Why the Sheer FEROCITY of the Defending Greeks in WW2 STUNNED the World 

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Respect to my Greek brothers and sisters from an Assyrian 🇬🇷🇮🇶

Italy: invaded Greece Greece: hippity hoppity get out of my property

FAMOUS QUOTES ABOUT THE GREEKS IN WWII: Adolf Hitler: "For the sake of historical truth I must verify that only the Greeks, of all the adversaries who confronted us, fought with bold courage and highest disregard of death.. " (From speech he delivered to Reichstag on 4 May 1941) Winston Churchill: "The word heroism I am afraid does not render the least of those acts of self-sacrifice of the Greeks, which were the defining factor in the victorious outcome of the common struggle of the nations, during WWII, for the human freedom and dignity. If it were not for the bravery of the Greeks and their courage, the outcome of WWII would be undetermined." (Paraphrased from one of his speeches to the British Parliament on 24 April 1941) "Until now we used to say that the Greeks fight like heroes. Now we shall say: The heroes fight like Greeks." (From a speech he delivered from the BBC in the first days of the Greco-Italian war) Joseph Vissarionovich Tzougasvili Stalin: "I am sorry because I am getting old and I shall not live long to thank the Greek People, whose resistance decided WWII." (From a speech of his broadcast by the Moscow radio station on 31 January 1943 after the victory of Stalingrad and the capitulation of marshal Paulus) Charles de Gaul: "I am unable to give the proper breadth of gratitude I feel for the heroic resistance of the People and the leaders of Greece." (From a speech of his to the French Parliament after the end of WWII) Maurice Schumann Minister of the exterior of France 1969-1973, member of the French Academy 1974: "Greece is the symbol of the tortured, bloodied but live Europe.. Never a defeat was so honorable for those who suffered it." (From a message of his he addressed from the BBC of London to the enslaved peoples of Europe on 28 April 1941, the day Hitler occupied Athens after Greece fought a 6-month war) Moscow, Radio Station to Greece: "You fought unarmed and won, small against big. We owe you gratitude, because you gave us time to defend ourselves. As Russians and as people we thank you." (When Hitler attacked the U.S.S.R.) Georgy Constantinovich Zhoucov 1896-1974 Marshal of the Soviet Army: "If the Russian people managed to raise resistance at the doors of Moscow, to halt and reverse the German torrent, they owe it to the Greek People, who delayed the German divisions during the time they could bring us to our knees." (Quote from his memoirs on WWII) Benito Mussolini: "The war with Greece proved that nothing is firm in the military and that surprises always await us." (From speech he delivered on 10/5/1941) Sir Robert Antony Eden, Minister of War and the Exterior of Britain 1940-1945, Prime Minister of Britain 1955-1957: "Regardless of what the future historians shall say, what we can say now, is that Greece gave Mussolini an unforgettable lesson, that she was the motive for the revolution in Yugoslavia, that she held the Germans in the mainland and in Crete for six weeks, that she upset the chronological order of all German High Command's plans and thus brought a general reversal of the entire course of the war and we won." (Paraphrased from a speech of his to the British parliament on 24/09/1942) Sir Harold Leofric George Alexander, British Marshal during WWII: "It would not be an exaggeration to say that Greece upset the plans of Germany in their entirety forcing her to postpone the attack on Russia for six weeks. We wonder what would have been Soviet Union's position without Greece." (Paraphrased from a speech of his to the British parliament on 28 October 1941) George VI, King of Great Britain 1936-1952: "The magnificent struggle of Greece, was the first big turn of WWII" (Paraphrased from a speech of his to the parliament in May 1945) Franklin Roosevelt, President of the United States of America: "On the 28th of October 1940 Greece was given a deadline of three hours to decide on war or peace but even if a three day or three week or three year were given, the response would have been the same. The Greeks taught dignity throughout the centuries. When the entire world had lost all hope, the Greek people dared to question the invincibility of the German monster raising against it the proud spirit of freedom." (Paraphrased from speech he delivered on 10/6/1943) "The heroic struggle of the Greek people... against Germany 's attack, after she so thunderously defeated the Italians in their attempt to invade the Greek soil, filled the hearts of the American people with enthusiasm and moved their compassion." (Paraphrased from a speech of his on 25/04/1941) NOTES: On 10 April 1941, after the capitulation to Germany, the northern forts of Greece surrender. The Germans express their admirations to Greek soldiers, declare that they were honored and proud to have as their adversary such an army and request that the Greek commandant inspect the German army in a demonstration of honor and recognition! The German flag is raised only after the complete withdrawal of the Greek army. A German officer of the air force declared to the commander of the Greek Eastern Macedonia division group, lieutenant general Dedes that the Greek army was the first army on which the stuka fighter planes did not cause panic. "Your soldiers" he said, "instead of fleeing frantically, as they did in France and Poland, were shooting at us from their positions." The Greeks originally surrendered to the Germans only (which makes sense). Mussolini learned about it and got pissed, demanding that the Greek Army surrender to the Italians as well. He ordered additional attacks against the Greeks who were then in the process of surrendering to Germany. The Greeks resisted, and defeated the Italians once more. After the embarrassment to Mussolini, Hitler relented and had General Dietrich convince General Georgios Tsolakoglou to include Italy as well in the surrender. And here's a very old quote from ancient times: AESCHYLUS: "BECAUSE ONLY WE (THE GREEKS), CONTRARY TO THE BARBARIANS, NEVER COUNT THE ENEMY IN BATTLE" Here's a little history lesson on the Greeks in WWII. The Greeks resisted longer than any other country before being occupied by the Nazis. DURATION OF RESISTANCE (in days): Greece 219 Norway 61 France 43 (The superpower at the time) Poland 30 Belgium 18 Holland 4 Yugoslavia 3 Denmark 0 (The Danes surrendered to Hitler's motorcyclist who was conveying Hitler's request to the Danish king for the crossing of the Nazi armies. The Danish king indicating submission surrendered his crown to the motorcyclist) Czechoslovakia 0 Luxenburg 0 TOTAL GREEK CASUALTIES IN WWII BY COUNTRY: Albanians killed 1,165 Greeks Italians killed 8,000 Greeks Bulgarians killed 25,000 Greeks Germans killed 50,000 Greeks TOTAL LOSES IN POPULATION PERCENTAGES: Greece 10% Soviet Union 16% Holland 2.2% France 2% (The superpower at the time) Poland 16% Yugoslavia 1.7% Belgium 1.5%

