4th of August Regime
Encyclopedia
The 4th of August Regime , commonly also known as the Metaxas Regime , was an authoritarian
regime under the leadership of General
Ioannis Metaxas
that ruled Greece
from 1936 to 1941. It took its name from a self-coup
carried out by Metaxas, with royal support, on August 4, 1936.
There is some debate over how the regime relates to other authoritarian regimes of the era: those of Franco's Spain, Italian Fascism
, and German Nazism
. Richard Clogg argues that while the regime had "superficial trappings of Fascism" and Metaxas "did not disguise his admiration for Nazism and Fascism", it is "more correctly categorised as paternalist-authoritarian rather than fascist".
Metaxas imposed his regime primarily to fight the turbulent social situation prevalent in Greece in the 1930s, in which political factionalization had disrupted Greek parliamentary democracy. The sinking credibility of the Parliament was accompanied by several coup
attempts; in March 1935, a Venizelist
putsch failed and the following October elections reinforced the Royalist majority, which allowed the exiled King George II
to return to Greece. The king re-established the monarchy in the country, but the parliament, split into incompatible factions, was unable to shape a clear political majority so that the government could govern. Meanwhile, the increasing activity of the Communists, whose 15 deputies from the 1936 elections held the balance between 143 Monarchists and 142 Liberals, Agrarians, and Republicans, created a deadlock.
In May that same year widespread agrarian unrest (tobacco farmers) and industrial unrest in the north of the country erupted, which eventually brought the head of the government, General Metaxas, to suspend the parliament on the eve of a major strike, on August 4, 1936. Endorsed by the king, Metaxas declared a state of emergency
, decreed martial law
, annulled various articles of the Constitution
and established a crisis cabinet to put to an end the growing riots and to restore social order. In one of his first speeches, Metaxas announced: "I have decided to hold all the power I need for saving Greece from the catastrophes which threaten her".
Thus the Metaxas dictatorship was born, and the period of time which would follow was named after the day Metaxas rose to absolute power: the 4th of August. The new regime was backed by small extreme political parties as well as conservatives with the expectation of a crackdown on the Communists.
, specifically those of Sparta
, along with the Christian values of the Medieval empire of Byzantium
". Ancient Macedonia was also glorified as the first political unifier of the Hellenes. As its main symbol, the youth organization of the regime chose the labrys
/pelekys, the symbol of ancient Minoan Crete.
The traditional Greek values of "Country, Loyalty, Family and Religion", which Metaxas praised repeatedly, were also close to those of the ancient Spartans. The regime promoted the perceived Spartan ideals of self-discipline, militarism
and collective sacrifice, while Byzantium provided an emphasis on a centralized state and devotion to the monarchy and Greek Orthodox Church
.
's António Salazar
his main inspiration, and surrounded himself with elements from this and other dictatorial regimes of the time. Thus the Fourth of August regime used its own military-like uniforms, greetings, songs and rituals, including the Roman salute
.
In Metaxas' case we can speak as well of some characteristics typical of authoritarian states such as 1930s Spain, Portugal, Germany and Italy: the regime's propaganda presented Metaxas as "the First Peasant", "the First Worker" and as "the National Father" of the Greeks. Metaxas adopted the title of Arhigos, Greek for "leader" or "chieftain", and claimed a "Third Hellenic Civilization" based upon ancient Greece and the Greek Byzantine Empire
of the Middle Ages
.
Metaxas' policies such as the censorship
of the media, the banning of political parties and prohibition of strikes
copied contemporary European authoritarian regimes. As its contemporaries the USSR, Spain, Italy and Germany, the Greek State also had its political police force, the Asfaleia. The Asfaleia had as its objective the securing of public order.
The regime also banned Rebetiko
music and favoured the traditional Greek folk music
.
