National Solidarity ( el, Εθνική Αλληλεγγύη, abbreviated E.A.) was the

social welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

organization of the EAM

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...

in occupied Greece during

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 ...

. The decision to establish a resistance organization was taken by Pantelis Karagitsis, Lefteris Apostolou and Aristotelis Bouras, who had just escaped from the internal exile imposed by the pre-war

Metaxas Regime Metaxās or Metaxa may refer to: Places * Metaxas Line, fortifications in northeastern Greece in 1935–1940 * Metaxas, Greece, a village in the Greek region of Macedonia * Metaxas Regime or 4th of August Regime, a short-lived authoritarian regim ...

. National Solidarity was thus founded on 28 May 1941, barely a month into the Occupation, in a park behind the ''Soteria'' hospital. It was the first nationwide resistance group established in Greece.''Eleftherotypia'', 8 April 2006 Its founding members were: Kleon Papaloizos, who was also elected its secretary, Vasileios Markezinis, Dionysia Papadomichelaki, Nikos Dresios, Georgios Vasilopoulos and Spyros Antypas. The organization participated as a founding party in the creation of the National Liberation Front (EAM) in September 1941 and henceforth functioned as its welfare arm. For its role in feeding the people during the Occupation, it was nicknamed "the Mother of the Struggle".

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"Οι αντιστασιακές οργανώσεις φύτρωναν σαν μανιτάρια"
article in the ''

Eleftherotypia ''Eleftherotypia'' ( el, Ελευθεροτυπία, lit=freedom of the press) was a daily national newspaper published in Athens, Greece. Published since 21 July 1975, it was the first newspaper to appear after the fall of the Regime of the ...

'' newspaper, 8 April 2006 National Liberation Front (Greece) Welfare agencies 1941 establishments in Greece Organizations established in 1941 {{World-War-II-stub