The Aussies and Kiwis also fought with ferocity for Greece - both mainland and Crete. And we ANZACS love our Greek cobbers.

Germany: surrender or we'll invade Greece: cowabunga it is malaka

For a small European country they have had some of the most badass story’s of history

Greeks would always have my respect 🇬🇧♥️🇬🇷

Ζητώ ή Ελλάδα από έναν Άγγλο !

Here's a story of the Axis occupation : When the Germany occupied the island of Zakynthos they demanded from the town's authorities to write a list including all the names of the Jewish people living in the island. As the mayor of the island talked with the archbishop they conducted the list. There were only two names in the list Mayor of Zakynthos Archbishop of Zakynthos

Ι have a story and although it is not from my ancestors i think it's a good one. In the summer of 2018 a family went at a tavern in Crete at the city of Herakleion to eat. They weren't greeks. After a while the owner asked them where are they from and they said that they were from New Zealand. When the family finished their meal and they asked for the bill. The owner said ' you don't owe me anything. This debt was paid 77 years ago when your ancestors defended our country and our island as it was their own' .

It's always great to hear about the bravery and war-efforts of the minor combatant nations! Respect to my Greek brothers and sisters from an Indian. 🇬🇷🇮🇳

As a Portuguese I've always had huge respect for Greece and their history, a country I'd wish to visit someday

I've known a few Greeks during my life, I can say without hesitation they have all been hard working,careing people.