Soon after its inception the regime severely repressed the communists and leftists. About 15,000 people were arrested and jailed, or exiled for political reasons; some were subjected to torture. Metaxas' regime forced the Communist party underground, and also attempted to dismantle the old system of loyalties of the Royalist and Venizelist parties. Those major forces however remained, as they had for the preceding decades, and reemerged immediately after the four year Metaxas regime.
While Metaxas' regime did play up a supposed communist threat in order to justify its repression, it is notable that the regime is not known to have committed political murders and did not instate the death penalty. Dissidents were, rather, usually banished to tiny islands in the Aegean sea
. For example, the liberal leader George Papandreou was exiled to Andros
. The Greek Communist Party (KKE), meanwhile, which had already been outlawed, remained intact. Legal restrictions against it were ended in 1974 during metapolitefsi
.
In order to keep and maintain the values of the regime in future years, Metaxas gave birth to the Ethniki Organosi Neolaias (Εθνική Οργάνωση Νεολαίας, National Organisation of Youth
, EON).
The EON brought together youths of all economic and social strata into one single body. Boys’ education emphasized discipline and physical training, while girls were taught to become supportive wives and caring mothers to breed a stronger, healthier new generation. The EON published a fortnight magazine called Neolaia (Νεολαία, Greek for "Youth"), which had much influence both in schools and in higher education.
The EON was disbanded by the German-Italian occupying authority in Greece following its vigorous resistance of the invasion.
, he used strong nationalist language concerning Greek minorities in neighboring countries as well as in answering threats from Greece's neighbors in the still volatile southeast Europe. As with many nation states at the time, he used language exhalting his people's "race." Ethnic and religious minorities were persecuted under Metaxas' rule as was common throughout the region. The regime, however, was relatively tolerant to the Greek Jews, repealing the anti-Semitic laws of previous regimes. A large community of Sephardic Jews was present in the region of Thessaloniki which was annexed by Greece in 1913, and Jews were largely in opposition to Venizelism. Metaxas was firmly opposed to the irredentist factions of the Slavophones of northern Greece (consisting of Slavophone Greeks and Bulgarians mainly in Macedonia and Thrace), some of whom underwent political persecution due to advocacy of irredentism with regard to neighboring countries. Metaxas' regime continued repression of the use of Slavic languages both in public and in private as well as expressions of Slavic cultural distinctiveness. Despite their supposed disloyalty, however, Slavophone Greeks identified with the Greek state and fought ferociously for Greece on the Italo-Albanian front. Again in contrast to some authoritarian regimes, no mass killings were ever instituted and there is no evidence that any were planned.
Metaxas' government, initially unpopular, also gained popularity through an elaborate program to socialize the Greek economy, including:
Many elements of this program persist in Greek economic policy. Metaxas' regime also founded the Social Security Institute (IKA) as well as the Workers' Center, which was established to look after workers' housing and recreation, among other things.
The 4th of August regime also initially stabilized the drachma (later replaced by the euro), which had been suffering from high inflation
. Exploiting the newfound solidity of the currency, Metaxas' government embarked on large public works
programs, including land drainage
, construction of railways, road
improvements, and modernization of the telecommunications infrastructure
.
Metaxas' economic program met with initial success, with a marked rise in per capita income
and temporary decline in unemployment
in Greece between 1936 and 1938 (unemployment skyrocketed after 1938). Capitalizing on this success, the government instituted debt relief
for farmers and instituted price floors on some agricultural goods to redistribute wealth to the countryside.
, which was the superpower dominating the Eastern Mediterranean Sea
with her fleet. In addition, Mussolini's grandiose schemes to create a new Roman Empire in the Mediterranean directly clashed with Greek pretensions to control the Aegean Sea and the Dodecanese islands (by then under Italian control) and to exert stronger influence in Albania.
