Dimitrios Psarros (; 1893 – April 17, 1944) was a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
army officer, founder and leader of the resistance group
National and Social Liberation
National and Social Liberation (, ''Ethnikí kai Koinonikí Apelefthérosis'' (EKKA)) was a Greek Resistance movement during the Axis occupation of Greece. It was founded in autumn 1942 by Colonel Dimitrios Psarros and politician Georgios Ka ...
(EKKA), the third-most significant organization of the
Greek Resistance movement after the
National Liberation Front (EAM) and the
National Republican Greek League
The National Republican Greek League ( el, Εθνικός Δημοκρατικός Ελληνικός Σύνδεσμος (ΕΔΕΣ), ''Ethnikós Dimokratikós Ellinikós Sýndesmos'' (EDES)) was one of the major resistance groups formed during t ...
(EDES). In 1944, he was executed by Greek communist forces.
Life
Psarros was born in 1893 in the village of Chryso, in the province of Parnassida,
Phocis
Phocis ( el, Φωκίδα ; grc, Φωκίς) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Var ...
. He attended the
Greek Army Academy, and in 1916 he graduated as
Second Lieutenant of Artillery.
Psarros first saw action in the
Balkan Wars as a volunteer, while still being a cadet in the Army Academy. In 1916 he joined the
Venizelist
Venizelism ( el, Βενιζελισμός) was one of the major political movements in Greece from the 1900s until the mid-1970s.
Main ideas
Named after Eleftherios Venizelos, the key characteristics of Venizelism were:
*Greek irredentism: ...
National Defence government. He fought in the
Macedonian front of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the
Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War
Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War or Allied Powers intervention in the Russian Civil War consisted of a series of multi-national military expeditions which began in 1918. The Allies first had the goal of helping the Czechoslovak Leg ...
(in
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
) as a
Captain, where he was injured, and in the
Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922) There have been several Greco-Turkish Wars:
*Greek War of Independence (1821–1830), against the Ottoman Empire
*Undeclared war in 1854 during the Crimean War, with Greek irregulars invading Ottoman Epirus ( Epirus Revolt of 1854) and Thessaly
* Fi ...
where, thanks to his bravery, his men were able to pass into Greece from
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
without many casualties. Before the war with the Turks, he was sent to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
for superior war studies and after his return of Asia Minor he served in the staff of the
Army of Evros, which played a critical role to Greek strategy and politics during these years. Subsequently, he taught in the newly created Greek War Academy. Later, he was among the organizers of the new Ministry of Aviation and served as Chief of Staff of an Army division.
In March 1935 he took part in the
failed Venizelist coup d'état. Along with scores of other Venizelist and Republican officers, he was court-martialled and dismissed from the Army, opening the way for the royalist Army leadership to restore the
Greek monarchy
The monarchy of Greece ( el, Μοναρχία της Ελλάδας, Monarchía tis Elládas) or Greek monarchy ( el, Ελληνική Μοναρχία, Ellinikí Monarchía) was the government in which a hereditary monarch was the sovereign of ...
in October. When Greece entered
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, he sought re-appointment into the armed forces but was refused by the
Ioannis Metaxas
Ioannis Metaxas (; el, Ιωάννης Μεταξάς; 12th April 187129th January 1941) was a Greek military officer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. He governed constitutionally for t ...
dictatorship.
Following the collapse of the front through the
German invasion of Greece
The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...
in April 1941 and the onset of a
triple occupation by Germany, Italy and Bulgaria, Psarros first attempted to organise a resistance group in
Amfissa with the help of Lt. Andreas Mitalas, but without success. Next he went to
Macedonia. There, in July 1941, he co-founded the organization ''Freedom'' (, ''Eleftheria'') with communists members, which deployed guerilla forces in the area of
Nigrita
Nigrita ( el, Νιγρίτα) is a town and a former municipality in the Serres regional unit, Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Visaltia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The ...
