Why Greece Didn't Join the Axis
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- Опубліковано 15 тра 2024
- On 6 April 1941 the German invasion of Greece started. In January Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas had passed away. Metaxas had established the 4th of August Regime and in the following years he established a totalitarian Greek state, later referred to as the 'Third Civilization'. Yet, although he took inspiration from Mussolini and Hitler he can't be considered a pure fascist. Still you could ask yourself: Why Didn't Greece Join the Axis?
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Greece under Metaxas:
• Greece under the Metax...
The Axis Occupation of Greece:
• Greece during World Wa...
SOURCES
- Popular Autocracy in Greece, 1936-1941. A Political Biography of General Ioannis Metaxas (P.J. Vatikiotis).
- Modern Greece. A History since 1821 (John S. Koliopoulos, Thanos M. Veremis).
IMAGES
Images from commons.wikimedia.org. And:
metaxas-project.com
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• Rare Footage of Athens...
Rare Footage of Athens in 1924
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Greece under Metaxas:
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The Axis Occupation of Greece:
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Very nice presentation of the reasons why Greece didn't join the Axis. But I wish to complete it with an economical aspect of the situation. After the great depression dictators rose all over the place in the developped world because most of them were backed up by industrial tycoons and bank owners who were afraid that communism was going to spread among the poor. That's why most fascist regimes favoured corporatism and plannified huge infrastructure and armement projects to keep the industry afloat.
Greece was differant. The only tycoons you could find in Metaxa's Greece were shipowners. Greece had one of the largest merchant fleet in the world. Shipowners don't like closed borders. They don't like autarcy. They like free trade. Just as the British did.
@@srfrg9707 thanks for sharing this additional information.
@@HistoryHustle You are welcome. The economical aspects behind historical events are often neglected for some reason. Often they are the real deal. The British Empire first expanded by the East India Co. initially a private enterprise backed by the Queen the Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies.
This is even more the case during economical crisis, because the economical bodies pressure the politicians for policies favoring their activities. And of course they back those who offer to be their champions.
That's how Benito Mussolini came in power.
In 1921 he proclamed himself the champion of the Manchesterian liberal economy :
"I am a liberal. The new reality of tomorrow, we repeat, will be capitalist. The real story of capitalism only begins now. Socialism no longer has a chance of winning. It is a question of choosing between an almost dead past and unlimited possibilities for the future... We must abolish the collectivist State, such as the war transmitted it to us, by the necessity of things, and return to the Manchesterian state." (Benito Mussolini - speech at the Italian parliament.)
Manchesterism describes the economical theory then known as "school of Manchester" or "Manchesterian liberalism". There is a wiki page on the subject.
In short its theoretical basis comes from Adam Smith, David Hume and Jean-Baptiste Say, and predicates laisser-faire and free trade.
But wait? That's the opposite of what Mussolini practiced when in power, is it not?
Depends on which period one is considering.
Between 1922 and 1924, Mussolini was trying to follow his liberal agenda.
"We want to strip the state of all its economic attributes: enough of the railway state, the postal state, the insurance state. " (Benito Mussolini, 1922.)
It's only by the end of 1935 that Mussolini imposes a new ideology with the leggi fascistissime (fascist laws) promoting state corporatism and dictatorial dirigiste government.
So when one says that WWII was a conflagration between ideologies it's true but those ideologies are nothing but tools created by economical powers in order to save their assets during harsh times.
In other words WWII may as well be described as a confrontation between international merchants/finance versus local heavy industry.
The Greek merchant fleet aligned with the first as expected. (Translations from Italian done by goggle, sorry...)
@@HistoryHustle Great Video! However, I disagree on the third difference between fascism and Ioannis Metaxas. He actually was a supporter of the ''Great Idea'' which describes the desire to expand Greek territories to Asia Minor.
As a historian you should know that "Macedonians" are Greeks and not Slavic...
Depends on the time span.
Nope they are Bulgarians.. Stop say this shit.. Greece's Nothing To Do With Macedonia. Greek propaganda doesn't work
@@bimbashov9871 What doesn't work is Panslavic propaganda and the dream of all Slavs to come down to the Aegean. If they're "Bulgarians" why do they call themselves with a Greek name? There was no "Macdonia, besides the Greek teritory, before Tito. He renamed Vardarska to Maedonia because Stalin told him to. So they could have claims over Greek Soil in a later time. The people living ther are a mix of Greeks, Bulgarians, Albanians and Gypsies. It's a non existend state.. created just to cause problems to all surounding countries .
@@thiseaslostinlabyrinth5471 In Macedonia live Bulgarians and Albanians and Muslims. Macedonia is Bulgarian because we speak the same language and understand each other perfectly, we just have a slightly different dialect. Macedonia was a territory of Bulgaria 100/200 years ago. Just after losing the world wars we lost it and then our traitor pilitics created it officially as a State I'm talking about the communists and the great powers.. The goal was to have a division of the Bulgarian people.. Currently Macedonia is the second Bulgarian state in the World. And one day we will take it back and unite.. If Macedonia is Greek why don't your politicians want to take it back?😅 As I said a little while ago ancient Macedonia was of ancient Greece before it was this.. The current Macedonia has nothing to do with Greece now.. There is no such thing as Macedonia not even a Macedonian nation. There was before but they were all killed..
@@bimbashov9871 Sure mate. Would you be kind enough to tell me where the word Macedonia comes from ? Is it Slavik? And if so what does it mean.
By the way, Poland and Greece were the only two European countries that didn't have Waffen-SS foreign volunteers.
Maybe also Ireland if remember right.
Not sure about Bulgaria. Nor Lithuania (although they did collabate).
@@HistoryHustle Lithuania had somewhat of a SS division that never saw the light of day and Bulgaria had an SS unit near the very end that was loyal to the Bulgarian Government in exile
@@thanosandnobill3789 2
there's no poles in the ss move
Metaxas was against the Asia Minor campaign because he thought it was a lost cause, something that was proven right.
Overall the British network in Greece was too deeply rooted to be questioned since the independence. Also Greece was a sea state, Britain was the sea superpower, it would make zero sense for Greece to join the continental forces.
Thanks for sharing.
Ha ha communists were against Minor Asia capmaing too and they called them traitors.
@@fotis1964 You need to see a doctor
@@herobrinegreek9493 Whatever you say.
@@fotis1964 You still need one. I know some, wanna set a date for you?
For us it's obvious, since Bulgaria and Italy were part of the axis powers and both had hostile intentions, joining the axis was not an option anyway. Overall a good review, but one point that you are mistaken and one point that you fail to mention. The "Macedonians" were considered Bulgarians, as also both Bulgarians AND Jugoslavians considered them at the time. All of them were either loyal to Bulgaria, therefore they were supporting the axis, or pro-communist and Metaxas didn't go well with communism in any case. Also you fail to mention that Turkey was essentially pro-axis, much like the "neutral" Sweden (Turkey essentially abandoned the axis in 1944). At the time it was considered certain that Turkey would join the war with the axis powers, as they did in 1914, something that most likely they would had done if Germany had not invaded the Soviet Union.
Thanks for sharing your insights.
@@HistoryHustle welcome, please do your research to verify the following issues- in the 2nd Balkan war Bulgaria attacked Serbia to gain control of the territories that were living Bulgarians - relations with Jugoslavia were always good, with Bulgaria always bad. - after the occupation by the axis powers, almost all members of the slavic minority either joined EAM/ELAS or (the majority) became pro-Bulgarian collaborators. About Turkey and axis, Turkey were in negotiations with Germany about their gains if they joined the war effort (Syria, Iraq, Cyprus and Aegean islands were on the table) but they had so bad memories of their WWI front in Caucasus against Russia that they wisely pulled out (yet another reason why a war against the Soviet Union was such a catastrophic decision for Germany)
I can see it beint obvious to Greeks, but it's a reasonable question to explore nonetheless.