As the drums of war sounded increasingly stronger in Europe just before World War II, the situation was almost exactly the same as the position before World War One, when Greece had strong pro-German affinities in government, but it depended on Britain for its security. Most observers were anticipating Greece would attempt to remain neutral. Metaxas indeed attempted to maintain neutrality, but Italian expansionism eventually led to an Italian ultimatum and to the Greco-Italian War
. Greek forces repelled the Italian invasion completely. Metaxas died and then a large scale German invasion of Greece
occurred and a subsequent fascist puppet government was placed into power.
between the communist-dominated forces of the left, operating in Greece and out of bases in the south of Yugoslavia, and the U.S.- and UK-aligned forces of the political right. This was the first major protracted combat of the Cold War
, one of the first exercises in U.S. policy of Containment
, and a subject of the Truman Doctrine
of U.S. President Harry Truman. The alignments were quite different from the Venizelist-Monarchist National Schism, as most Venizelists supported the right-wing alliance during the civil war.
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...
regime under the leadership of General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Ioannis Metaxas
Ioannis Metaxas
Ioannis Metaxas was a Greek general, politician, and dictator, serving as Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941...
that ruled Greece
Kingdom of Greece
The Kingdom of Greece was a state established in 1832 in the Convention of London by the Great Powers...
from 1936 to 1941. It took its name from a self-coup
Self-coup
A self-coup or autocoup is a form of coup d'état that occurs when a country's leader, who has come to power through legal means, dissolves or renders powerless the national legislature and assumes extraordinary powers not granted under normal circumstances. Other measures taken may include...
carried out by Metaxas, with royal support, on August 4, 1936.
There is some debate over how the regime relates to other authoritarian regimes of the era: those of Franco's Spain, Italian Fascism
Italian Fascism
Italian Fascism also known as Fascism with a capital "F" refers to the original fascist ideology in Italy. This ideology is associated with the National Fascist Party which under Benito Mussolini ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, the Republican Fascist Party which ruled the Italian...
, and German Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. Richard Clogg argues that while the regime had "superficial trappings of Fascism" and Metaxas "did not disguise his admiration for Nazism and Fascism", it is "more correctly categorised as paternalist-authoritarian rather than fascist".
Origins of the regime
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
attempts; in March 1935, a Venizelist
Venizelism
Venizelism was one of the major political movements in Greece from the 1900s until the mid 1970s.- Ideology :Named after Eleftherios Venizelos, the key characteristics of Venizelism were:*Opposition to Monarchy...
putsch failed and the following October elections reinforced the Royalist majority, which allowed the exiled King George II
George II of Greece
George II reigned as King of Greece from 1922 to 1924 and from 1935 to 1947.-Early life, first period of kingship and exile:George was born at the royal villa at Tatoi, near Athens, the eldest son of King Constantine I of Greece and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia...
to return to Greece. The king re-established the monarchy in the country, but the parliament, split into incompatible factions, was unable to shape a clear political majority so that the government could govern. Meanwhile, the increasing activity of the Communists, whose 15 deputies from the 1936 elections held the balance between 143 Monarchists and 142 Liberals, Agrarians, and Republicans, created a deadlock.
In May that same year widespread agrarian unrest (tobacco farmers) and industrial unrest in the north of the country erupted, which eventually brought the head of the government, General Metaxas, to suspend the parliament on the eve of a major strike, on August 4, 1936. Endorsed by the king, Metaxas declared a state of emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
, decreed martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
, annulled various articles of the Constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
and established a crisis cabinet to put to an end the growing riots and to restore social order. In one of his first speeches, Metaxas announced: "I have decided to hold all the power I need for saving Greece from the catastrophes which threaten her".
Thus the Metaxas dictatorship was born, and the period of time which would follow was named after the day Metaxas rose to absolute power: the 4th of August. The new regime was backed by small extreme political parties as well as conservatives with the expectation of a crackdown on the Communists.
Classical influences
The roots of Metaxas' "New State" were sought in Greece's classical history. Metaxas thought Hellenic nationalism would galvanize "the heathen values of ancient GreeceAncient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
, specifically those of Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
, along with the Christian values of the Medieval empire of Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
". Ancient Macedonia was also glorified as the first political unifier of the Hellenes. As its main symbol, the youth organization of the regime chose the labrys
Labrys
Labrys is the term for a symmetrical doubleheaded axe originally from Crete in Greece, one of the oldest symbols of Greek civilization; to the Romans, it was known as a bipennis....