The actions of our ancestors makes me proud I lost a grand grandfather in the greco Albanian front 🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷

Greece was always a tiny titan, it could endure the hardest obstacles and overcome it with sheer will power and strength,

Trojans, Spartans, Athenas, Thebes, Corinth, and Argos ancestors were smiling hard with Alexander, Leonidas, Solon, Pericles, Draco, and Cimon spirits flow though their people heart. There’s a saying “Even if the nation is split and fighting each other to the death there’s no greater force terrifying than a nation fighting as a whole.” Greeks were everyone ancestors where we europeans and Americans had tides to them in some form. Greeks created the republic and Greeks created the democracy. Greeks were known to be first civilization of our kind who battle each other to the death for over 5,000 years. Philotimo!

4000 years of warrior dna, allways outnumbered , never backed off of fights, most of the time victorious , thats greek history in a nutshell.

I'm from Greece. My great-grandfather fought in the war in 1940, he managed to capture two Italian soldiers who had gone to take a piss, and left their rifles outside. Later, he stepped on an Italian landmine and his toes had to be amputated. But even after that, he NEVER said anything negative about Italians. In fact, he visited Italy almost 10 times until his death in 2015, and loved each and every one of those trips. Una Faccia, una Razza. 🇬🇷💖🇮🇹

Germany: oh come on italy how hard can it be Later Italy: you were saying Germany: shut up

My Grandfather was at Hill 731 that time,was one of the most critical battles of the Greek-Italian War. The conflicts lasted 15 days, ie from March 9-24, 1941 and ended with the domination of the Greeks. Today the Hill 731 has Height 726m beacause of the Bombs..

My greek grandma chased (with a broom) italians who were trying to catch and eat her chicken and then they just run away

"I forbid the Press to underestimate the Greeks, to defame them... The Führer admires the bravery of Greeks. " Joseph Goebbels in his diary, 9 April 1941

New Zealanders fought by our side on Crete (5,894 German casualties). God bless all those who died so we can live free. While all other countries had to fight only the Germans (by majority) the Greeks fought the Italians (and pushed them to the sea) AND the Germans (who came later to assist the disgraced Italians - Germans suffered lots of loses during so also). Actually the Germans never planned to attack Greece, they only did it because of the Italian conquest failure so they had to restore the broken AXIS Prestige. Greece originally surrendered to the Germans under the condition that they would not have to surrender to the Italian troops, as said "We're gonna surrender, but not to Mussolini, they didn't earn this win".

As a Greek Australian I couldn't be more proud of both :)

As a Greek I am very thankful that history channels are finally covering the Greek contributions of the war. The efforts of our great grandfathers will finally receive the credit it deserves.

"No matter if you will destroy our trees, if you will burn our villages, we will never yield. Even if one Greek remains in this world, we will always fight you. And do not expect that our land, will be yours. Just cancell this from your mind." General Kolokotronis's answer to Ibrahim's Pasha, during the Greek War of Independence in 1821, against the Ottoman Empire. When the Greeks asked the poet Kostis Palamas in 1940, what was his opinion to do, against the forces of the Axis, answered: "One thing i wll tell you and nothing else, drink from the immortal wine of 1821". That was the fighting spirit if the Greeks in WWII.

Great effort! Bravo Greeks! Salute to you from Bulgaria. I am sorry, our country was part of this misery you endured. Respect!

«Εἷς οἰωνὸς ἄριστος ἀμύνεσθαι περὶ πάτρης.»

Battle of the hill 731.... these soldiers were legends

Thanks for the video about my country's history.

Respect to the strong resilient people of Greece from the USA!

I am from Crete. My grand-grandmother used to tell me stories from WW2 and everytime she was bursted in tears. Her father died in the war from the germans and all the sisters were enraged. When the german parashooters droped in crete, she with ALL her sisters (11 to 19 y/o) hiding in the mountains, waiting for the parashooters to touch the ground, and leap on them with primitive knives, rocks and farming tools , slaughtering them the moment the touched the ground. Only 2 of the sisters made it alive till the end of war. She had told me that the most ferocious of all, was the little helena, the younger sister, 11 y/o. Whenever she attacked a parashooter she was screaming the name of her dead father (Nikolas). This is what war do to the people.