@@rudolphguarnacci197 Of course. The fact that people are interested about this is very welcome.
@@aftastosk6016 Serbia attacks Bulgaria first. Serbian&Bulgarian war. Bulgaria does not attack first
Significant mistakes: 1) you confuse Ethnicity with Nationality.. There is not and there was no Macedonian Ethnicity in Greece and abroad. The Slavic minority you are referring to is called Bulgarian in those years. Term Makedonins in Greece means and has always meant a part of the Greek population (like ancient Greek Macedonian tribe) .Even the inhabitants of the modern state (1992)of North Macedonia are referred as "citizens of North Macedonia" in their passports. There is not recognized Macedonian ETHNICITY in the world only as NATIONALITY ... Perhaps a man from Swiss have Swiss Nationality bat ethnicaly are French Italian or German.
2. Greece of Metaxas had no aspirations for the southern islands of the Aegean, although was under Italian occupation.. as you said, it did not want expansion. Greece after Metaxas and War officially wanted the North Epirus region and not only the Greek islands in the south. Northern Epirus was a place of this and many greek wars, which had a pure Greek population and which had been integrated into Greece in the past and had to have a status of autonomy that was not observed by Albania. Unfortunately, all the times the great powers gave this piece to Albania . Blackmailing Greece because they were afraid of the displacement of Greece in the Balkans and the Adriatic.
3)Britain promised Greece military aid, which it did not send. So after a year of victories against Italy the front was broken by strong Germany. Britain preferred Germany to engage in guerrilla warfare in Greece and Yugoslavia in order to delay its invasion of Russia. Which succeeded but cost the Greek population.
With the exception of these 3 big mistakes your video is pretty good !
To the point!
1) I meant: ‘Slavo- Macedonians’.
2) Don't see why this is a mistake. We basically agree.
3) British troops fought alongside the Greeks against the Germans so aid was sent. Besides: "a year of victories against Italy" is what I consider a mistake, since the Greco-Italian War lasted shorted and was a stalemate in its last month with neither sides winning.
@@HistoryHustle 1) but you use the term Macedonians. I understand what you mean. But one who does not know Balkan history will think that there really was a minority called Macedonians while Macedonians are on the side of the Greeks. Moreover, the minority was then called Bulgarian and was the result of a population exchange between Bulgarians and Greeks that is not mentioned anywhere in video.
2) for me is just wrong that the Greeks (after the War) focused on the Dodecanese. What hurt him the most was the Greek cities of the north Epirus. There they left their bones in the Balkan wars in World War I and World War II.
3) Unfortunately, the British did not give the number of soldiers they promised in Greece and they themselves have admitted it. They also ordered the surrender of the Greek army and took the Greek naval fleet for operations in Egypt. Of course, the guerrilla war in Greece cost to the Germans much more than an open war.
You are right the Greek-Italian war lasted 7-8 months. In the last month there has been a rift on both sides. (Greece was not interested in moving forward but in holding its position and the greek cities of Albania) But it was a clear Greek victory. The Italians invaded Greece but were found to have lost 1/4 of Albania's territory. From the moment Yugoslavia fell there was no hope for the damahed Greek army which was besieged in 3 borders..
@@HistoryHustle there is no slavo macedonians... wake up!!! Macedonians are Greeks!!!
*Remember Greeks don't fight like heroes but heroes fight like Greeks. People need to understand that if Greece did not put up a fight against the Italians, the Germans would have gone into the then Soviet Union before winter and the Germans would have won the war. This is why the Germans cannot stomach the Greeks.*
My grandfather fought in Albania in 1940 and when Greece fell, he became part of the resistance harassing Axis soldiers. Great and informative video.
Thanks! Can you tell us something about his experiences during the war?
@@HistoryHustle I remember him telling me he got shot 3 times while on the Albanian front, one near the knee and two on the back. He barely made it and he never had the bullet in his leg removed. I remember him telling me how cold it was that he and his mates had to huddle together to stay warm during the night, a living hell.
Thank you for sharing this.
Great video as always, just one note: the salute was recognized as a sort of Greco-Roman symbol of loyalty (“Hail Caesar”) and was used by many countries including America; it was first associated with Fascism in Italy which had the very first Fascist regime and has a Roman legacy, before being adopted by other states that became Fascist such as Germany and Spain, which later prompted America to drop it in favor of hand-over-heart. It’s use by Metaxes’ regime is not surprising, especially given Greece’s own Greco-Roman legacy. I think the best name to refer to it generically is Roman Salute, unless you’re talking about one of the individual variants (German/Nazi Salute for Germany, Bellamy Salute for America, etc)
Many thanks for your reply.
For us is just χαίρε / χαιρετώ 👋
it was actually used in Ancient Greece too before the Romans as a way to salute much similar to the way we greet someone today, we actually still have emblems with figures saluting this way although with their arm lower and straighter than the fascist one
The Fascist "salute" was never popular in the United States except by the extreme right wing.
@@king_cobra5492 the Roman Salute (called the Bellamy Salute in America) was used as the pledge of allegiance salute until 1942, as a generic Greco-Roman inspired symbol, which is why the Fascists used it as well. When America got into war with Germany and Italy, they quickly changed the salute to hand-over-heart as the Roman Salute became associated almost exclusively with Fascism and Hitler/Mussolini.
5:00 Macedonians aren't slavs, they are greeks. Besides that nice video 👍
Say Greek nationalists I believe.
@@HistoryHustle both of us love history. So I suggest you to do a research about the Macedonian kingdom etc. The only thing I'm going to say is that slavs came to Macedonia(the region) in the sixth century nearly 900 years after the death of Alexander the Great. Also, I don't think that this should be up to debate. Many distinguished scholars from famous universities such as Yale and Oxford state that ancient Macedonians were Greeks. Even the first president and many historians of North Macedonia have said that they are genetically slavs and have nothing to do with ancient Macedonia. Check the treaty of prespas...under the statue of Alexander the Great in Skopje (the capital of north Macedonia) it says "belongs to hellenic history"
@@HistoryHustleYou can find on the internet many books about ancient Macedonia written not by greeks( so that it won't be suspicious for some people) but by professors from famous universities just like Robin lane fox (professor in Oxford). Btw his book is called "Alexander the great". The Macedonian empire belongs into the hellenistic period. Have you ever heard of the greco bactrian and indo greek kingdom or about the Corinthian league? Macedonians spoke greek, they worshiped the greek gods and they participated in the Olympic Games in which only Greeks were allowed to. All of these are facts can be found in non greek books as well. Alexander the Great spread hellenism all over his empire...Its our history, it's who we are... No one can take from us our pride. No hard feelings just making some things clear 👍
@@HistoryHustle there was no ''Macedonian'' ethinicity until early 1900s,the Slavs of Macedonia(the region spreading from Serbia all the way to Aegean sea) self-identified either as Greeks,because they were loyal to the Orthodox Church,or as Bulgarians,allthough a lot of them had a strong regional identity.
In the 1920's propagandists of Kommitern started a spreading the idea of a separate Macedonian nation as a way to create a basis for Soviet influence in the region.
After WW2,Tito created the Socialist Federal Republic of Macedonia as a tool to claim land from Bulgaria,Greece and Albania.
