Uprising at the Athens Polytechnic
The revolt of the Greek students, which began at the Technical University in Athens - generally Polytechnio ( Greek Πολυτεχνείο ) - was brutally suppressed in November 1973 by the military dictatorship (junta), which had ruled Greece since 1967 with the tolerance of the USA and NATO. The reverberation of the event at home and abroad was so great that immediately afterwards the dictator Papadopoulos overthrew through internal faults and his successor Ioannidis, who pursued an even more stringent course, could only delay the final overthrow of the junta until the summer of 1974.
The unrest is generally regarded as a “student rebellion”, but an assignment of those arrested during the crackdown on the night of November 16-17 shows that the involvement was far greater: “Only 49 students came from the Polytechnio. 268 students were from other Athens university institutions. 74 were students and 475 workers. "
prehistory
“In January 1973 Papadopoulos was regent, prime minister, foreign minister and defense minister and thus at the height of his power. There were traits of hubris. ”As a result of the six years of domination of the country - especially by the secret police ESA under Ioannidis - the junta did not seem to threaten any danger from the population, but the opposition gathered in the military itself: in the Navy from royalist supporters of the eliminated royalty to hardliners for whom Papadopoulo's course was too soft. In the army officer circles, however, and especially among the men, the democratic opponents also organized themselves.
Papadopoulos was able to “temporarily avert these two dangers, but there was also a third danger, the extent of which he did not understand at all, namely that emanating from the university students. And Papadopoulos finally fell over this. "
Protests at the universities
In the past few years, the students' displeasure had been sparked by the fact that they were not allowed to democratically elect their representation in university committees. In the winter semester 1972/73 this was again forbidden and the students also wanted to discuss the course content. Protests followed the rejection. "The regime reacted [...] with the police stick [...] At the same time, a law was passed that made it possible to immediately draft insubordinate students into military service." On the other hand, on February 13, 1973 there was a demonstration that was forcibly broken up and 37 students were drafted immediately. There were further riots and 51 new drafts.
On February 21, about 2,000 students barricaded themselves in the law school building. The university senate tried to mediate and the occupation was ended. But Deputy Prime Minister Stylianos Pattakos remained firm - the 96 drafted students were supposed to do their military service. Six former ministers expressed their solidarity with the students. After nothing changed, riots followed in Thessaloniki and Patras. In Athens, the law school was again occupied and on March 20, 1973, the police stormed the building.
The students “came to the aid of seven lawyers who, in turn, were arrested. […] The International Commission of Jurists and the American Bar Association (sent) representatives to Greece […] The government refused to receive them. "The German law professor Dimitri Tsatsos (appeared) in Athens and was promptly arrested, which of course caused unrest in the Federal Republic and made a recently planned visit by Foreign Minister Scheel to Athens questionable. "
Spring and summer 1973
In March and April 1973 the international opposition itself grew within NATO and the US ambassador Tasca warned his government against Dimitrios Ioannidis , the head of the ESA military police, who publicly called for a stricter course: “Only if he fully complies with the 1968 constitution put into force, he (dictator Papadopoulos) could save his position. "
On April 23, Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis , who had been disempowered by the military in 1967, spoke up (in the Athens newspaper Vradyni, which was immediately confiscated), accused the junta and called for a return of the king and a strong government (which, of course, was under him should be formed).
Papadopoulos interpreted this as a call to the royalists and in May 1973 naval officers also attempted a coup, which was, however, uncovered shortly before and failed with severe consequences for the circles involved. The destroyer Velos , however, had already run out and his change of course to the Italian port of Fiumicino and the request from Commander Pappas for political asylum there caused a worldwide sensation. "In Washington, doubts were voiced as to whether the Greek armed forces were still operational." Papadopoulos tried to flee forward, officially abolished the monarchy on July 1, 1973, promised parliamentary elections, a vote on the (sham democratic) constitution that had been delayed since 1968 and a referendum on July 29, 1973: a vote on himself as the only presidential candidate.