"Just like their ancestors ages ago Fought in the face of defeat Those three hundred men left a pride to uphold Freedom of death in effect"

I knew the Greeks fought in the war but damn

Respect to Greece from the USA!

My grandmother and her family heed an Italian soldier in a small basement under her kitchen in Kerkira for at least a month and helped him sneak out of greece back to Italy. The Italian mailed her every year to say thank you for saving his life.

"You fought unarmed and won,small against big,thanks to you we had time to prepare our forces,as Russians we thank you" *-Russian radio station when Hitler attacked the Soviet Union*

Axis; how about we invade Greece, the nation know for destroying empires and the last stand of 300 men against thousands? Plato in Afterlife: let me show you why that's a bad idea.

On behalf of Greek people, we thank you for this video.

This video made me really proud and i am not even greek

The people of Greece has always been fierce warriors, all the way back to ancient history and they keep up that reputation to this day

The Spartans must be proud of their descendants, but I’m not sure if the Romans are proud of their Italian descendants.

My grandfather lost his life at the front line defending against the Italian invasion. After his death, my grandmother took up arms and fought the Italians and the Germans.

Thank you for this edifying presentation - I was not familiar with the ferocity of Greek resistance, but in retrospect I cannot say that I am surprised. The fighting spirit of the Greek people has been clearly manifest since the earliest days of their nation's history, such as when they banded together to bring the hubris of the Persian Empire crashing down at Thermopylae, Marathon, Salamis, and Plataea. May God bless our Greek brothers and sisters with freedom, peace, and unity ☦️🇬🇷

I met an aged Cretan from Heraklion in Crete in the 1990's who told me about shooting at German paratroops as they dropped in the invasion. He lost his left arm to the elbow in the battle and fought on in the resistance using his stump to rest his rifle on.

I hadn’t known about the Greeks role. Thank you! Now I can flex all the stuff I learned here when I return to school tomorrow.

My papou (greek for grandpa) fought and got shot in the thigh although made it, couldnt be more proud. He lived until the age of 96 until passing away november 2019 RIP

I’m a Greek Cypriot and my grandfather fought in the battle of El-Alamein in Egypt against the german general Erwin Rommel under the British flag

I am Greek my grand grand father died defending the Crete island

Hollywood must make a ww2 movie for greece , change my mind

Love to my greek brothers and sisters from a portuguese I hope for a even better luso-hellinic relations in the future🇵🇹🤝🇬🇷

I didn’t know anything about this and I study history. but I’m not surprised from Alexander the great to the Spartans they’ve always been some of the bravest this world has to offer

I am a Cretan. One of my Great grandfathers was an Evzonas in the Greco-Italian war. These men were then considered the special forces of the time and fought the hardest battles. He suffered very bad frostbites and almost lost his limbs. Once the Germans captured Greece he evacuated to Crete and in the day of the invasion he amongst others from his village rushed to the landing fields with spades to defend the island. Later he was taken prisoner by the Germans to build an airport but he escaped. When I remember his stories I set him as an example of the bravery of our ancestors

Dying for the freedom of your people and your country is one of the most noble things you could die for.

Italy: “Give us your country.” Greece: “ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ!”

Mad respect for Greece

I am crying. Out of both mourning and the knowledge of my ancestors and my friend’s ancestors fought and died for the Greek independence that at the time was 110 years old. And I am also Crying out of honor and pride. Proud and honored to be one of these people. To bear a dual citizenship and to have Greek as my mother language. Thank you. You are the only one that have put the Greco-Italian War into this prospective and thank you for giving me this feeling

Is it just me or are a lot of history channels talking about Greece lately lol?