And in order to justifie his expansionist policies his propagandist created a fake ''Macedonia history'' claiming Alxander the Great,Byzantine Emperors,Bulgarian Tsars and Bulagarian natiolanl heros.
The so called ''name dispute'' is far more complicated than most people think.
Have to research that. Only thing I've noticed is that some Greeks (nationalists I pressume) can get really fierce about it. I thought Serbs could be fierce 😅
Macedonians are Greeks, I don't know what you mean by "Macedonian ethnicity" .
Makedonia is an ancient Hellenic kingdom in which the people spoke Greek, believed in Greek gods, wrote in Greek, considered themselves a part of the Hellenic world and a Kingdom that later spread Hellenism under Alexander the Great's rulership.
North-Macedonians are ethnically Bulgarians and Serbians who have nothing to do with ancient Hellenic Kingdom - Their language is also Bulgarian with a dialect.
The leader of Yugoslavia "Tito" gave the people living in "Vardask" (current North-Macedonia) who at the time considered themselves to be Bulgarians through propaganda the illusion that they are descendants of the ancient Macedonians, as he didn't want "Vardask" to rejoin with Bulgaria.
While in fact Slavs came to the Balkan in 600 AD - 900 years after Alexander the Great died.
Macedonians are in their origins Doric Greeks, just like Greeks from Epirus and Lakonia - The Greek state "Makedonia" is in northern Greece and covers cities like Thessaloniki and Pella. (Alexander the Greats birthplace.)
There is no Macedonian "ethnicity" the same way there is no "Bavarian" or "Westphalian" ethnicity - as Bavaria and Northrhine Westphalia are German states and the people are Germans - just as Makedonia is a Greek state with Greek people.
1000% correct!!
He's a western european...no idea. Taught by Germans and English. I'm Serbian and we Serbs know they are a fake country with fake history. One if Tito's many delusional projects
I meant: ‘Slavo- Macedonians’.
And historian Roderick Beaton says the following:
"Macedonia, in the 1920s and 1930s, would continue to be home to many who had previously adhered to the Bulgarian Church, and who still spoke their own Slavic dialect. No Greek government has ever recognized this group, known colloquially as ‘Slavo- Macedonians’, as an official minority, although between the wars they may have numbered as many as a quarter of a million."
Greece. Biography of a Modern Nation (Roderick Beaton) 237.
@@HistoryHustle I understand what you mean, but technichally the ethnicity is Slavic / Serbian or Bulgarian as they have nothing to do with the Macedonians and even considered themselves as "Bulgarians" before the Propaganda of Josip Broz Tito.
I saw that it caused a bit of misunderstanding and person with less knowledge in history might indeed think, that these are the descendants of ancient Macedonians, that's why I wanted to clarify that.
Anyways I hope I didn't come off as insulting or something like that, cheers
Slavic people from Skopje area or the so called "Republic of North Macedonia" are not Macedonians.They are Slavic.Macedonians are Greek people.Greek tribe.Like Spartans, Cretans, Peloponnesians, Thracians etc.That is the historical TRUTH and language, writings and dna prove it.Alexander the Great was a slav dude?WTF?Have you ever been in Macedonia?Anything else is misinformation and propaganda and not historically accurate.And a video about the sufferings of the Greek minority of the Skopje/ FYROM state would be nice by the way.Other than that it was a good video.
Thanks for your reply. Looking at replies from Greeks (nationalists perhaps?) I've noticed a kind of fierceness. I've seen many fierce people in the comment section ever since I've gained more views, people from all over the world. What I do notice is that the fierceness from some Greeks regarding Macedonia is particularly fierce. And although I only know there is an ongoing debate between Greek and North Macedonians I can't help but think that whenever a person is particularly fierce it does say more about him or her than the actual topic. What do you think?
@@HistoryHustle So, you start calling names...Am I and the other Greeks ''nationalists''?Who knows?If you could explain me what do you mean when you call someone a ''nationalist perhaps'' I will be able to answer.Please do.
As you gain viewers you will be exposed to more people with knowledge of the truth.It is not easy.
Maybe people disagreeing with you are not ''fierce'' or pure evil ''nationalists''...Maybe they are simply outraged hearing for decades nothing but lies about their heritage and their history by people that are obvious clueless or even worse: paid to rewrite history so that it fits American and German diplomatic ventures.
Check again your sources like mr.Veremis better.Some of them belong to political parties with certain political views on history that helped them just a bit with their career...
So I say again: Alexander the Great was speaking some slavic Bulgarian-like idiom?Have you ever been to Skopje?Did you see any ancient monuments in Slavic?Simple question that basically solves the problem about Macedonians.
There is no debate.Debate is dialogue.The Skopje/FYROM people never agreed to discuss on any level political or academic.They can't stand it because their lies would be exposed instead of presented with their propagandistic and political cover.Their politicians needed the false narrative to keep together a small multinational country inhabited by at least four different ethnicities.There was no discussion about Macedonians before Tito.
And based on American political pressure and possibly bribes on corrupt not reacting Greek officials they cemented their propagandistic narrative so that Skopje/FYROM would come to some form of agreement with a Greek goverment and enter NATO as soon as possible.At least Bulgarians and Albanians both nations with dignity and both having oppressed minorities on Skopje/FYROM are not willing to accept that.By the way maybe you should look to what happened with the Greek minority there...
Try to be objective and follow the scientific principles.Study more or learn Greek and come read some historians that do not have the backs of foreign centers to publish theit books in other languages and speak to locals from both sides.If you are not willing to find out yoursef stop calling names the victims.That does not make you look good.
Lastly indiscernible political correctness and subtle virtue signaling is not science.All over the world most people are fed up with censorship and all kinds of these American made bs.Sorry but bs it is.You are not someway attacked by ''nationalists''.I can't help but think that whenever a person is particularly politically correct it does say more about him or her than the actual topic.That's what I think.Maybe I'm wrong.
As much as I always liked your channel I always liked the truth more especially when I'm experiencing it first hand.
I mean come on, some things can not yet be deleted to make history fit to our political perspective...
I see this topic has sure attention and I'm sure others feel the same. All I can say is that I can't wait to visit cities like Skopje and see what it's like.
@@HistoryHustle Yes it has.
Everyone feels what they can feel.
And you should definitely visit Skopje.
@@HistoryHustle Nationalists? Some of the Greeks that always reply on the matter may be Nationalist, they might also be on the extreme right ideology too. But all Greeks, and escecially Native Macedonians (such as I) always reply in a fierce manner. That doesn't make us all Nationalists. If you wonder what does that have to say about "us" let me give you another point of view, by starting with the claim that i personally am not a nationalist, quite the opposite. Greece, or better say Hellas, is not at its best for long time now. Especially after the ongoing recession. The only thing that makes this broken country's people still proud, is their massivelly long and immersive history. The link to their ("our") glorious ancestors. Every Neo Greek is brought up learning about that and listening the whole world praise it. "Western civilation ows everything to Greece" "They gave birth to Democrasy, Reasoning, Freedom of Speach e.t.c", "Mathematics, Physics, Geometry, Astronomy, Poetry, Medicine....History xD e.t.c e.t.c". So please excuse the Neo Greeks if they feel butthurt over such topics. Being fierce is an outcome of been hurt not been Nationalists. Saying so, i think (at least i hope) that all Greeks will always stand in favor of national self-determination right. But there is a line between self-determination and imposture. Nevertheless i hope ,that for me at least, this will be the last time ever i reply to such topic. I grew tired of all that and i tend to believe now that we should all let it just pass. Having such ancestors is a burden, so maybe we should just leave it back and create something new on our own to be proud of.Something that this time we keep it for ourselves and not share it with the rest of the world. But i also have a stinging personality so i can't help but wonder also about new historians. What does it say for them neglecting Herodotus and his process? After all he "unfortunatelly" was the father of History as we know it today. Unfortunatelly^2 he was also "Greek" too...or maybe not?
