Abstract
M.A.
The aim of the present essay is the study of the Resistance which took place in the area of Kalavrita and Egialia between 1941-1944 and how it is re-lated to the Resistance in the rest of Greece, using everyday people’s memo-ries. More specifically, we are going to find the impact of the geomorphology of the area on the development of the Resistance and the importance of the lo-cal history and traditions on the development of the patriotic feeling of the ar-ea’s citizens. Moreover, we are going to study the factors which led to the crea-tion and development of Resistance, the impact of the Communist party and ideas and of other factors, and the role of the allies’ diplomacy.
Although many books and essays have been written about that period of time, the history of Greek Resistance is not complete yet, as they used to em-phasise the patriotic aspect, minimizing the importance of the Resistance in so-cial aspects, and the impact on the lives of everyday people. Moreover, most of the local history talks about the facts in the town of Kalavrita, and less is known about the Resistance in the rest of Achaia. However, there are still un-exploited sources, like interviews, diaries and photos. Their study will result in a more complete understanding of the local history and also in the preservation of these important memories of the people who were alive at that time.
For this study, the quality methods of interviews and field study will be used. Qualitative analysis will be used to extract similarities and differences with other studies, so as to generate new evidence for the local history.
This essay will contain 3 major parts. In the 1st part, we are going to discuss what was happening in Greece just before the beginning of the 2nd World War. More specifically, we will speak about the position of the Greek expedition from the day of capitulation (April 1943), till the organisation of the Resistance towards the German and Italian expeditions. Then we are going to find out what was going on in the same period in the regions of Kalavrita and Egialia (summer 1943) during the first years of the war. Moreover, we are go-ing to explore the everyday life of the Greek people, how the Greek society
changed due to German and Italian army and the more or less important facts which helped in the organisation of the local Resistance, as these facts were presented in the local newspapers. In the first part, we are going to speak exten-sively about the birth of the Greek Resistance. We will also speak about the re-sisting organised teams, armed or not, in the local area and in the whole of Greece which were related to the Resistance. More specifically, we are going to speak about the people who took part in these teams, the way they were or-ganised and the relations they had with each other and similar European teams. Also, we are going to find out the relations with the political parties, so as to discover the political ideas of these teams. Moreover, we will talk about the le-gal and illegal mass media of the time, the way they were organised and their importance in the development of Resistance, through the newspapers and the testimonies of the people who lived of that time.