Description
Book SynopsisA history of the Greek resistance in the Second World War discusses one of the most troubled and fascinating aspects of modern Greek and European history: the anti-axis resistance. It is a pioneering history of the men and women who waged the struggle against the axis as members of the armed partisans of ELAS and EDES. Using a wide range of previously unused sources, the book reconstructs daily life in the guerrilla armies and explores the complex reasons that led the partisans to enlist and fight. It also discusses the relations between the guerrillas and the civilian population, and examines how the guerrillas' experience of combat, hardship and loss shaped their understanding of their task and social attitudes. The book makes fascinating reading both for academics and for lay readers who are interested in modern Greek history, military history and the history of the Second World War.
Trade Review'This is an excellent analysis of the social conditions that gave birth and contributed to the development of the Greek guerrilla during the German occupation. Through a detailed and in-depth analysis of the elements that prevailed in the countryside, Tsoutsoumpis presents an impressive study of the armed resistance and the following civil war between the communist guerrillas and the anticommunist forces in Greece throughout the period of the Second World War.'
Nikos Marantzidis, Associate Professor of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies at the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki (Greece) and Visiting Professor of History at Charles University in Prague
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Table of ContentsIntroduction
1. The rise and origins of the People's Armies
2. Patriots and scoundrels: motivation and recruitment in the People's Armies
3. Not by bread alone: combat, everyday life and the formation of guerrilla identities
4. Cause, comrades and faith: morale in the guerrilla armies
5. A society at war: guerrilla governance and everyday life in free Greece
Conclusion
Index