Hey Stephan! I am attending your videos for some months now. Well done,very good job. Interesting, comprehensive and careful analysis!
One notice only about "the Slavic minorities suffered under the Metaxa's regime, for example Macedonians.." as you said. Macedonians were not a Slavic minority as Bulgaria tried from 19th ce. until 2 WW to present them in order to have claims in (Greek) Macedonia and Thessaloniki. In north Greece, in Macedonia, mostly in rural areas, there was an important part of the population that spoke a Slavic idiom either exclusively or parallel to Greek. These were self-identified in their majority as Greeks, were Greek Orthodox and interestingly supported Right political parties and passionately the king. Indeed Metaxa's regime fought this dialect, this slavic idiom, very hard, forbade its usage and removed Slavic lyrics from local songs. This decision I think belonged to the policy of Metaxas to prevent Bulgaria from putting hand to those populations and therefore to the territories. Anyway it's widely known that language solely is not a factor of ethnic identity. And to end up, those people fought bravely against the Axis and suffered a lot under the triple occupation (Germans, Italians, Bulgarians) of Greece, especially the last ones who made several violences in North Greece.
Keep going with the good work.
Kindly,
Nikos 🇬🇷
Thanks for sharing your insights.
Well put
?
Α
The question as to why Greece didn’t join the Axis is one I have often wondered about. Thanks to your usual excellent research and presentation I now have a better insight.
Great!!
@@HistoryHustle First of all king George pulled the strings in the 1936 regime not Metaxas. The axis powers wanted to take Epirus from Greece (the Italians) and Macedonia (the Bulgarians). So Greece allying itselft with the axis was unthinkable. Then Metaxas reiterated the old WWI argument about the islands - Britain was going to take them if they saw us as enemies and then we stood to lose Epirus plus Macedonia plus islands to the various foreign usurpers !
So Greece despite the EON and the salute was in favour of the allies, but iniitally we could not do so openly because the allies had no forces to cover Greece against an attack from Germany.
As for the dictatorship it died after the 28th of October, because any reasons for it were now obsolete. Unfortunately after the war the threat of dictatorship reemerged because of the antics of the left. The leftists are those who unwillingly perhaps gave power to the diehards of the right.
So informative and objective point of view!! You made my day bro🇬🇷👍
Glad to read, thanks! Enjoy the rest of your day 👍
"Alors, c est la guerre"
Great video Mr.
Congrats
👍
Et L'amour! Les deux n'ont pas des règles.
I wanted to start typing since the video began guessing there would be missing information but you've covered it all of at least I know. Congrats!
Thanks for your reply.
Stefan, thank you for sharing this historic fact. I wish a happy weekend ✌️👍
You too, Jesse. Thanks!
Metaxas wasn't a fascist,he was an old fashion ultra-conservative who disliked Parlamentary democracy,in 1936 he was the leader of a small party and became Prime Minister with the support of the two major parties after a very long political deadlock and he was given a carte-blanche for five months.
With the support of the King he simply closed the Parlament for good because of the communists were about to revolt.
He reorganized the Army and fortified the Greek-Bulgarian border(Metaxas Line).The Greek Army in 1940 was well trained and had high morale,but lacked modern equipment because of Greece's very limited financial resources.The Army won the battle against the Italians in Albania but had no chance against the Germans who had the best and most modern army on the world at the time and had allready defeted the French the privious year.
His pre-war strategic analysis was absolotely correct,in case of Axis victory,Greece would lose a lot o land to Bulgaria and Italy,in case of Allied victory could claim the Dodekanese,Northern Epirus and maybe Cyprus.
Thanks for sharing your insights. Opinions about Metaxas vary.
Loved the video Stefan!
You made me see Metaxas in a better light thanks to your explanation, not simply as a dictator but also a patriot and a realist.
Thanks as always Robert!
In reality Metaxas actually was never given a choice as in case he agreed with Mussolini or Hitler he’d be either killed or gone out of the country. The Greek people at the time were far away from such as philosophies.
In short, Metaxas was forced to deny collaboration.
@@dannypantazis8461 it was the only reasonable thing to do, what was the alternative? Losing Macedonia to Bulgaria and hippirus if not half of the mainland to Italy and most certainly Crete to British?
@@dannypantazis8461 by the way greeks wasn't that far from those ideologies as we like to think nowadays at least a notable percentage of them
Thessaloniki for example was the birthplace of the notorious " EEE " the Greek Nazi party
That by the way was outlawed during Metaxas regime...
@@dannypantazis8461 Any Patriot would deny that
Another great video professor! Thank you so much for the very informative video lessons on Metaxes! I have always wanted to learn more about him being a ww2 history buff but have never really made time for it.
Many thanks Nick!
A most interesting and informative episode indeed!
Thanks for your reply.
Thanks again Stefan for an excellent video. I had little appreciation of the differences between the Metaxas and other dictatorial regimes. I don’t believe Germany would’ve invaded Greece as Hitler was concerned about the presence of British bombers in Greece that could reach the Ploiesti oilfields, but Mussolini with his badly planned and executed invasion of Greece forced Hitler’s hand. Unfortunately the Greek army was exhausted after nearly 6 months of continuous fighting to realign and adequately block the Monastir gap. The 2 divisions of the ANZACs the 6th Australian and 2nd NZ with the 1st British armoured brigade, with 2 under equipped Greek divisions (the 12th and 20th) were no match for the combined panzer thrust with complete air dominance by the Luftwaffe. The story of the ANZACs in Greece including Crete is worth doing.
Thanks for your reply.
Greece was like a interesting little corner of Europe in WW2
Agree.
Very interesting. Great video. Love the channel. Keep up the great work 👍👍
👍👍
Excellent video. Keep.up the great content.👍
Thanks for replying!
Ι enjoyed watching your videos for some time now.Since you are occupied in producing videos about my country,I arrived to this conclusion.
As a Greek and avid reader of History books,I can now fully appreciate the quality and the validity of your informations concerning other countries too.
Many thanks. I do have more content on Greece. Every two weeks a video about Greek history will be released during most of this summer. Hope you'll like them. Cheers!
@@HistoryHustle Just please, recall the "Macedonian" bs... I understand that foreigners lack the proper insight but there is no macedonian ethnicity..
You are a historian, so please tell me what the Ancient Kingdom of Macedonia (whose expansion started the Hellenistic Era) has to do with slavic culture? The only Macedonians are, were and will be Greek.. There is nothing slavic about Macedonia..
You can even make a whole video about how and why some slavs today are indoctrinated to the point they are calling themselves "Macedonians"..
Thank for your insight. Thank you for sharing your geniuses. Professor Stefan, in high school they did talk about the "Rise of Dictators in Europe Post Great War." But they only Cover the Following: Francisco Franko ( Spain) , Joseph Stalin ( USSR ), Benito Musselini ( Italy) and Adolf Hitler ( The 3rd Rich Germany). Thank for sharing the rise of dictators in Hungary and Greece as well as Collaborators in Finland , Bulgaria, and Netherlands
Thanks for your reply.