The referendum took place and “despite gloomy threats [… and] although voting was compulsory in Greece, approx. 25 percent of the voters cast their votes. ”77% (3.8 million) voted for YES and 22% (1 million) for NO. "Despite numerous doubts, the Supreme Court declared the elections valid on August 13, 1973."
Papadopoulos was generous and announced an amnesty: “In fact, all political prisoners (350 more) have been released. Among them were Alexandros Panagoulis (assassin on Papadopoulos 1968) and Evangelos Averoff . "
But Papadopoulos could not find a prominent politician for the office of prime minister. On October 1, 1973, as President, he deposed all previous ministers, including the six members of the original junta. The appointment of a new government under Spyros Markezinis "was too small for the Democrats and too big for the hardliners in the military."
Polytechnio - the uprising
Memorial ceremony for Georgios Papandreou
“November 4th 1973 marked the fifth anniversary of the death of Georgios Papandreou . A commemorative service was held in the Athens Cathedral. Informed by word of mouth, several thousand people turned up. […] At the end of the commemoration, the crowd gathered in front of the cathedral shouted slogans against the junta and marched into the center of Athens. The police tried to disperse the crowd, but they replied by throwing stones: “There was a street battle and there were injuries on both sides.” Over the next few days, 17 people, including 3 students, were brought to justice. […] The conviction of the three students led to protests, first at the University of Athens, but then also in Patras and Thessaloniki. On November 14th, several thousand students occupied the Polytechneion. Others gathered in institutes of the university. All students demanded that they choose their own representation. The elections were to be held on December 4, 1973. "
Occupation November 14th
The education minister Panagiotis Sifnaios went to the students in the morning, obtained information and, at a subsequent meeting with Papadopoulos and other ministers, obtained approval for the demands - but the elections were not due to take place until mid-February 1974.
“The rector of the Polytechneion knew the unrest among the students and was against a postponement. Sifnaios gave in and the Senate of the Polytechneion approved a meeting of all students on that day. ”The meeting also attracted students from other, already closed institutes and it was moved to the forecourt. Finally, "sympathizers and the usual chaos of left Coleur on such occasions as well as agents provocateurs of the secret police" mingled . The gathering spread further into the streets, there were slogans and posters on the matter, “but soon they became more political and more and more aggressive. It was later revealed that the most aggressive slogans came from the agents provocateurs . […] Around 5 pm a representative of the public prosecutor's office appeared and called on the crowd outside the polytechnic [in vain] to disband. ”An hour later, the Athens police chief asked the rector to allow him to enter the building. The rector refused. The Senate supported the decision and Minister Sifnaios also agreed.
“There was lively activity in the building and yard during the night. The students barricaded all doors and the courtyard gate, installed a shortwave transmitter and discussed in working groups about their next steps. Around midnight, an elected committee took the lead. Athenian sympathizers brought food. At around 2 o'clock in the morning of November 15, the first broadcast of Radio Polytechnio was broadcast. "
15th of November
After the rejection of any police operation had been confirmed to Minister Sifnaios in the morning by the Rector and Senate, the police were withdrawn from the area in the afternoon. “The radio station provided constant information about what was going on. Leaflets were printed. There was even an improvised newspaper. Loudspeakers filled the surrounding streets with slogans. In the afternoon there were about 6,000 people at the Polytechneion, students, pupils and workers. Around 8 p.m., the number rose to around 15,000. Two workers and one student were associated with the management committee. "
“There was a downright happy atmosphere, typical of students who did not understand what was going to happen to them or who were confident that nothing would happen to them. After all, almost all of them were children of the Greek bourgeoisie. […] Their honesty and sincerity, their idealism and their demand for freedom and democracy met with great sympathy among the population. Of course, many of the students were politically more left-wing. The Rigas Fereos resistance movement played an important role. But these students were not Orthodox Communists, so the KKE youth organization, KNE, hardly played a role. The students sympathized with the eurocommunist KKE esoterikou or with the European social democrats. There is no evidence to back up Woodhouse's claim that communists were involved in the leadership. At the same time, the students organized everything perfectly. Cassettes with recordings of the Radio Polytechneion programs landed one day later at Deutsche Welle in Cologne, which in turn broadcast them to Greece. "
In the evening a large number of visitors, some of them prominent, came, including Panagiotis Kanellopoulos and his niece Amalia, Karamanlis' former wife. Radio Polytechnio's appeals met with an echo: in Patras , around 800 to 1,000 students occupied their university, the next day the same thing happened in Thessaloniki with around 1,000 students. "The police held back until the evening of November 16th."
