The Greek National Socialist Party ( el, Ελληνικό Εθνικό Σοσιαλιστικό Κόμμα, Elliniko Ethniko Sosialistiko Komma) was a
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
party founded in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
in 1932 by
George S. Mercouris, a former Cabinet minister.
History
Established in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
in December 1932, the National Socialist Party was one of the
far right groups active in the country at the time, others including the
National Union of Greece
The National Union of Greece ( el, Εθνική Ένωσις Ελλάδος, Ethniki Enosis Ellados or EEE) was an anti-Semitic nationalist party established in Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1927.
Registered as a mutual aid society, the EEE was fou ...
(''Εθνική Ενωση Ελλάδος''),
Iron Peace (''Σιδηρά Ειρήνη''),
Trident
A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm.
The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other mari ...
(''Τρίαινα''), and
National Sovereign State (''Εθνικό Κυρίαρχο Κράτος'', led by Skilakakis). However, it was distinguished by being the most fiercely supportive of
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
, seeking to copy the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
in organizational and policy terms.
The party emerged after Mercouris, who had previously shown sympathy to Italian fascist
trade unions
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
, split from
Panagis Tsaldaris
Panagis Tsaldaris (also Panagiotis Tsaldaris or Panayotis Tsaldaris; el, Παναγιώτης (Παναγής) Τσαλδάρης; 5 March 1868 – 17 May 1936) was a Greek politician and the 48th Prime Minister of Greece. He was a revered conse ...
and the
Populist Party over the need for a coalition government.
Philip Rees
Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right.
Works
*''Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester Pres ...
, 'MERCOURIS, George S.', ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890
The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890.
It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the r ...
'', p. 262 Through contacts with
Galeazzo Ciano
Gian Galeazzo Ciano, 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari ( , ; 18 March 1903 – 11 January 1944) was an Italian diplomat and politician who served as Foreign Minister in the government of his father-in-law, Benito Mussolini, from 1936 until 1 ...
, Mercouris secured funding for the new group from
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, although this soon dried up as they were not convinced that the party was in any position to gain power.
The party itself was largely geared towards
Italian fascism, although Mercouris himself and some of his main followers were more drawn to the German model. Mercouris was sometimes used as a go-between by the collaborationist government during the
German occupation
German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...
.
Political support
The Greek party, however did not serve the regime of
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 ...
, although given the monarchist stance of the party many of its followers were reconciled to the new government. During the
Axis occupation of Greece the group was allowed to continue, although it had no real role in the largely military-based
Greek government
Greece is a parliamentary representative democratic republic, where the President of Greece is the head of state and the Prime Minister of Greece is the head of government within a multi-party system. Legislative power is vested in both the go ...
and faced competition from the other extremist movements. It had hoped to gain influence but the Germans reasoned that given its chronic lack of popular support it was not expedient to offer the party any power.
[Mark Mazower, ''Inside Hitler's Greece,: The Experience of Occupation, 1941-44'', Yale University Press, 2001, p. 87]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greek National Socialist Party
Greek collaborators with Nazi Germany
Defunct nationalist parties in Greece
Fascism in Greece
1930s in Greece
1940s in Greece
Political parties established in 1932
Political parties disestablished in 1943
1932 establishments in Greece
1943 disestablishments in Greece
Nazi parties
Collaboration with the Axis Powers
Monarchist parties in Greece
Far-right political parties in Greece