An important history Question & excellent historical Answers & explaining about Greece History during WW2 Thanks Sir Stefan for sharing
👍👍👍
Well done and quite enjoyable!
Thanks!
Ioannis Metaxas had a really big support from the Greek people too when he chose to bring the country on the side of the allies. Greeks supported the alliance since the first years of the 20th century (ww1). His regime also was much more open and less brutal to the opposite opinions. It was more of a protective regime than another dictatorship.
Thanks for sharing this.
Metaxas was a pragmatist, even so he was a graduate from German military school and he had close contacts with German officers he understood the world that he lived in and that Greece should side with the Naval powers.
3 days after the declaration of war by Italy, he held a meeting with jurnalists and explain them why the Axis powers are bound to lose and that is in the best interest for Greece to stay in England's side no matter what.
Thanks for sharing your insights.
This is a very interesting video on a fairly lesser known topic
Thanks 👍
wow, as a greek myself i knew a small part of all these you talked about. Thank you so much for this informative video. You deserve a subscribe
Awesome, welcome to the channel!
This was a surprisingly good presentation of the Metaxas regime and its differences with the main totalitarian powers of the time. Hats off!
Thanks for your reply!
@@HistoryHustle I discovered your channel today and i really liked your content! You include also the "minor" parts of history that people rarely talk about. I am subscribing for sure, keep up the good work!
Welcome to the channel.
nice one Stefan!
an other aspect that probably played some role was the events of ww1.
Greece tried to stay neutral and the Greek king at the time was pro central powers but this didn't stopped Bulgaria from invading and caused a small civil war between the pro prime minister venizelos fraction and the royalist ..
Thanks for your reply!
Very well done informative video lad!!!😎🇬🇷
Many thanks!!
Interesting video 👍🏻
Thanks!
I believe there has been some thinking on the Greek side of what would Germany think of Greece as a possible ally, yet it came to nothing since Germany had already other allies on the area. As for Metaxas death, there’ s some mystery about it, as well as about the death of his successor, Koryzis. Thank you for the excellent video.
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Excellent work,I like your style!!!Love from 🇬🇷
Thanks for your reply.
Excellent Work
Thanks for watching.
I think 1 of the reasons Metaxas wasn’t claiming parts of classical Greece was because there where no Greeks left in that places because of the population exchange between 🇬🇷 and 🇹🇷.
You make Great videos Stefanos 💪
Thanks for your reply!
You pronounced all Greek words and names quite well. In Metaxas, the stress is on "xas". Very nice video. One little mistake is that the Nazis met with considerable resistance in the northern border but prevailed. They have acknowledged this officially and treated prisoners with honour.
Thanks for your reply. Man, these Greek names are a challenge!
@@HistoryHustle sometimes are challenge even for Greeks
The "OXI" was ctinge tho
Oh man the thumbnail is so humourous to me
👍
Also A friendly reminder that I will be in Haarlem at the end of July for a couple weeks and will get in touch with you on patreon before I leave to see if your schedule will possibly be open one day for a coffee in Utrecht!
Would love to, but if all goes well I'll travel to the Balkans mid-July till mid / end of August.
@@HistoryHustle Wow! Have fun my friend and please make some videos while you are there!
Hey Stephan, great video! I do have a question, which is what the opinion of the Bulgarians was about Greece, since they allowed German troops to use their territory but didn't participate in the invasion
Thanks for your reply. The Bulgarians ended up annexing a large part of northern Greece and there was a harsh occupation regime there. Hope to cover this in the future.
The Bulgarians were seen as the biggest enemy of Turkey by both Metaxas and Venizelos. And fear them a lot. See the Metaxa line and the Turkey-Greece alliance against Bulgaria at that time. Bulgaria until recently was the eldest enemy of the Hellenic people since Byzantine times. It was seen as brutal people and although there is the stereotype of a Greek grandma nudging about the Turks in northern Greece transforms into a granma cursing about the Bulgars and not so much about the Turks.
Greece expanded it's territories 2 times on the expense of Bulgaria: after the 2nd Balkan war and after the Great war, acquiring territories previously granted as Bulgarian.
If less anvy on Bulgaria, 1st Balkan war Balkan alliance could have pushed Turkey out of Europe,
recognizing Bulgarian expansion on the Konstantinopol and the Bosfor.
Alliance ended up in break up war, with Bulgaria losing a lot.
@@HistoryHustle alright.
@@serdradion4010
1) Bulgaria itself started the 2nd Balkan War on Greece and Serbia. Bulgaria demanded Thessaloniki from Greece and North Macedonia from Serbia. So, in the summer of 1913 decided to attack without even a declaration of war. Bulgaria lost and as a consequence lost areas gained by its opponents, such as Eastern Macedonia.
2) In the 1st World War, Bulgaria sided with Germany although Greece offered to give some land to Bulgaria in exchange for taking the side of Entente. Bulgaria lost and Western Thrace was gained by Greece.
3) In the 2nd World War Bulgaria sided with Nazi Germany and annexed Western Thrace from Greece after the German attack. Nazi Germany lost and Bulgaria although sided with Germany and occupied Greece, didn't lose land.
4) In conclusion: Bulgaria in the 20th century attacked 3 times against its neighbors unprovoked. All these times Bulgaria attacked first without a declaration of war in hope of gaining land. Lost all those 3 times. So, no, Bulgaria isn't the victim here. She paid the consequences of her actions.
Thanks for another great video.BZ.
Metaxas knew the Germans extremely well, at the Potsdam Kriegsschule his awestruck professors avowed that no problem was insoluble for ‘den kleinen Moltke’
Thanks for your reply BZ!
What's that 4:00 map representing? I kinda get the green parts, probably Italian claims, but what about the blue ones?
Very good analysis on Metaxas. It was one of the most interesting regimes of this time. I don't know if I would use "totalitarian" when describing it, though I've seen people calling it that.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Italy_during_World_War_II#:~:text=With%20the%20Axis%20invasion%20of,territories%20of%20Corsica%20and%20Tunisia.
As a Greek and not a sympathizer of Metaxas or any other dictator, I can state to you that Metaxάs was more or less a dictator but not in the way that Mussolini and Hitler were. As well stated by Stefan he tried to build the profile of the father figure of the people. Although he was a military man and a very capable one indeed, his regime was truly nor racist neither imperialistic or militaristic. Totalitarian? Yes, but those were dark times for Gr politics in anyway and for whoever was ruling Greece. More or less there were prosecutions of the opposite side eveytime the leader was changing. And we must give a credit to Metaxas, because although he personally was fond of Germans (he had studied at german war school), he didn't aligned with the axis because his patriotism and his political instinct prevented him from that and finally he was right. He always claimed that Gr as a sea nation should not make the greatest naval force an enemy.
Thanks for replying.
exceptional analysis!!
Thanks!
This is why words have specific meanings that we should know. Yes he was a dictator but he was not a facists. By the way he established the 1st of May as the labor day and made ''8 hours work day''. Personally i wouldn't call him a hero but neither an extremly evil just a person of his time.
I understand.
5:02 there where no minoric of slavic "Makedonians" in Greece. Slavic nations came to Balcans 1000 years after Alexander the Greate,whose ancestors came from the Peloponnese. We are forced to tell you the same and the same things all the time
I'm actually quite surprised some Greeks (I pressume nationalist) can be so fierce about it. And I thought Serbs could be fierce 😅
@@HistoryHustle You don't have to be neither nationalist, nor fierce, about a certain historical fact. No one is meaning disrespect, you did an excellent work with the video. People are just pointing to a mistake you made, in hopes of improvement. That's all, cheers!