November 16
In the morning, claims were made about foreign masterminds, supplies of building materials for barricades and the acquisition of firearms.
A cabinet meeting was held at noon. Papdopoulos “explained to those gathered that something had to be done at the Polytechneion; but no blood should be shed. [...] He wanted to use the army. It is not clear who gave the order to use agents provocateurs from the KYP and the military police (ESA) from midday to create pretexts for the intervention. "
Later in the afternoon there were demonstrations and clashes with police in the city, at Syntagma Square , by the prefecture building and in front of the Ministry of Public Order. These actions did not come from the Polytechnio. “The protesters were students from other Athens universities, schoolchildren, workers and the usual chaos who are always around on such occasions. […] In the Polytechneion the situation was unchanged. The Senate was still closed behind the Rector. At around 4 pm the students gave a press conference in the building, at which they themselves learned that tear gas could be used against them. ”This was actually used in the forecourt at 5 pm.
"At around 6:30 pm, the police guarding the Ministry of Public Order received firearms." The crowd tried to get into the Ministry and was stopped with warning shots. At around 9 p.m. the building was attacked with incendiary devices: "The attackers were by no means students from the Polytechneion, because they never left the building."
Heinz Richter suspects the "always violent Athenian mob" - "there were injured police officers and a number of attackers who were shot by the police, but no fatalities."
"The extent of the unrest in the city led Papadopoulos to take control himself, defeating [Vice President] Markezinis and the Minister of Public Order." Then they began to encircle the area. At around 9:30 p.m., local locomotive (special) units and paratroopers were put on alert in Goudi. At 10.30 p.m. the troops started moving towards the center with 10 tanks and 3 armored personnel carriers. Tensions grew, but the Polytechnio is said to have remained calm. “This is also supported by the fact that Kanellopoulos and Mavros were able to go near the Polytechneion around midnight. Kanellopoulos reported that the police were almost in a panic. "
November 17th
"Around 1 o'clock in the morning on November 17th, the tanks arrived in the area of the Polytechneion." Everywhere people fled. Around 2 a.m. the tanks were standing in front of the academic grounds. “About a quarter of an hour later, a group of students appeared to negotiate a peaceful withdrawal with the military. [... They] asked for half an hour to clear the premises. The officers wanted to give them ten minutes at most, then they would use force. ”The forecourt of the Polytechnio was now full of students.
“When a tank approached, they shouted 'Don't shoot, we're brothers'. Then they started singing the national anthem. Before the ten minutes were up, a tank rolled towards the heavy, wrought-iron gate of the college. Press photos show the tank with the cannon aimed at the Polytechneion with the commander standing in the tower. The students had parked an old Mercedes behind the gate as a further obstacle. The tank broke through the gate and rolled over the car. Students and journalists who sat on the side gate pillars were thrown down. There should have been deaths. The soldiers broke into the building. Radio Polytechneion's broadcasts ended at 2.45 a.m. The students on the premises and in the building tried to escape. Many managed to escape, but a large number were arrested. "
The news magazine Der Spiegel published the last broadcasts from Radio Polytechnio.
“On the morning of November 17, Papadopoulos called Markezinis to formally approve the martial law he had imposed. A night curfew has been imposed on the university cities of Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras. The press was severely censored. […] Nevertheless, on November 18, there were always minor unrest. ”A propaganda wave of the junta followed, which among others also blamed“ the old politicians ”- the Greek embassies abroad declared that“ the whole thing is one Conspiracy by anarchists to prevent the elections and the planned return to democracy. "
A week later - in the early morning hours of November 25, 1973 - tanks were again in Athens: the junta's 'hardliners' around the head of the ESA military police, Ioannidis, overthrew Papadopoulos - his six-year rule was over.
