Apostolos Santas

Swastika flag on the Acropolis

Flagpole on the Acropolis today

Raising the imperial war flag on the Acropolis in Athens

Apostolos Santas ( Greek Απόστολος Σάντας or Λάκης Σάντας Lakis Santas for short ), also Sandas (born February 22, 1922 in Patras ; †  April 30, 2011 in Athens ), was a veteran of the Greek resistance against the German occupation during the Second World War . On May 30, 1941, with Manolis Glezos, he tore off the swastika flag on the Acropolis and hoisted the Greek flag .

Life

Santas' parents were from Lefkada Island and came to Patras. His family went to Athens in 1934, where he completed his schooling. At the University of Athens he began a law degree , which he was only able to complete after the end of the occupation of Greece in 1944.

On April 27, 1941, after the conquest of Athens , the Wehrmacht hoisted the flag with the symbol of the swastika on the Acropolis . On the night of May 30, 1941, the 19-year-old Apostolos Santas and Manolis Glezos climbed the Acropolis, tore down the swastika flag on the eastern edge of the Acropolis and hoisted the Greek flag. As a result of this act of resistance on the Acropolis, Santas and Glezos not only became anti-fascist heroes, but at the same time it was a beacon that incited many Greeks to resist. The German occupiers sentenced the perpetrators who hoisted the Greek flag to death in absentia.

In 1942 Santas joined the Ethnikó Apelevtherotikó Métopo , the National Liberation Front of Greece (EAM), and in 1943 the armed resistance organization of Greece, the Ellinikós / Ethnikós Laikós Apelevtherotikós Stratós ELAS . This organization was involved in numerous armed conflicts in central Greece against the Axis powers , including Italy and Bulgaria. After the end of the occupation of Greece, he was imprisoned in Ikaria until 1946 because of his leftist views , then in 1947 in Psyttalia and from 1948 on the island of Makronisos , where a notorious prison camp was located for the torture of politically dissenters - especially communists. From there he was able to flee to Italy in order to subsequently obtain political asylum in Canada . He remained in asylum until 1962 and then returned to Greece, where he lived until his death.

Awards

Apostolos Santas received numerous awards from various institutions in Greece and from countries that participated in World War II.

In 2008, the Greek Parliament awarded Manolis Glezos and Apostolos Santas the silver medal by the President of the Parliament, Dimitris Sioufas . Sioufas emphasized in his laudation:

“Removing the Nazi flag is an act of effort and an example of how people are fighting for freedom and democracy. […] No other action managed to boost the morale of the Greek people during the occupation. "

Bronze plaque on the Acropolis

On the Acropolis in Athens, a bronze plaque in the area of ​​the flagpole commemorates the heroic deed of Glezos and Santas in 1941.

The text on the board reads:

«ΤΗ ΝΥΧΤΑ ΤΗΣ 30ης ΜΑΙΟΥ 1941 ΚΑΤΕΒΑΣΑΝ ΟΙ ΠΑΤΡΙΩΤΕΣ ΜΑΝΩΛΗΣ ΓΛΕΖΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΟΣ ΣΑΝΤΑΣ ΤΗ ΣΗΜΑΙΑ ΤΩΝ NAZI ΚΑΤΑΚΤΗΤΩΝ ΑΠΟ ΤΟ ΙΕΡΟ ΒΡΑΧΟ ΤΗΣ ΑΚΡΟΠΟΛΙΣ.
ΕΝΤΟΙΧΙΣΤΗΚΕ ΑΠΟ ΤΗ 'ΕΝΩΜΕΝΗ ΕΘΝΙΚΗ ΑΝΤΙΣΤΑΣΗ 1941 - 1944' ΤΟ 1982. »

“On the night of May 30, 1941, the patriots Manolis Glezos and Apostolos Santas tore the flag of the Nazi occupiers from the sacred rock of the Acropolis.
Posted by the 'United National Resistance 1941-1944' in 1982. "

literature

• Manolis Glezos: An injustice must be atoned for . In: Die Zeit , No. 40/1995

Web links

• Resistance and repression in Greece
• Contemporary witness report on arte.tv

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ana-mpa.gr
2. ↑ Quotation from Greece newspaper v. November 12, 2008 ( Memento of the original from May 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ Matt Barett's Athensguide (English, with photo of the bronze plaque)

Coordinates: 37 ° 58 ′ 17.8 "  N , 23 ° 43 ′ 42.3"  E