@@HistoryHustle You claim to be a historian. Rather than slander Greeks as "nationalists", can you provide us a single accredited historian on earth (other than from Skopje) that cliams Slavs are founders of the Hellenistic period as half the country now claims?
@@HistoryHustle
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonians_(Greeks)
I see this topic has sure attention and I'm sure others feel the same. All I can say is that I can't wait to visit cities like Skopje and see what it's like.
You should also check Ioannis Metaxas' Diary and his Scrapbook when he was in Prussia
Greece was the only country that was under German, Italian and Bulgarian occupation during the war at the same time, yet they somehow managed to get out and win back their freedom. It's just outstanding what small nations are capable of.
True. Do notice also dismembered Yugoslavia was under German, Italian and Bulgarian occupation.
@@HistoryHustle Yes totally agree
This wasn t the fascist salut dude, it was called the Helios (sun) salut in Ancient Greece and also Rome, the nazi-fascist group were famed for having and that s why evebody nowadays thinks it s the fascist salut. Up untill then it was just a salut.
In the 1930s most Europeans referred to it as such. What its origins are is irrelevant regarding this video.
So you re telling me that because then the most of the europeans said something we should continue to so and consider the truth irrelevant? Now i understand why your video have so many inaccuracies.
Stefan, Can you cover Poland's pre war government? Thanks.
ua-cam.com/video/s8rg3q7W_mU/v-deo.html
thx
👍
There is no Macedonian nationality
Macedonia is Greece
Says the Greek nationalist.
Do Macedonians themselves consider them Greeks?
@@HistoryHustle be more specific. The Macedonians in Greece consider themselves Greek. The ones in "north Macedonia" consider themselves either Albanians or Slavs
Have to research that. Only thing I've noticed is that some Greeks (nationalists I pressume) can get really fierce about it. I thought Serbs could be fierce when talking about history.. 😅
@@HistoryHustle You seem to always reply with this sentence, without presenting any facts, or proper replies to the people who are answering to you.
Overall a well documented video. However by reading your answers to some of the comments ( where you tend to use too often the term nationalist) to anyone who dares (haha)to have an objection i am skeptical to point my objections. Anyway the Netherlands suffered major casualties of innocent civilians when Rotterdam was bombarded in ww2 ..however my man you defended yourselves for 5 days!!! Just 5 days. Ok you did your best and i salute you. Greece fought back both Italy and Germany for more than 200 days . If you wonder why we did not join the axis is cause we Greeks have honour dignity and bravery in our DNA. So no surrender and no cooperation with evil powers could be possible. And our long history (only the modern one r.x ww1 and ww2 proves that). And if you call yourself a historian ( and i dont disagree) do a research on vardarska then Skopje before calling them with their third and tito given ...stollen name.!!! P.s If for you somene who loves his country and respects all others is a nationalist ,do not call yourself a historian.!!
Irrelevant comparison with too many different factors.
@@HistoryHustle not at all irrelevant..on the contrary to the point....the only irrelevant comparison is the contribution of The Netherlands in ww2 in comparison with Greece.
Fun fact: Another difference between the regime of Ioannis Metaxas and the regimes of Mussolini and Hitler was that while they believed that their dictatorship should be maintained at all costs, as it was the ideal state for them, Metaxas did not believe so. In particular, he believed that his regime was a temporary situation and was planning after the war the establishment of a new regime, which would be similar to that of Ancient Sparta, while in fact he had already begun preparations for his new constitution, which apparently was not completed on the one hand due to his death and on the other due to subsequent events. Nevertheless, all his notes and preparations for it have been saved. Congratulations on your excellent work, because you gave us answers to questions that unfortunately the school does not give.
Thanks for sharing this additional information.
@@HistoryHustle no worries 👍. Here is the link for anyone who wants to study and verify the Constitution prepared by Metaxas: ioannismetaxas.gr/To%20Politevma%20Metaxa%20GAK%20no10%20Entupo.pdf
Very well presented...
thanks!
A very good analysis overall, other than the fact that the the only real Macedonias are the people of Northern Greece. Since you are a historian you may want to dig a little a bit deeper and make a video about the stolen name and dentity.
I meant: ‘Slavo- Macedonians’.
Metaxas knew very well that a sea nation like Greece couldn't go to the opposite side of the biggest sea nation in the world, Great Britain. It could be suicidal to do this. Britain would isolated all ports in Greece. Also about the Όχι thing, he actually said "Alors c' est la guerre". And last but not least: you referred to the Slavs as "Macedonians"?? Come on man.. you're a historian. According to your great job in your channel you're way better than that. Nice video otherwise 👏
Thanks for your reply. I meant: ‘Slavo- Macedonians’.
An interesting approach. Of course I agree that in Greece Metaxas had differences, if we compare it with Mussolini and Hitler. As you referred in video about Macedonians there are highly respected Greek historians and geopolitical analysts disagree with the research of German institutions about minorities, It would be very interesting to hear your historic arguments in a video about
1.The termin of Macedonians
2. The four stages of the Macedonian issue.
3. The practices of suppression of minorities in Greece, Bulgaria Serbia and Turkey and demographics report of the Ottoman empire at the beginning and at the end of 19th century, early 20 and demographic report after the second world war of Yugoslavia
4. the explanation of different maps of British E. Stanford 1877 and of the Austrian H. Kiepert 1876.
5. The protocol of Athens 5-5-1913, Greek-Serbian agreement 1-6-1913, delimitation minutes 21-7-1913 and the treaty of Bucharest 28-7-1913
6. The role of Stalin's and Tito's strategies in the Balkan region.
7. The history and the role of German policy in Balkans and institutions, purposes
8. The role of Matthew Nimetz UN doc. S/Res/817 (1993) and UN doc. S/RES/25855 (28 May 1993).
I would appreciate to hear your approach to this topic including all those.
Much to cover. Can't say when and if I get the list done.
@@HistoryHustle Thank you for the answer i know is a difficult task a lot of things to search to end up in a conclusion. Have a nice day!
Some notes that people tend to forget: Metaxas quit the army during the national schism and was exiled in 1917 in Corsica. Also his regime was based on Oliveira Salazar's regime of Estado Novo with a mix of Prussian militarism Metaxas had learned while studying in Berlin before WW1.
Thank you for sharing this.
04:58 Macedonians are Greeks, descendants of Philippos B' and Alexander the Great, not Slavs. Skopians are Slavs, which is completely an other thing. With all the respect to Skopians, Greeks and your work, having a History channel requires to be more informed about such sensitive issues.
An ongoing discussion by nationalist Greeks.
@@HistoryHustle History teachers around the world suggest that Alexander the Great was Macedonian, not Slav. That is why the Hellenistic legacy. Or you really say that Alexander the Macedonian was not Greek? LOL Then why the new name North Macedonia? Macedonia (Greeks) , North Macedonia (SlavMacedonians)
ua-cam.com/video/l5IzIGHWLd0/v-deo.html
Better luck next time.
Well it's not about nationalism, it's about tons of bibliography, anyway your content is great, showing parts of history rarely to be spoken. Keep it up, and expect comments like mine, especially when dealing with Eastern Europe and Balkans 😂
@@HistoryHustle so tell us your opinion man ? Historicaly what Macedonians are ? what Alexander the Great ?
Have to research that. Only thing I've noticed is that some Greeks (nationalists I pressume) can get really fierce about it. I thought Serbs could be fierce 😅
Much like Salazar in Portugal, the pre-existing pro-British attitude prevailed.