The victims
“Precise verifiable information on the number of dead, injured and arrested is not available until today (2012). The information given in the later process varies. According to this, between 700 and 1,000 people were arrested, between 180 and 200 injured and 23 dead. The police reportedly had fewer than a dozen injured, none of whom were gunshot wounds. Only one policeman was seriously injured. ”“ An investigation by the Greek Research Foundation (Ethniko Idryma Erevnon) from 2003 names 24 dead and 886 arrested, but does not differentiate between [the incidents] at the Polytechneion and the Ministry. "
Meaning of the uprising and commemoration
The uprising had made the strong resistance to the dictatorial regime and Ioannidis' subsequent coup clear the upheavals within the colonel's regime. The collapse of the military dictatorship was imminent.
In many cities and towns across Greece, major streets were named after the "heroes of the Polytechnio" ( Greek Οδός Ηρώων Πολυτεχνείου ). To this day, a memorial demonstration is held in Athens on November 17th every year.
literature
- Heinz A. Richter : Greece 1950–1974. Between democracy and dictatorship . Verlag FP Rutzen, Mainz and Ruhpolding 2013. ISBN 978-3-447-06908-3 .
- Christopher Montague Woodhouse : The Rise and the Fall of the Greek Colonels . Franklin Watts, New York 1985.
- FRUS (Foreign Relation of the United States): 1964–1968 , XVI., Washington: Government Printing Office 1978.
- Keesings Contemporary Archives . Clogg & Yannopoulos.
- Filippos Kavvadia: Edo Polytechnio. (Athens: Sakkoulas, 1974).
- Der Spiegel , Hamburg, issue 48, year 1973.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ often also polytechneieon transliterated
- ↑ Christopher Montague Woodhouse : The Rise and the Fall of the Greek Colonels . Franklin Watts, New York 1985, p. 138.
- ^ Heinz A. Richter : Greece 1950-1974. Between democracy and dictatorship. Verlag FP Rutzen, Mainz and Ruhpolding, 2013, p. 383.
- ^ Judges: Greece 1950-1974. 2013, p. 383.
- ↑ Der Spiegel 28 (July 3, 1972), p. 89 , gave a first comprehensive presentation .
- ^ Judges: Greece 1950-1974. P. 383.
- ↑ On this: Keesing's Contemporary Archives, p. 26.325; FRUS 1969-1976, XXX, p. 3 .; Der Spiegel 9 (February 26, 1973): Greece. Spiritual death. , P. 74 f.
- ^ Richter, p. 384.
- ↑ FRUS 1969-1976, XXX, p. 4.
- ↑ Woodhouse: Rise and Fall, p. 116.
- ↑ FRUS 1969-1976, XXX, p. 5 f.
- ^ Richter, p. 387 f.
- ^ Richter, p. 388.
- ↑ Woodhouse: Rise and Fall . P. 122.
- ^ Richter, p. 389; Keesing's Temporary Archives, p. 26.235.
- ^ Richter, p. 389.
- ↑ Woodhouse: Rise and Fall. , P. 131.
- ^ Filippos Kavvadia: Edo Polytechnio. (Athens: Sakkoulas, 1974), p. 35 f. In: Richter, p. 390.
- ↑ The claim in: Woodhouse: Rise and Fall. P. 132.
- ^ Keesing's Contemporary Archives, p. 26.325.
- ↑ Richter describes this as "lies". In the chapter: Polytechneion - Unrest , p. 391.
- ↑ Woodhouse: Rise and Fall. P. 133.
- ^ Richter, p. 391.
- ↑ Woodhouse, p. 135.
- ↑ Woodhouse, p. 136.
- ↑ Der Spiegel 48, November 26, 1973: Greeks, how can you sleep? , P. 124.
- ^ Richter, p. 394.
- ↑ Woodhouse: Rise and Fall , pp. 139-141.
- ^ Richter, p. 394 f.
- ↑ Woodhouse: Rise and Fall , p. 137.
- ^ A Day in History , Athens News (November 28, 2012).