The Greek Civil War 1944 1949

In this study of Macedonian Slavs in the Greek Civil War, the author examines how their participation in the conflict, and the attempts by other groups to manipulate them, gave rise to modern issues that continue to affect politics in the region today. The Macedonian Question has confounded academics, politicians and the people of the Balkans since the nineteenth century. While the countries have resolved the territorial component of the Macedonian Question, the critical and confusing question surrounding the ethnic and linguistic identity of the people of the region continues to be the source of international debate. Part of the reason for this confusion is because the history of the Macedonian Question is shrouded in nationalist polemics. The role of the Macedonian Slavs involvement in the Greek Civil War is particularly contentious and embedded in nationalist polemics, which has impacted academic inquiry. This book argues that the preponderance of Macedonian Slavs within the communist forces during the Greek Civil War influenced the actions of all the major actors involved, and is a significant factor in shaping the modern Macedonian national identity.

The papers published in this volume were originally read at the Conference on the Greek Civil War 1945-49 which was held at the Vilvorde Conference Centre in Copenhagen from 30 August to 1 September 1984.

An authoritative history of the Greek Civil War and its profound influence on American foreign policy and the post–Second World War period In his comprehensive history André Gerolymatos demonstrates how the Greek Civil War played a pivotal role in the shaping of policy and politics in post–Second World War Europe and America and was a key starting point of the Cold War. Based in part on recently declassified documents from Greece, the United States, and the British Intelligence Services, this masterful study sheds new light on the aftershocks that have rocked Greece in the seven decades following the end of the bitter hostilities.

The first full, nonpartisan history of the Greek Civil War, the brutal guerrilla conflict that launched the Cold War

The complicated and dramatic course of the Civil War in Greece had, for lack of parties interested in reconstructing the truth of its events, never been narrated prior to the appearance of this volume. It closed a gap in the history of our times, and did so with thoroughness and vivid journalistic immediacy. In addition to the known sources and unpublished documents, the author relied on testimony painstakingly collected from survivors of the tragedy who were scattered throughout the world. It remains the authoritative account of the kapetanios, the guerrilla chiefs who organized the partisans in the Greek mountains.

Moscow and Greek Communism is the first comprehensive analysis of Soviet conduct in Greece during the most critical period of Greek history in this century-the last months of World War II and the years of the Greek Civil War. Peter J. Stavrakis demonstrates that Soviet policy in Greece was highly mutable and reveals how its shifts were governed by Moscow's changing aims in the Near East generally, Soviet policy toward the Western powers, and the constantly changing Greek political situation. Stavrakis draws on previously inaccessible evidence from Greek Communist archives, recently declassified materials from the U.S. National Archives, documents from British archives, and personal memoirs of former Greek partisans to create the most accurate picture available of developments in the Balkans between 1944 and 1949. He traces the course of Soviet policy, explaining why Stalin vacillated in his attitude toward the armed insurgency of the Greek Communist party (KKE), finally acting in a way that ensured its defeat. Students of Soviet foreign policy will want to consider his thesis that the lessons learned in Greece have continued to guide Soviet interventionism in regions where its capabilities for control are limited.

Moscow and Greek Communism is the first comprehensive analysis of Soviet conduct in Greece during the most critical period of Greek history in this century-the last months of World War II and the years of the Greek Civil War. Peter J. Stavrakis demonstrates that Soviet policy in Greece was highly mutable and reveals how its shifts were governed by Moscow's changing aims in the Near East generally, Soviet policy toward the Western powers, and the constantly changing Greek political situation. Stavrakis draws on previously inaccessible evidence from Greek Communist archives, recently declassified materials from the U.S. National Archives, documents from British archives, and personal memoirs of former Greek partisans to create the most accurate picture available of developments in the Balkans between 1944 and 1949. He traces the course of Soviet policy, explaining why Stalin vacillated in his attitude toward the armed insurgency of the Greek Communist party (KKE), finally acting in a way that ensured its defeat. Students of Soviet foreign policy will want to consider his thesis that the lessons learned in Greece have continued to guide Soviet interventionism in regions where its capabilities for control are limited.