Indeed.
Portugal is England's oldest friend because they both fear the Spanish and French depending on the century.
Good presentation :) However just a small correction, Metaxas wasn't exactly a "general". He had military experience, but he was actually a leader of a small far-right party, with 7 active members of parliament (out of 300). Then, in the middle of a political confusion, he was named by the king as Prime Minister, and then he took advantage of his power to establish his dictatorship.
Thanks for your reply, Alex!
Hi Stefan, Dank voor het delen. Een hoop nieuwe insights verkregen. De uiteenzetting vanaf minuut twee zou misschien wat meer toelichting kunnen krijgen, want ik durf te stellen dat 95% hier niet de volledige context mee krijgt. Verder zie ik dat je een strikt onderscheid maakt tussen fascist Italie en nazi Duitsland. Teveel zie je dat dit ,onterecht, op een hoop wordt gegooid. Compliment !
Bedankt voor je reactie, Marcel!
Almost the entire video was correct but one thing
There are not foreign Macedonians
Only Greeks are Macedonian the Slavic population of northern Greece were Bulgarians and Serbians that it
Do North Macedonians also think so?
@@HistoryHustle do you have discord i wont be toxic or something, i only talk with facts i have a file of historical facts about exactly the same topic if you want i can send it to you
Απλά το μόνο θέμα είναι να ξέρεις ελληνικά την γλώσσα που πραγματικά μιλούσαν και μιλάνε οι Μακεδόνες εδώ και 3000 χρόνια
I dont have any problem with you or your channel you are making good videos just to clear that topic i hope you can understand
@@HistoryHustle Vardaskans* before the history stealing syndrome kicked in 🤣
I'm actually quite surprised some Greeks (I pressume nationalist) can be so fierce about it. And I thought Serbs could be fierce 😅
Feel free to e-mail me. See adress below the video.
@@HistoryHustle In many polls from different groups of Hellens that were made about this more than 90% every time agreed that the agreement Tsipras and Zaev signed is traitorous. Back then 2 million Hellens gathered to protest in the central square of Athens, Syntagma, in a peaceful manner. When around 20 dudes of unknown origin ( though a lot has been speculated ) started throwing rocks and harassing the police guarding the parliament, the whole crowd was shouting at them to stop and go away. And yet, the police used chemicals against everyone because of this, even children and elders. Again, let me emphasize that around 2 million people gathered there that day and there would be even more if not for the geography of Hellas. The Prespes agreement was signed against the will of the vast majority of Hellens. Thankfully the Vardaskans have already violated it so when an actual hellenic government comes to power we will be completely legal in canceling it.
Thanks for reading!
macedonians arent a slavic people
you mean slavs like serb and bulgars that were living in northern greece
I meant Slavic Macedonians.
@@HistoryHustle there isnt such thing
Metaxas was a high decorated officer in the greek army , and he was sent to berlin for 4 years to the milirary academy where he studied the german tactics etc and he became a prodigy of a cadet. His time there was enough to make him prefer the english and the french as allies . And they say on the day that the italian ambassador demanded greece to surrender or go to war his responce was simply alors c est la guerre , wich means ‘’ then it is war ‘’ .
That must explain why he said that he knows their character well.
well, if he had said "yes" like he had done 24 years before (and sentenced to death by military courts, though he escaped) he would have been assassinated within 48 hours
Perhaps yes.
Macedonians? What's that?
You tell me.
As a Greek that live in the Netherlands, I only have to say that the name "metaxas" is kinda pronounced wrong, it's "metaXAS" not "meTAxas" ..just saying, other than that nice video - Although some inaccuraces are there 5:00 "Macedonians" ...a Macedonian is a Greek living in the Macedonia region ...he's not a slavic person he's a Greek person.
Great Alexander was also a Greek borned in Macedonia region. Macedonia is a region of Greece
Don't get confused with the "North Macedonia" that has nothing to do with Macedonia just our Greek leaders "sold" the name as they are anti-Greeks and corrupted to the point almost every Greek hates them
I meant: ‘Slavo- Macedonians’. Thanks for watching.
Make one video about what happended in the Greco Turkish war. It would be very intresting
One day for sure!
I believe that if Greece joined the Axis the same thing would happen as in Romania, Greece would probably lose some territory (Thrace,Ionian Islands, Crete, and maybe some Aegean Islands) with the promise of getting some more in the future. (Like Cyprus of land from Turkey)
Perhaps yes.
He basically wanted to beat Italy at its own game of fascism
He thought it was working for Italy and thus would be necessary for Greece to survive Italy’s ambitions
Soon more on Italy.
Great video indeed Stefan! If I may add one comment. Metaxas never actually replied with a NO. This is a metaphor. The Italian ambassador gave him an ultimatum as you mention in your video. Metaxas' reply was indeed in French, but it was "Alors, c'est la guerre", which means "Then, it is war". Thanks again for the great video! Μπράβο!
reference at the last paragraph of the "Opposing plans" section: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Italian_War
Thanks for your reply, Nikos!
@@HistoryHustle you’re welcome! 😊
Another great video Stefan.....Metaxis might have been a Dictator but at least he had half a brain :)
Thanks for replying.
there is always a common misconception when we talk about patriotism.. some people dont understand that love your nation and your history is not nationalism, it is called patriotism.. also some leftists have misconception that if something is against communism is same with fascism (nazi ideology)...
have in mind that back in those days not only western nation want to interfere with local politics but also soviet union did the same in a need for expansion..
we all se all those issues still today.
no mater if we talk about soviet union or NWO or USA or NATO the goal stays the same for all of them!! EXPANSION
Exactly
Ok.
Your video is remarkably accurate. So is the analysis of Metaxas' character. It is true that Metaxas had anti-militarist tendencies. This can also be seen in the important efforts he made for the Greek-Turkish rapprochement and in his official trip to Ankara.
Also, as you rightly point out, he had a trusting relationship with the Jewish community. The Jews of Thessaloniki voted for Metaxas.
Your historical analysis is excellent.
Macedonians are Greek not Slavs...
Are you sure you are a history teacher?
He is a Marxist TV watcher who parrots whatever the media says in true fierce Marxist fashion. He has absolutely ZERO training or knowledge in the reality of the past; i.e. history!
I meant: ‘Slavo- Macedonians’.
And historian Roderick Beaton says the following:
"Macedonia, in the 1920s and 1930s, would continue to be home to many who had previously adhered to the Bulgarian Church, and who still spoke their own Slavic dialect. No Greek government has ever recognized this group, known colloquially as ‘Slavo- Macedonians’, as an official minority, although between the wars they may have numbered as many as a quarter of a million."
Greece. Biography of a Modern Nation (Roderick Beaton) 237.
@Peter: I'm far from such a thing. Sad you feel the urge to make such a reply.
@@HistoryHustle There is no such a thing as Slavo-Macedonians , and demonstrating the sayings of people that being paid to change history is hideous...
History, reality and truth can't change no matter how many people are going to be manipulated or paid to do it...
Slavs are slavs...
Macedonians are part of Greece as Hepirotes, Cretans, Peloponisians etc...
No historian that respects himelf and his subject would say such an unhistoric huge lie...
In a few years, you will yell us that Leonidas was not Greek but maybe some Libyan guy...
ENOUGH WITH THE HISTORY FOR 🤡...
Macedonia is Hellemic...
Slavs are slavs...
Republic of Vardarska is full of Bulgars, Albanians and Serbs...
You can call it Centrobalkanian Republica of Slavs...
