World War Ii and Its Aftermath
David H. Close The Origins of the Greek Civil War (Longman, o/p). An excellent, readable study that focuses on the social conditions in 1920s and 1930s Greece that made the country so ripe for conflict. Draws on primary sources, slays a few sacred cows along the way, and is relatively objective (though he's no great fan of the Left). Nicholas Gage Eleni (Collins Harvill; Ballantine). A controversial account by a Greek-born New York Times correspondent who returns to Epirus to avenge the death of his mother, condemned by an ELAS tribunal in 1948. Good descriptions of village life, but somewhat blinkered political "history". The book inspired a response by a left-wing writer, Vassilis Kavathas, whose family had been decimated by the Right, entitled Iy Alli Eleni ( The Other Eleni ), not as yet translated into English. Iakovos Kambanellis Mauthausen (Kedros, Athens; Central Books, UK). Kambanellis was active in the Resistance, caught by the Germans, and sent to Mauthausen, the concentration camp reserved for those politicians or partisans who had opposed the Nazis' rise to power. Harrowing atrocities in flashback there are aplenty, but the main thrust of the book is post-liberation, describing the author's awkward romance with a Lithuanian Jew, and how the idealist inmates are slowly disillusioned as they see that the "New World Order" will be scarcely different from the old. The basis of a play, and the Theodhorakis oratorio of the same name. Mark Mazower Inside Hitler's Greece: The Experience of Occupation 1941-44 (Yale UP). Somewhat choppily organized, but the standard of scholarship is high and the photos alone justify the price. Demonstrates how the complete demoralization of the country and the incompetence of conventional politicians led to the rise of ELAS and the onset of civil war. The sequel to this is After the War was Over: Reconstructing the Family and State in Greece, 1943-1960 (Princeton UP), consisting of scholarly articles on various aspects of Greece in the period specified. Eddie Myers Greek Entanglement (Alan Sutton, UK, o/p). The inside story of the Gorgopotamos viaduct sabotage operation by the British brigadier who led it, and lots else about co-ordinating the resistance from 1942 to 1944. Myers comes across as under no illusions as to the qualities of the various Greeks he had to deal with. Marion Sarafis and Martin Eve Background to Contemporary Greece, vols 1 & 2 (Merlin, UK). Useful, not overly academic essays on a wide variety of subjects, from the death of katharevoussa to (especially) the civil war; a mild left-wing bias, not surprising since Sarafis is the (English) widow of DSE commander Stefanos Sarafis. Adrian Seligman War in the Islands (Allan Sutton, UK). Collected oral histories of a little-known Allied unit: a flotilla of kaikia organized to raid the Axis-held Aegean islands. Boy's Own stuff, with service-jargon-laced prose, but lots of fine period photos and detail. Michael Ward Greek Assignments: SOE 1943-UNSCOB 1948 (Lycabettus Press, Athens). The author, British consul in Thessaloniki from 1971 to 1983, parachuted into the Pindhos as a guerrilla and walked the width of the country; most amazing is how the Germans controlled only the towns, leaving the countryside to the Resistance. While assigned to discourage other British servicemen from doing so, he married a Greek and later returned to observe the civil war. C.M. Woodhouse The Struggle for Greece, 1941-49 (Hart-Davis, o/p; Beekman). A masterly and by no means uncritical account of this crucial decade, explaining how Greece emerged without a communist government.
Kavourotrypes beach.kostas says "An excellent,fantastic,superb beach in Sithonia peninsula of Chalkidiki.Its about half an hour trip from Porto Coufo by car.Its a mixed beach,for ordinary peolple and for nudists!Try a visit there." Tour Greece On Line (Video + Stills)David Mundstock says "My film "I Follow Apollo” presents the highlights of Greece, including Athens, Olympia, Meteora, Sparta, the Byzantine Empire, and a cruise to the islands of Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, & Rhodes, plus Ephesus in Turkey.
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This is a free, non-commercial, streaming video on the Windows Media Player. No ads and no strings attached. I sell absolutely nothing.
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There are over 30 of my other amateur travel videos on-line including trips to China, Russia, Antarctica, Italy, the UK, Australia, Hawaii, Peru, Mayan pyramids, and Turkey; see whales, penguins, or polar bears
The planet is yours, including my Home Page giant galaxy of still pictures.
To watch the videos or view the stills, please ask a search engine for: Intrepid Berkeley Explorer" tramadoltramadol says "tramadol" ultramultram says "ultram"
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