/pelekys, the symbol of ancient Minoan Crete.
The traditional Greek values of "Country, Loyalty, Family and Religion", which Metaxas praised repeatedly, were also close to those of the ancient Spartans. The regime promoted the perceived Spartan ideals of self-discipline, militarism
Militarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
and collective sacrifice, while Byzantium provided an emphasis on a centralized state and devotion to the monarchy and Greek Orthodox Church
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
.
External influences
Metaxas considered PortugalPortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
's António Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar, GColIH, GCTE, GCSE served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. He also served as acting President of the Republic briefly in 1951. He founded and led the Estado Novo , the authoritarian, right-wing government that presided over and controlled Portugal...
his main inspiration, and surrounded himself with elements from this and other dictatorial regimes of the time. Thus the Fourth of August regime used its own military-like uniforms, greetings, songs and rituals, including the Roman salute
Roman salute
The Roman salute is a gesture in which the arm is held out forward straight, with palm down, and fingers touching. In some versions, the arm is raised upward at an angle; in others, it is held out parallel to the ground. The former is a well known symbol of fascism that is commonly perceived to be...
.
In Metaxas' case we can speak as well of some characteristics typical of authoritarian states such as 1930s Spain, Portugal, Germany and Italy: the regime's propaganda presented Metaxas as "the First Peasant", "the First Worker" and as "the National Father" of the Greeks. Metaxas adopted the title of Arhigos, Greek for "leader" or "chieftain", and claimed a "Third Hellenic Civilization" based upon ancient Greece and the Greek Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
.
Greek authoritarianism
The Metaxas regime sought to comprehensively change Greece, and therefore instituted controls on Greek society, politics, language, and the economy. In each of these, the Metaxas government followed more closely the policies of Spain than of Nazi Germany or fascist Italy.Attempts at social control
Having come to power with the stated intent of restoring public order, Metaxas' state largely achieved this goal, under the supervision of what can be described as its most fascist member, minister of public order Konstantinos Maniadakis.Metaxas' policies such as the censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
of the media, the banning of political parties and prohibition of strikes
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
copied contemporary European authoritarian regimes. As its contemporaries the USSR, Spain, Italy and Germany, the Greek State also had its political police force, the Asfaleia. The Asfaleia had as its objective the securing of public order.
The regime also banned Rebetiko
Rebetiko
Rebetiko, plural rebetika, , occasionally transliterated as Rembetiko, is a term used today to designate originally disparate kinds of urban Greek folk music which have come to be grouped together since the so-called rebetika revival, which started in the 1960s and developed further from the early...
music and favoured the traditional Greek folk music
Greek folk music
Greek folk music includes a variety of Greek styles played by ethnic Greeks in Greece, Cyprus, Australia, the United States and elsewhere. Apart from the common music found all-around Greece, there are distinct types of folk music, sometimes related to the history or simply the taste of the...
.
Soon after its inception the regime severely repressed the communists and leftists. About 15,000 people were arrested and jailed, or exiled for political reasons; some were subjected to torture. Metaxas' regime forced the Communist party underground, and also attempted to dismantle the old system of loyalties of the Royalist and Venizelist parties. Those major forces however remained, as they had for the preceding decades, and reemerged immediately after the four year Metaxas regime.
While Metaxas' regime did play up a supposed communist threat in order to justify its repression, it is notable that the regime is not known to have committed political murders and did not instate the death penalty. Dissidents were, rather, usually banished to tiny islands in the Aegean sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
. For example, the liberal leader George Papandreou was exiled to Andros
Andros
Andros, or Andro is the northernmost island of the Greek Cyclades archipelago, approximately south east of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . Its surface is for the most part mountainous, with many fruitful and well-watered valleys. The area is...