Nazi: let’s land on Crete Crete: (you are already dead) Nazi:what!!

Damn imagine being a French soldier and having modern technology and surrendering to Germany when Greece, who had an army that made up a small fraction of the German army who had WW1 weapons fought out successfully the Italians, and not only that, but they stalled the Germans for a few months. Before anyone says I am wrong, this is from first-hand accounts. Out of the 7 males of my Grandfather’s family 6 of them fought the Germans, on my Grandmother’s side, out of the 5 males of the family, 3 fought the Germans. Also there was an ultimatum placed by Italy on Greece and Prime Minister Metaxas discussed it with the secretary of defense in my Grandfather’s coffee shop in Greece Edit: I have the coffee pot that made Prime Minister Metaxas’ coffe on October 28, 1940 at my house in Greece

United States: "We still have the most powerful military in the world and just over half of our total population owns a firearm. Bring it. We'll win through attrition in a month or less." Russia: "Let us tell you what happened when two world superpowers tried to invade us by land on separate occasions in recent history..." Iran: "We think we're badass and we are, at least when someone decides to fight us on our terms." Brazil: "Should we introduce you to our vast and inhospitable jungles?" Israel: "What? Were you born and raised under a rock?!" Greece: "Hah. Hold my Grandfather's captured Mauser rifle and watch this!"

Fun fact:Greeks took part in d-day as well

Little personal note- My grandmother and some family went from the US (where my grandmother was born) to visit family in Greece in 1939. They were supposed to stay for a year, but had to leave when Hitler invaded Poland and the American embassy wanted their citizens back home. My grandmother says the trip home took double the time it did to get there, since they had to avoid german subs on the return. She was just nine then, and the Greek crew of the ship kept the little kids occupied for two whole weeks at sea by playing cartoons on a projector, then playing them backwards when they ran out... which the kids found hilarious. The sailors did stuff like making this huge pasta dinner for the kids that ended up all over the place when the ship hit a big wave- and instead of being upset, the crew made a big show of it being funny and had a spaghetti food fight for their entertainment. It always struck me how kind it was that these sailors, in the midst of real danger, fear, and apprehension for what was to come, deliberately distracted the kids from all the scary adult stuff going on. And at 90 years old, after a half dozen kids of her own and twice that many grandchildren, my grandmother still remembers those young men being so good to her as a frightening little girl.

When you fight so hard the other side has to give props. History really down played the Greeks in high school history.

This might get buried, but like many here I have a story that has been passed through my family from the war of my Great Uncle. My Great Uncle was a young Medical Officer in the Royal Army when Mussolini invaded. He was sent to Albania with the initial defenders and he saw action on several occasions during the Greco-Italian War. My grandmother told me that he acted very bravely and he was rewarded with a short leave from the front so he could return home. When he arrived home, he learned of the Germans invasion. Try as he did, my great uncle couldn't return to rejoin the Army before they evacuated. The island where my family was from saw very little resistance activity in the early days of the war. In his own act of defiance, he and a few other fellows from his village who were also in the Army wore their uniforms in open protest of the occupation whenever they left their homes. My Grandmother told me that when she would walk down the streets of their village with her brother, the occupying soldiers would salute him as they passed since it was already known in the village that he had fought in Albania. Later on in the war he was able to secure passage to North Africa in secret and rejoin the Army there. He survived both the war and the Civil War and he passed away about ten years ago. Never forget our ancestors - our heroes - who fought, bled, and died to save our freedom and our country. We live because of their sacrifice.