, Lachana, and Kalokastro of
Central Macedonia
Central Macedonia ( el, Κεντρική Μακεδονία, Kentrikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, consisting of the central part of the geographical and historical region of Macedonia. With a populat ...
, to fight the
Bulgarians
Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe.
Etymology
Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely unders ...
, who had followed the Germans into Greece, occupied much of northern Greece and had set their sights on permanent annexation. Unfortunately, Psarros was betrayed to the Axis Forces and was chased by them.
He fled to Athens, where in April 1942 he founded
EKKA
The Ekka is the annual agricultural show of Queensland, Australia. Its formal title is the Royal Queensland Show, and it is held at the Brisbane Showgrounds. It was originally called the Brisbane Exhibition, but it is more commonly known as the ...
along with other significant figures such as the politician
Georgios Kartalis, Colonel
Evripidis Bakirtzis and other army officers like Dimitrios Karachristos and Dimitrios Georgantas. The organisation's aims were to fight the
Axis
An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis
* Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...
occupation forces as long as the occupation lasted and, after liberation, work for social change, in a
social democratic direction. EKKA was also an anti-communist,
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
and Venizelist organisation. EKKA soon fielded its own guerrilla forces, named after the famed
5/42 Evzone Regiment
The 5/42 Evzone Regiment "Delvinaki" ( el, 5/42 Σύνταγμα Ευζώνων «Δελβινάκι», 5/42 ΣΕ) is an active infantry unit of the Hellenic Army. It was established in 1913 as an elite regiment of Evzones, recruited in Central Gre ...
and took action mainly in
Central Greece
Continental Greece ( el, Στερεά Ελλάδα, Stereá Elláda; formerly , ''Chérsos Ellás''), colloquially known as Roúmeli (Ρούμελη), is a traditional geographic region of Greece. In English, the area is usually called Central ...
, in the area of
Mount Gkiona, but its forces were of small size (around 1,000 fighters at its peak) in comparison to the size of
ELAS
The Greek People's Liberation Army ( el, Ελληνικός Λαϊκός Απελευθερωτικός Στρατός (ΕΛΑΣ), ''Ellinikós Laïkós Apeleftherotikós Stratós'' (ELAS) was the military arm of the left-wing National Liberat ...
(with 50,000 fighters at its peak) and EOEA (military arm of EDES, about 14,000 fighters).
Execution
On
Easter Monday, April 17, 1944, the 5/42 Regiment was attacked by the forces of
ELAS (controlled by the
Communist Party of Greece), who sought to have a monopoly in the political future of Greece after liberation, to disarm
EKKA and further strengthen its dominant military and political position after the anticipated liberation of Greece. His regiment was dissolved by ELAS and Psarros was executed while in captivity. According to testimonies his executor was the career colonel Efthimios Zoulas (Ευθύμιος Ζούλας). His body lay unburied for several days before it was interred at the local cemetery.
The assassination of Colonel Psarros was a dark point of Greek Resistance era. People of all resistant groups were shocked in the announcement of his death.
In 1945 he was promoted posthumously by the Hellenic Army tο the rank of
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
.
References
Sources
*''Solon Grigoriadis'', History of Modern Greece 1941-1974, Athens, Polaris
*''Dionisis Charitopoulos'', Aris, the Leader of the Rebels, Athens, Ellinika Grammata
*''Ioannis Papathanasiou'', Resistant organization of EKKA
*Special edition of Greek newspaper ''Eleftherotipia'', Occupation and Resistance 1941-1945, 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Psarros, Dimitrios
1890s births
1944 deaths
People from Delphi
Hellenic Army officers
Greek military personnel of World War I
Greek military leaders of World War II
Greek Resistance members
People sentenced to death by ELAS
Greek military personnel killed in World War II
Deaths by firearm in Greece
1944 murders in Greece
Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars
Greek military personnel of the Russian Civil War
Greek military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)