Yannis Tamtakos ( el, Γιάννης Ταμτάκος) (1908 – January 4, 2008) was a Greek political activist, initially of Trotskyism and in his later life, of

Anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...

. Due to his political activity, he was chased by the Axis forces, Greek state and

National Liberation Front (Greece) The National Liberation Front ( el, Εθνικό Απελευθερωτικό Μέτωπο, ''Ethnikó Apeleftherotikó Métopo'' (EAM) was an alliance of various political parties and organizations which fought to liberate Greece from Axis Occ ...

. For quite a few years before his death, he was the oldest survivor among the active participants of the 1936 Thessaloniki strike.

Biography

Tamtakos took part in every workers' struggle in Thessaloniki, as a shoemaker, having been elected committee member (1926–1927) and secretary (1928–1929) of the Union of the Shoe-makers of Thessaloniki. Later he became active through the Union of the Unemployed. In 1931, while on the front line of a demonstration of the unemployed, in Syntrivani Square in Thessaloniki, he was attacked by a group of policemen, led by the nephew of the Head of the Police; he was shot in the cheek, and the bullet cut his tongue. He didn't lose his ability to speak, thanks to surgery."Αντίο, σύντροφε μπαρμπα Γιάννη", του Τριαντάφυλλου Μηταφίδη, ΑΓΓΕΛΙΟΦΟΡΟΣ, Επωνύμως, Δευτέρα 7/1/08 Tamtakos and his comrades were persecuted by the German occupiers, the Security Battalions, but also from the antinazi forces. He managed to escape assassination efforts by

quite a few times while he used several identities and nicknames during the period of the occupation and of the liberation of Greece.Βεργής, Γ. ''Λίγες λέξεις για ένα ηθικά απαράδεκτο κείμενο'', στο Στίνας, ''Αναμνήσεις'', σελ. 502-505 In Dekemvriana he accused the forces of the National Liberation Front of carrying out a Stalinist coup d etat. In 1948 his political Trotskyist party participated in the second World Congress of the Fourth International, when the party representative was Cornelius Castoriadis.

Published material

His book "Memories of a life in the revolutionary movement",Ταμτάκος, Γιάννης, ''Αναμνήσεις μιας ζωής στο επαναστατικό κίνημα'', Κύκλοι Αντιεξουσίας, Θεσσαλονίκη 2003.
downloadable for free
which was published in March 2003, contains transcripts of recorded self-biographic tellings, including references to historical and political events of the last century. Part of his personal diary has been published in 1995, in the "Alfa" newspaper.Ιστοσελίδα Βραχόκηπος

/ref> Yannis Tamtakos was one of the main characters in the movie "Coursal", directed by

Nikos Theodossiou Nikos ( el, Νίκος, ''Níkos'') is a Greek given name. It originates from Greek ''Nikolaos'', which means "victory of the people".Liddell & Scott, Abridged Greek Lexicon Although used as a proper first name, Nikos is also a popular nickname of t ...

.personal website of Nikos Theodossiouτρέιλερpart
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamtakos, Yannis 1908 births 2008 deaths Greek anarchists Greek Trotskyists Anarcho-communists Anarcho-syndicalists People from Foça Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Greece