Poland:my resistance lasted a whole 30 days France:I resisted the Germans for a continued 43 days Greece: amateurs France and poland: what was that punk Greece amateurs *Greek resistance lasted 220 continuous days

Story from the occupation: My grandmother was the youngest of the seven sisters in her family and was living in a village in Ileia(the region where olympia is) and was about ten when the war started. Their family was living by farming and the girls only attended elementary school so they could help their father on the farming. They didn't starve because they had food sources and they were for the most part under italian occupation which was relatively better, but in no way great. Unfortunately their father died due to illness and a mother with seven daughters were left behind. The military police would usually steal from everybody. From bread towine to crops to olive oil, everything they could get their hands on. After the father's death and the surrender of the italians the germans took direct control and started imprisoning the italian soldiers. These former military policemen were plaintly STARVING and would risk everything just for a slice of bread. So then the robberies became more frequent. One day my grandma's oldest sister(who was 17) was looking over the sheep they had when suddenly an italian soldier came out of nowhere grabed one of the sheep and started running with everything he had. And that 17 year old girl started chasing him all by herself until he was forced to let the sheep go. Just thinking of it is mental. A former soldier who was occupying a region was chased down by a 17 year old girl leaving empty handed. Really in awe of her gut.

Did not expect less from the lineage of Spartans and Atheneans.

A British intelligence officer a friend of ours stayed in Greece After the invasion and made things very difficult for the Germans

Example of bravery: the entire battle of Fort Roupel. Exhausted, under equipped and under supplied men fought the best of the German forces. Oh yeah and forgot to mention Dimitrios Itsios and his KDR of 300 kills- 1 death.

The Greeks massively helped the Brits, and as a fellow Brit, I thank you for that!;

Ι have to make a correction. The number of the fallen soldiers and officers of the Greek Army in the war at the Epirus with the Italians (Greek territory) and in North Epirus (ex Greek territory with huge Greek minority until today, that belongs to the Albania), and the battles in Albania territory, plus the German attack in Macedonia and Thrace, (States of the Kingdom of Greece) on April of 1941 costs around 13.000 deads, no woundeds, only deads. Around 25.000 suffered and came out of action from frostbites, because it was the most heavy winter in Epirus of the last 30 years. In no occasion the number of 80.000 casualties. The numbers are known and the Hellenic Army General Staff Headquarters give the exactly number of the fallen . At the total numbers of the deaths we suffered, after our country had been occupied from the Germans, Italians, Bulgarians and in a few places of the Epirus, that belongs and today in Greece, from the Albanians. From the starvation mainly ,the kills or murderers of Bulgarians in Macedonia and Thrace from the Albanians in Epirus and the Germans and Italians ithe main country and to our islands, we suffered over 500.000 deads, from the winter of 1941 until the liberation of our country, in October of 1944, in total population of 8.000.000 Greeks. The Germans taken all the goods that we produced , cereals,dried grapes, olive oil, nuts,grapes,wines etc, for them, and send them to Germany for their support. The problem became more tragical because the allied!!!! prime minister of Great Britain mr.... Churchill prohibited to the International Red Cross to send for help to the Greek people's cereals, as happened in other countries of occupied Europe. You, can search and find out for what reason our allie mr Churchill command to happen that in Greece and the Greek people. I m sorry for my bad English. With owner S. Gerontopoulos Hellenic Air Force Grand Chief Master Sargeant

You know the thing is that italian soldiers did not want to fight the greeks at all, it is like a fight with your little brother, he can do somthing that will make you mad but in the end you love him anyway, una faccia una razza🇮🇹❤️🇬🇷

