Andartis
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Andartis , plural Andarten , ( Greek Αντάρτης ) is the Greek name for a partisan . They emerged in connection with the Greek struggle for Macedonia (Greek Μακεδονικός αγώνας) in the 19th century.
Andarten in the 19th century
The Greek metropolitan of Kastoria , Germanos Karavangelis , who represented the interests of the Greek population in Ottoman-occupied Macedonia and the Greek-influenced ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople , is regarded as the founder of the Andartic movement . He represented these interests in the sense of the "great idea" (liberation of all Greek settlements in the crumbling Ottoman Empire) and against the interests of the Turkish landowners, especially in Macedonia, but also against the interests of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian exarchate in the region.
Andarten in World War II
Andarten fought against the German occupation in World War II . The most important partisan groups were the ELAS and the EDES on the mainland and various groups in the EOK on Crete .
The German occupiers proceeded with extreme brutality against the Andarten and the entire population. Many villages were completely destroyed and most of their inhabitants were murdered. The destruction of the villages Kandanos , Distomo , Kalavryta , Viannos and Anogia are only mentioned here as examples. Such “punitive actions” by the German occupation forces were intended to intimidate the population and make it clear that the German occupation viewed all civilians as possible resistance fighters .
sculpture
Andartis - Monument for Peace is the name of a landscape sculpture that was inaugurated on June 23, 1991 on the Nida plateau (Crete) on the north side of the Psiloritis as a warning to peace . The destruction of the village of Anogia on August 13, 1944 by German troops was the external reason for the erection of the monument at this point.
The Monument for Peace was created by the Berlin artist Karina Raeck and is 32 meters long and 9 meters wide. About 5,000 natural stones were placed on the ground in such a way that they paint the image of a winged Andartis (partisan) in the landscape. During the period of occupation, the residents had spread the stones on the plain to prevent German aircraft from landing. In memory of this, the population helped the artist to implement the idea of a monument.
literature
- Karina Raeck: Andartis - Monument for Peace . 2nd edition Biblioekdotike, Athen 2005, ISBN 3-9804575-2-4 (texts in ancient Greek, modern Greek and German by Stefanie Endlich, Rainer Höynck, Eberhard Rondholz , Marlen von Xylander).
- Mark Mazower: Greece under Hitler. Life during the German occupation 1941-1944 , S. Fischer Verlag Frankfurt 2016, ISBN 978-3100025074