From Hero to Traitor: Tsolakoglou and the Fall of Greece

For Greeks, the surrender of Georgios Tsolakoglou to the Germans felt similar a betrayal by 1 of their ain heroes. Public Domain

Lieutenant General Georgios Tsolakoglou, who declared decision and signed the surrender to the Germans successful April 1941, is 1 of the astir divisive figures successful modern Greek history.

He was a leader erstwhile the Greek troops nether his bid thrashed the Italian service successful the mountains of bluish Epirus successful the wintertime of 1940-41, but became a villain when, contempt orders, helium surrendered and formed the archetypal collaborationist government. He was convicted of treason instantly aft the extremity of the Second World War, but his bequest inactive divides Greece.

Before helium became the look of collaboration, Georgios Tsolakoglou was really a highly respected and decorated vocation officer. He was considered a “soldier’s soldier,” which is precisely wherefore his eventual surrender carried specified a dense affectional value for the Greek public—it felt similar a betrayal by 1 of their ain heroes.

Tsolakoglou and his surrender to the Germans

By mid-April 1941, the Greek service was successful a dire position. They had successfully repelled the Italian penetration earlier successful the winter, but the German invasion (Operation Marita) that began connected April 6 proved overwhelming.

On April 20, 1941, Tsolakoglou, past commandant of the Army Corps of Western Macedonia, took the inaugural to surrender contempt the explicit orders of the Greek High Command and King George II.

He argued that further absorption was futile and would lone pb to the needless “useless shedding of Greek blood.”

Tsolakoglou’s memoirs, titled simply “Απομνημονεύματα” (Memoirs), were published posthumously successful 1959 (and reprinted arsenic precocious arsenic 2023). They are a fascinating, though highly defensive, model into the caput of a antheral trying to warrant what astir of his countrymen considered the eventual betrayal.

Justifying surrender

Tsolakoglou signs the surrender. Public Domain

He repeatedly claims that by signing the surrender, helium “fell into the fire” to prevention the Greek army. He describes the infinitesimal of signing arsenic the astir achy of his life, framing it arsenic a self-sacrificial enactment to forestall the “biological extinction” of the Greek younker who were trapped successful Epirus.

He besides held a circumstantial pride: helium was consenting to surrender to the Germans (whom helium felt had technically defeated the Greeks), but helium initially refused to surrender to the Italians, whom the Greeks had successfully held disconnected for months.

Collaboration with the Germans

In his memoirs, helium claimed helium took the relation of Collaborationist Prime Minister to enactment arsenic a shield betwixt the Greek radical and the Nazi occupiers, hoping to mitigate the harshness of the occupation.

He justifies taking the Prime Minister’s spot by claiming that if a Greek wide hadn’t stepped up, the Germans would person installed a “gauleiter” (a German governor) oregon allowed the much-hated Italians and Bulgarians to inhabit the full country, including Athens.

Interestingly, successful the aboriginal days of his government, helium issued statements calling National Socialism a “new governmental religion” created by the “luminous mind” of the Führer. In his aboriginal memoirs, helium tends to downplay this rhetoric, focusing alternatively connected his relation arsenic a “stabilizer” during the Great Famine.

Tsolakoglou and his deference to Hitler

The prevailing humanities and ineligible verdict, however, is overwhelmingly against him.

He disobeyed the nonstop orders of his Commander-in-Chief and the King. In subject terms, his “surrender” was technically a mutiny.

By forming a collaborationist government, helium gave the Nazi concern a “Greek face.” This helped the Germans negociate the state with less of their ain administrative resources.

Tsolakoglou sitting (back left) among German officers successful Athens. Public Domain

He wrote a ceremonial missive to Hitler connected April 26, 1941, the time earlier German tanks entered Athens.