Both of my grandfathers were from Crete and were among those heroes sent to Epirus to fight against the Italians. When the front collapsed they had very hard time returning to Crete. The stories I've heard from others about their voyage back home, always reminded me of Homer's Odyssey. I never had the chance to meet my paternal grandfather, and my maternal grandfather never talked to me about these things. He had, though, a big collection of rifles and pistols from the war/occupation and was always keen to show these to me and explain me which were Italian and which German. I think, when my grandfathers returned to Crete, the island had already fallen to the Germans. It was those from my family who had stayed behind that lived the battle of Crete and the subsequent occupation; my grandmothers and great-grandparents. My mother's village was one of the many villages that was burnt to the ground by the Germans as retaliation to the Greek resistance. During that period, my family had nowhere to go, but to live on the mountains like savages. They didn't surrender though, they kept fighting for their lives. My great-grandfather was eventually arrested and we still don't know what happened to him after his arrest. He was probably sent to a concentration camp. My grandmother's sister was also arrested along with a friend of hers. They were tortured, forced to dig their own grave and executed. They were 16 years old. I've watched so many documentaries and read so many books about WWII, but none of these can slightly compare to the stories that I've heard from my grandmother. I will never forget that summer in the early 90s, when I went to Crete and my grandmother and I sat in her kitchen and she told me her story about the occupation. I was born and raised in Athens and my parents decided to send me to a greek/german school. It was that summer that I told my grandma that I was learning German and I'll never forget her reaction. Her eyes darkened, she stood there still for a second and then she just spelled out three words in her beautiful Cretan dialect "Why my child?". A few days later we sat in her kitchen... These are only some stories from my maternal side. I've got similar ones from my paternal side too. For some reason there has been less publicity about the suffering of the Greeks during WWII than about other Europeans. Thank you for this video, I felt like it tries to keep the memory of all those who suffered alive.

My grandmothers experience of WWll: She used to live in a small village outside of Sparta. Whenever the Italians came to patrol they’d give food to children, dance and sing and it didn’t feel like they were at war at all. They even helped my great grandma find my grandma. However when the Germans came people would look a place to hide their children and men would go to the mountains and fight for the village’s freedom.

Thank you so much for this video. I was very young when my father told me of fighting in the forefront in Albania, when a bomb went off almost beside him and as he looked around almost his whole battalion were killed, amputated or deathly injured. I was too young to appreciate the gravity of what he was telling me, and you jogged this memory. Now I remember the pain and determination in his gaze while telling me this story and cry bitterly because I no longer have the opportunity to tell him how proud I am to be his daughter.

I had no idea of this bit of history. Thanks for sharing it and teaching something new. Roll on Greece! :)

As Metaxas said at 1:43, for a country of heros they had some people in their past to measure up to, the problem is, they did. Don't forget how the Greek pilot, Marinos Mitralexis, saved many of his countrymen when his PZL 11 was outta ammo, he made a Kamakaze run on an Italian bomber, made them crash and took the survivors prisoner, to march them to nearby Greek positions

Never knew about Greece’s involvement in the war. Always great to learn something new

There is no film about Greeks in WW2 though, we have saw films about French people, Jewish people, almost every country. But not a single film about Greece, as if Greeks dying and fighting for freedom wasn't as important.

Finally modern greek history im tired of hearing about our ancient history over and over again

ΑΕΡΑΑΑΑΑΑ!!!

I visited Crete in 1973 for six months. Spent a long time in a coastal village. One of the tavernas was popular with tourists and some Greeks. A nearby taverna was mostly Greek, not that they excluded tourists. I noticed the two groups of Greeks never mixed. I asked the proprietor of the first taverna about this. This resulted in an afternoon of drinking ouzo, eating endless souvlakis, etc. and he told me about the war. Partly, it was that I knew much of the history of Greece, Crete and knew a lot about the resistance. His group of Greeks were resistance. The other group collaborated or did nothing. They hated each other. There were some remnants of the Greek civil war, too. A very interesting day. Other tourists were jealous I had so much of his time, but, guess what? I knew a lot of his people and history and could ask sensible questions and had my own comments. Vast majority of tourists knew nothing. We were pals after that, always filled my ouzo to the top, etc. Went back to that village several times during that time on Crete.

My Greek grandad, from my father's side of the family, was just 6 years old when he had his first experience from the war. His parents, his siblings and himself were at Sunday mass and once it concluded, everyone went outside to the skies filled with bomber planes. To their dismay, after they had found shelter and was deemed ''safe'' to go home, they walked home only to find it blown to its foundations. They spent the rest of the war rebuilding what they could, living in poverty with minimal food as I am sure so many families had to endure as well. Only 8 out of his 12 siblings survived due to illness and malnutrition but bless him he is still going strong to this day!