. The Greek Communist Party (KKE), meanwhile, which had already been outlawed, remained intact. Legal restrictions against it were ended in 1974 during metapolitefsi
Metapolitefsi
The Metapolitefsi was a period in Greek history after the fall of the Greek military junta of 1967–1974 that includes the transitional period from the fall of the dictatorship to the Greek legislative elections of 1974 and the democratic period immediately after these elections.The long...
.
The role of youth
National Organisation of Youth
thumb|The emblem of EON.thumb|The flag of EON.The National Youth Organisation was a fascist youth organization in the Kingdom of Greece during the years of the Metaxas Regime . It was established some time in 1937 and was disbanded with the start of the German occupation of Greece...
, EON).
The EON brought together youths of all economic and social strata into one single body. Boys’ education emphasized discipline and physical training, while girls were taught to become supportive wives and caring mothers to breed a stronger, healthier new generation. The EON published a fortnight magazine called Neolaia (Νεολαία, Greek for "Youth"), which had much influence both in schools and in higher education.
The EON was disbanded by the German-Italian occupying authority in Greece following its vigorous resistance of the invasion.
Nationalism
As in most other authoritarian regimes, the Fourth of August adopted a strong nationalistic program: Although Metaxas was opposed to the invasion of Asia Minor as part of the Megali IdeaMegali Idea
The Megali Idea was an irredentist concept of Greek nationalism that expressed the goal of establishing a Greek state that would encompass all ethnic Greek-inhabited areas, since large Greek populations after the restoration of Greek independence in 1830 still lived under Ottoman rule.The term...
, he used strong nationalist language concerning Greek minorities in neighboring countries as well as in answering threats from Greece's neighbors in the still volatile southeast Europe. As with many nation states at the time, he used language exhalting his people's "race." Ethnic and religious minorities were persecuted under Metaxas' rule as was common throughout the region. The regime, however, was relatively tolerant to the Greek Jews, repealing the anti-Semitic laws of previous regimes. A large community of Sephardic Jews was present in the region of Thessaloniki which was annexed by Greece in 1913, and Jews were largely in opposition to Venizelism. Metaxas was firmly opposed to the irredentist factions of the Slavophones of northern Greece (consisting of Slavophone Greeks and Bulgarians mainly in Macedonia and Thrace), some of whom underwent political persecution due to advocacy of irredentism with regard to neighboring countries. Metaxas' regime continued repression of the use of Slavic languages both in public and in private as well as expressions of Slavic cultural distinctiveness. Despite their supposed disloyalty, however, Slavophone Greeks identified with the Greek state and fought ferociously for Greece on the Italo-Albanian front. Again in contrast to some authoritarian regimes, no mass killings were ever instituted and there is no evidence that any were planned.
Economic policy
One of the 4th of August government's main objectives was the repudiation of the old capitalist system and its replacement with a corporatist economic system in order to promote both national and social solidarity. This idea "harmonized perfectly with Metaxas' convictions on social and national solidarity as well as his rejection of individualism and class struggle". The plan for the creation of a corporatist state was manifest in the early days of the regime by public declarations by Metaxas himself as well as government ministers. To this end, deputy Premier and Finance Minister Konstantinos Zavitsianos "published details about a horizontal (according to branches of production), not vertical (according to social class), syndicalist organization" of the state. However, due to the external crisis with Italy, the plan had to be temporarily postponed with the result that it never fully materialized.Metaxas' government, initially unpopular, also gained popularity through an elaborate program to socialize the Greek economy, including:
- introduction of a minimum wageMinimum wageA minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...
; - unemployment insurance and the creation of a public employment agency;
- maternity leave;
- a 5-day, 40-hour workweek;
- guaranteed 2-week vacations with pay (or two weeks' double pay in place of the vacation);
- stricter work safety standards.
Many elements of this program persist in Greek economic policy. Metaxas' regime also founded the Social Security Institute (IKA) as well as the Workers' Center, which was established to look after workers' housing and recreation, among other things.