In the text, Tsolakoglou utilized highly deferential connection to entreaty to Hitler’s ego and imaginativeness for Europe. The main points included:

• The Offer of Leadership: He formally proclaimed his willingness to caput a collaborationist authorities composed of elder subject generals.
• The “British Problem”: He framed the surrender and his caller authorities arsenic a mode to “cleanse” Greece of British influence. He argued that the ineligible Greek authorities (the King and Prime Minister) had committed a “crime” by inviting the British to Greek soil.
• Acknowledgment of German Supremacy: He referred to Hitler arsenic the “Führer of the German People” and expressed a tendency for Greece to align with the “New Order” successful Europe.
• Territorial Integrity: He pleaded with Hitler to guarantee that Greece remained intact and not divided among the different Axis powers (specifically Italy and Bulgaria), arguing that the Greek radical would beryllium much compliant nether a home administration.

On April 30, 1941, 3 days aft they entered Athens, the Germans acceptable up a collaborationist authorities nether the premiership of Tsolakoglou, 1 of the 3 chiefs of staff.

Tsolakoglou issued orders that decreed the behaviour of the Greek colonisation toward the occupying forces. A “Daily Address of the President of the Government to the Army,” issued successful the archetypal days of May 1941, announced:

“Now that, connected relationship of the magnanimous motion of the Führer, Leader of the German Nation, state has been granted to each subject officers and soldiers, I indispensable code the pursuing matters to each those who fought connected my broadside and those who fought connected the broadside of my collaborating generals. …The German Army has not travel present arsenic an enemy, arsenic an adversary. It has travel arsenic a friend. It occupied our onshore successful bid to expel the English from mainland Greece. They, an evil fortune, had been invited to our nationalist onshore by our transgression government. We are obligated to grounds our affable feelings toward the Germans, to taxable to the caller bid of things, and to instrumentality to bosom the large dogmas and the large principles of National Socialism, this caller governmental religion, which has been created by the luminous caput and large psyche of the Führer. Returning present to your homes, support your gratitude to the Führer and use yourselves to your peaceful endeavors…”

Despite his assertion that helium would “shield” the people, his authorities oversaw the opening of the Great Famine (1941–1942), wherever hundreds of thousands of Greeks died of starvation. He was besides incapable (or unwilling) to forestall the Bulgarian concern of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, which progressive brutal “Bulgarianization” campaigns.

Convicted of precocious treason

At his proceedings for precocious treason successful 1945, Georgios Tsolakoglou’s defence was built connected a strategy of “Patriotic Realism.” He did not contradict his actions; instead, helium argued that his intent was to sphere the Greek federation erstwhile the authoritative authorities had “abandoned” it. A Special Court for Collaborators recovered him blameworthy of precocious treason. The tribunal ruled that his surrender “facilitated the enemy” and that his authorities served German interests implicit Greek lives.

The tribunal pointed retired that contempt his claims of being a “shield,” the concern nether his ticker was 1 of the astir brutal successful Europe. The Great Famine of 1941 occurred portion helium was Prime Minister, and helium had been incapable to halt the Bulgarians from annexing Greek territory successful the north.

He was sentenced to decease for precocious treason and for the “illegal surrender” of the army.

However, due to the fact that of his agelong erstwhile work arsenic a decorated serviceman successful the Balkan Wars and WWI, and possibly recognizing the genuine subject dilemma helium faced successful those archetypal fewer days of April, his condemnation was commuted to beingness imprisonment. He died successful situation 3 years aboriginal from leukemia, inactive maintaining that helium was a patriot whom past had misunderstood.

In the eyes of the Greek authorities and the nationalist consciousness, the statement of “Traitor” stuck. While helium whitethorn person started with the volition of redeeming his soldiers’ lives, his modulation from a surrendering wide to a puppet person made him the look of a acheronian era.

He is seldom viewed with the aforesaid nuance arsenic idiosyncratic similar Marshal Pétain successful France; successful Greece, Tsolakoglou is astir universally remembered arsenic the antheral who handed the keys of the state to the Axis.