The People's Civil Guard ( Greek: Λαϊκή Πολιτοφυλακή, ΛΠ) was the security force of the

Communist Party of Greece The Communist Party of Greece ( el, Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a political party in Greece. Founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece and adopted its curren ...

(KKE) during the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...

(1946–49). It was the police counterpart of the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE), KKE's military force. It was actually the successor of the

National Civil Guard The National Civil Guard ( el, Εθνική Πολιτοφυλακή, ''Ethniki Politophylaki'') was the security force of the Political Committee of National Liberation (PEEA), the government that the National Liberation Front (EAM) had establish ...

, which was the successor of the Organization for the Protection of the People's Struggle (OPLA). The People's Civil Guard included both men and women; all of them were volunteers and ideologically dedicated to the Communist Party, a situation different from that of the DSE, which engaged in forced recruitment, especially in the last stages of the Civil War. In June 1948, the KKE leadership published a booklet to be studied by the civil guards, "Lessons of Popular Civil Guard" (Μαθήματα Λαϊκής Πολιτοφυλακής), where it was emphasized that the Popular Civil Guard was a security force "of a new type", different from the Greek Gendarmerie and the Cities Police of the Greek government, whose aim was to serve the people. Initially the People's Civil Guard was commanded by Stephanos Papayannis, a former Captain of the Greek Army who had joined the Communist Party during World War II, and had fought in the Greek Resistance against the

Nazis 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 Na ...

; later however,

Vasilis Bartziotas Vassilios or Vassileios, also transliterated Vasileios, Vasilios, Vassilis or Vasilis ( el, Βασίλειος or Βασίλης), is a Greek given name, the origin of Basil. In ancient/medieval/Byzantine context, it is also transliterated as Basile ...

, a Communist Party cadre took command.Ελεύθερος Κόσμος, 24/8/69 In northern Greece it was also named and it was much known as Close Self-Defense (Στενή Αυτοάμυνα in Greek).

References

{{Greek Civil War Greek Civil War Communist Party of Greece 1947 establishments in Greece Defunct law enforcement agencies of Greece Military wings of socialist parties