In the 21st of August 1944 my great-grandfather was rounded up and executed along with 18 other men of Marathos (small village in Crete near Heraklion) by the Germans as retaliation for some partisan activity. The victims included his brother and other extended family members. My grandmother who was born in 1926 has told me many stories about this event, the German invasion and the following occupation. I still talk to her about that sometimes. Yes you read that right she is still alive!

Sparta would have been proud of those soldiers.

Both my grandfathers fought these wars. I was lucky enough to meet them both. There's practically no family in Greece without at least one dead in these wars. *This is what* shows the sheer ferocity of the Greek resistance. My family then lost many of its members. One of them is still being remembered as a war hero, another got killed during a bombing inside a church, but to me all these people who whether they fought, lived, died or simply endured, they were extraordinary people, almost mythical. And we got to meet them. It's like meeting Achilles. They are responsible for all we are both as individuals and as a nation. May they rest in peace.

My great grandfather fought the Axis for Greece. This made made me shed a tear in appreciation

My grandmother and her mother were part of EAM , not communists at all, they just didn't like occupation.

What did the germans expect? They dont call it Hellas for nothing

I always admired the Greek for their historical glory, I know it became divided because of the war and invasion, always understood how the Greece must have retaliated. Now i know better. Thank you so much for sharing this.

I was trying to find a video that appreciates our contribution in the WW2. Nobody seemed grateful enough to make one. This video brought tears in my eyes as the after war generation seemed to appreciate what they did, not only for the Greek community but to the entire world. A cousin of my grandmother, who had been suffering from Alzheimer’s, she was always telling while we were in the village to keep our heads safe during the bombings so we can stand up and make them regret the second they stepped on our secrete land. THE FRONT family I thank would like to thank you for the amazing video you made, during this difficult times this video brought me even tears of joy and appreciation THANK YOU❤️

My great Grandfather gave shelter to a New Zealand and an Australian soldier for some years in his home's cellar in the island of Naxos. These to soldiers were sparks and gave intelligent of the Luftwaffe movements to the British in Northern Africa, as Naxos is in the middle of the Aegean sea and many Axis planes that would assist the Germans in North Africa passed above the island. After his death he was awarded for his acts from the greek government. Also he had lost one of his sons to German fire and one other son of his (my grandad) used to steal german bikes

i have two short stories about my home city of Larissa. during the war, there was a big earthquake that ruined many buildings. the Italian airforce bombed the city soon after. it was considered a war crime by the international press. funny thing though, they ruined the bridge the Germans needed some time later in their invasion second story, when the city was liberated, it was by the communist resistance just as the Germans had started to leave. my street even has the name of that date. on the victory parade, my great grandfather was in the very front, doing tricks on his war horse :) he said the leader of the resistance had asked for this horse and he replied "when we achieve communism it will be our horse. until we make it, this horse is mine"

My uncle was in the Greek resistance. During the Greco-Italian war he was a spotter for the artillery, and later during the occupation he joined the resistance and he was with a group who were publishing a illegal newspaper. Never met him, he passed away before I was born, but my father told me that he was captured after someone betrayed them and was sent to Dachau - but he survived it and returned to Greece sometime in 1946 I believe. I remember my father saying that when he saw that his brother had come back he couldn't believe it and thought he was seeing a ghost - they had him for a goner.

Something that I don’t think other people know is that when a war starts in Greece the people see it as a chance to prove to the people again that they are worthy of the history that they have behind. And that’s why in every video that was saved showing Greeks going to war they were smiling and celebrating

I didnt even realise greece was part of WWII. This while very sad, is absolutely awesome and i dont think there would be many other countries or ethnicities willing to do what greece did

My grand grandfather fought with the hellenic armed forces and lived until his 100 years old and I got to meet him and I thank him

My history professor told us a story from his grandmother. Her mom died in a field, shooting down germans as they parachuted in with her husband's hunting rifle, until she got hit. I always remembered that, and was the one story I had to truly understand how powerful these people were