Vice Premier. In the spring of 1942 he had escaped from occupied Greece to Cairo. The Prime Minister Emmanuel Tsouderos became also Minister of War, Navy and Air in addition to being Minister for Foreign Affairs. He replaced an admiral who had been Minister of the Navy, and a general who had been Minister of Air. Thus the cabinet regained a civilian complexion. Great Britain signed an agreement with the Greek government-in-exile to supply war materials to the Greek armed forces in the Near East on a lease-lend basis. The high command of the Greek army was established in Cairo, Egypt.

On Jan. 15, 1942, the Greek and Yugoslav governments concluded an agreement providing for the closest future collaboration between the two countries. The chiefs of staff were to draw up common plans of defense and evolve common types of weapons, the foreign ministers were to decide on joint diplomatic action, and plans were laid for a customs union and a common development of transport and communications and the establishment of a Balkan monetary union.