But you can't seal the identity of other people and give it there just because it's convinient...
How those people are looking themselves in the mirror after letting such lies and misleading info get out of their mouth... I can't imagine!!!
@@HistoryHustle You are far from such a thing, but as it appears, you felt the urge to delete his comment....
God... Your character is a disgrace... First you say lies about the identity of a nation and then you delete other people's opinions...
Nice character there... Really democratic and with respect to the freedom of speech...
I keep often wondering why Greece didn't turn fascist in spite of having lost Anatolia to Turks and getting utterly humiliated.
Hope this video answers that for you!
Perhaps because Greece is profoundly Western and Democratic.
@@HistoryHustle Thank you for replying me. Yes, this has answered my doubt which I had for three years!
@@gocool_2.0 it was Metaxas way of thinking. He was very pragmatic and didn't glorified war as Musollini or Hitler often did .😉
In the 20s after the Asia Minor campaign the Greek intelectual scene went through a process of national depression, a period of accepting defeat. That movement redefined the ''Great Idea'' (the idea of establishing a state in both sides of Agean sea which would be having Constantinopole as it's capital) not in territorial terms but in cultural. I think the reason for that turn was the dynamics in the region, Greek elites realized their limitations, unlike Germany, Greece didn't have the strength to go for one more round. There are political, geopolitical, cultural and social factors for a country accepting defeat, bottom line I think it' just power dynamics.
Metaxas was a realist. He knew that Germany could not prevail in the Mediterranean and neither Italy. Also, Germany had no grip in Greece unlike the UK. If it wasn't for the salute, I don't think anyone would have ever called him fascist. He wasn't much different than the average politician of his time.
I disagree for some bit. Although the salute made him look like a fascist the Metaxas regime had totalitarian tentencies which wasn't in each other autocratic European country of that time.
He may have been autocratic but I don't think we should judge the past by our own standards. The only European countries that were democratic according to the contemporary understanding were probably the UK and France. The UK didn't mind too much for Metaxa's political beliefs. Neither these were prohibiting Metaxas to capitalize on the west democratic coalition, rejecting Hitler and Mussolini.
It's true that not much countries in Europe remained democratic during the 1930s.
Not to mention the sinking of the Greek cruiser Elli by Italian submarines in 15th August, the day of the Dormition of Virgin Mary as many Greek faithful believers would remember, opening hostilities with Italy and giving hunches of imminent conflict with the country.
Thanks for sharing.
Macedonians are Greek not Slavic.
*Slavic Macedonians.
Greece is a sea power, and we will always join with sea powers.
Understandable.
I has have often wondered (If) Greece Hellas , had hypothetically speaking joined the Axis and they the Axis had been victorious on Main land Europe . Would Greece have got Constantinople back off of The Turkish Occupiers ???
No, because the land powers go with land power. Geopolitical Germany will always be more sympathetic to Turkey than Greece.
@@KonstantinosZagoris Yes I think you are indeed correct as the Turks did fight with the Germans during the Great War and sat on the fence during WWII. Orthough the Turks did play both sides as usual. Even today the Germans Seem more pro Turkish, than showing more Solidarity with their fellow European / EU and Democratic Greek member.
Interesting what-if scenario...
Very interesting video. An other key difference between the Metaxas regime and Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany was the who had the actual power. In the two countries Musolini and Hitler were the undisputed leaders but in Greece that was not the case. Metaxas came in power with the support of king George II (1922-24,1935-47) in 1936 lacking a parliamentary majority or the approval of a military clique. As such he owned his position to royal favor. To give you an idea during the first anniversary of the 4rth August coup the king sent a congratulation letter at the very last minute exactly to show who was in charge. And through his diary we know that Metaxas was afraid that he would be replaced. Therefore the dictatorship was in reality the king's regime with Metaxas as a proxy. George had spent his years of exile during the Second Hellenic Republic (1924-35) in Great Britain and as such he had picked his loyalties even before being restored to the throne.
Thanks for sharing your insights.
Italy was still a monarchy. Though quiescent and collaborationist, it had a huge part of armed force bound by oath to answer to the King not Mussolini
I don't understand the question. It's like asking why Britain dint joined the Axis. Greece has always been a maritime nation. It's fate is aligned to the western maritime nations. The politicians may have different political inclinations. The nation is steadily oriented to the West.
It's explained in the video.
It's a reasonable question to ask.
Ok first of all if all of your followers salut with the fascist salut and you are the leader then you are a fascist.
Second during WW1 king Konstantin 1 of Greece try to the German camp and the Greek people rebelled against him.
So it's was more that the people of Greece would rebell against Metaxas if he joined the axis.
Greece after WW1 and the the arrival of Greek refugees fleeing the Turkish genocide was in an extremely bad economic situation. They neede to feed the Greek people first then before thinking of expansion.
Metaxas was a fascist he just didn't have the economic and military power to support him like other fascists. By the way the Greeks made a lot of fun of Mussolini and thought he was a clown so if Metaxas would behave like Mussolini he would have lost the Greek people.
Last I believe that the Greek people said NO Metaxas couldn't do anything else.
"your followers salut with the fascist salut and you are the leader then you are a fascist."
It's not that black & white. I explained it in the video. Thanks for sharing your other insides.
No thats completely wrong
“Send us wheat, or send us coffins.”
That was during the occupation.
@@HistoryHustle my apologies I was assuming this was about a possible collaboration government during occupation, premature comment
4:58 when you say Macedonia historycly to what exactly you want referring to???? Do you have any idea of what Macedonia is /was? I'm saying this bcuz I thot that is an historic video and I think that the part of its a huge mistake for them ho like history!
I meant: ‘Slavo- Macedonians’.
@@HistoryHustle thank you.
Metexas was simply a national authoritarian leader whose political philosophy was much opposed to both fascism and nazism. Churchill therefore felt an obligation to support Greece despite putting a military strain on Britain. He felt a moral obligation to do so. The Greeks, unlike the surrendering French, were more committed to the fight.
Think there were many similirarities but also differences.
"Alors, c'est la guerre" = "Then it is war" is said to be the real answer instead of "no" (ochi)
Indeed.
Metaxas was the grandfather. Thats how he saw himself. He wanted true Nationalism, not statism, which was seen in Italy. He wanted people to praise the Nation as a whole, and not one single man. That is why he failed at the populist front.
Theres also a book that goes in-depth on the Greek-German collaboration government that transpired during occupation. "The Untold History of Greek Collaboration with Nazi Germany", by Markos Vallianatos. Its a very well detailed book that also has photographs. Its very interesting how Greeks were welcoming of the Germans, but were completely mocking the italians.
Thanks for sharing your insights.
Minorities such as Macedonians???Im a Macedonian and I was born in the region where Alexander himself was born.I was never a minoritie in my country.I really hope this was a verbal misconduct
*Slavic Macedonians.
My good sir 2k years ago there was no such thing as slavic macedonians.
"a cornered fox is more dangerous than a jackal"-Gray fox
Greece is the fox I guess...
@@HistoryHustle yes Greece is the fox
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I am a Macedonian, and I am a Hellen not a Slav. I can also confirm by stories from my great grandpa that the so called "Macedonians" of Slavic origin were self-identifying as Bulgarians back then. And many of them joined the axis against us too .Therefore by calling them Macedonians is insulting and dishonouring the memory of my ancestors.
I meant: ‘Slavo- Macedonians’.
@@HistoryHustle The term "slavomacedonian" is not even 100 years old. These people were calling themselves Bulgarian before.