The 4th of August regime also initially stabilized the drachma (later replaced by the euro), which had been suffering from high inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
. Exploiting the newfound solidity of the currency, Metaxas' government embarked on large public works
Public works
Public works are a broad category of projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community...
programs, including land drainage
Drainage system (Agriculture)
An agricultural drainage system is a system by which the water level on or in the soil is controlled to enhance agricultural crop production.-Classification:Figure 1 classifies the various types of drainage systems...
, construction of railways, road
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
improvements, and modernization of the telecommunications infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
.
Metaxas' economic program met with initial success, with a marked rise in per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
and temporary decline in unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
in Greece between 1936 and 1938 (unemployment skyrocketed after 1938). Capitalizing on this success, the government instituted debt relief
Debt relief
Debt relief is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations. From antiquity through the 19th century, it refers to domestic debts, in particular agricultural debts and freeing of debt slaves...
for farmers and instituted price floors on some agricultural goods to redistribute wealth to the countryside.
The end of the Fourth of August regime
Foreign policy was one of the main concerns of the Fourth of August regime. Metaxas, who had studied in Germany as a youth was pro-German, as was the King. But the reality of 1930's Europe was that Greece's security depended on her traditional protector, Great BritainGreat Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, which was the superpower dominating the Eastern Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
with her fleet. In addition, Mussolini's grandiose schemes to create a new Roman Empire in the Mediterranean directly clashed with Greek pretensions to control the Aegean Sea and the Dodecanese islands (by then under Italian control) and to exert stronger influence in Albania.
As the drums of war sounded increasingly stronger in Europe just before World War II, the situation was almost exactly the same as the position before World War One, when Greece had strong pro-German affinities in government, but it depended on Britain for its security. Most observers were anticipating Greece would attempt to remain neutral. Metaxas indeed attempted to maintain neutrality, but Italian expansionism eventually led to an Italian ultimatum and to the Greco-Italian War
Greco-Italian War
The Greco-Italian War was a conflict between Italy and Greece which lasted from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. It marked the beginning of the Balkans Campaign of World War II...
. Greek forces repelled the Italian invasion completely. Metaxas died and then a large scale German invasion of Greece
Battle of Greece
The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...
occurred and a subsequent fascist puppet government was placed into power.
Legacy
As the Axis occupation ended, Greece descended into civil warGreek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
between the communist-dominated forces of the left, operating in Greece and out of bases in the south of Yugoslavia, and the U.S.- and UK-aligned forces of the political right. This was the first major protracted combat of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, one of the first exercises in U.S. policy of Containment
Containment
Containment was a United States policy using military, economic, and diplomatic strategies to stall the spread of communism, enhance America’s security and influence abroad, and prevent a "domino effect". A component of the Cold War, this policy was a response to a series of moves by the Soviet...
, and a subject of the Truman Doctrine
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a policy set forth by U.S. President Harry S Truman in a speech on March 12, 1947 stating that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent their falling into the Soviet sphere...
of U.S. President Harry Truman. The alignments were quite different from the Venizelist-Monarchist National Schism, as most Venizelists supported the right-wing alliance during the civil war.
Further reading
- Robin Higham and Thanos Veremis (eds), The Metaxas Dictatorship. Aspects of Greece 1936-1940 (Athens, Eliamep-Vryonis Center, 1993).
- Papacosma, S. Victor, "Ioannis Metaxas and the "Fourth of August" Dictatorship in Greece," in Bernd J. Fischer (еd), Balkan Strongmen: Dictators and Authoritarian Rulers of Southeastern Europe (West Lafayette, IN, 2007) (Central European Studies), 165-198.
External links
- ioannismetaxas.gr - Ioannis P. Metaxas: Military and Political Leader, Man of the Culture, The official Ioannis Metaxas' Page, by the historian and granddaughter of the man, Ioanna Foka
- Metaxas Project
- Flagspot: The National Youth Organization