The Kapetanios

by Dominique Eudes, John Howe

The complicated and dramatic course of the Civil War in Greece had, for lack of parties interested in reconstructing the truth of its events, never been narrated prior to the appearance of this volume. It closed a gap in the history of our times, and did so with thoroughness and vivid journalistic immediacy. In addition to the known sources and unpublished documents, the author relied on testimony painstakingly collected from survivors of the tragedy who were scattered throughout the world. It remains the authoritative account of the kapetanios, the guerrilla chiefs who organized the partisans in the Greek mountains.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Greece

400 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1973

Reviews

[Kostas Kanellopoulos · Rating 5 out of 5]

αν ξεπερασεις την αγιογραφια του Αρη Βελουχιωτη, το βιβλιο του μαοϊκου διαβαζεται ως μια υποδειγματικη τραγωδια της ηττας της αντιστασης και του καταδικασμενου εμφυλιου... ο,τι κανει τους σταλινικους να βγαζουν σπυρακια, χρησιμο ειναι

[Vasilis · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, Eudes offers a left-leaning view of the Greek Resistance and the subsequent Civil War. Interestingly enough, he is particularly critical towards the Greek Communist Party leadership, while glorifying the left guerrilla fighters (andartes). Perhaps, he deifies the andartes far too much, but this is an honest, albeit subjective, effort to reconstruct the past. At the end of the day, there is no objective historiography as such and I, personally, prefer a sincere, openly subjective account to a perceived objective analysis that aims to manipulate. The book is not a dry repetition of what has been said by other sources before. Instead, it offers a lot of unique material. I found the author really knowledgeable and the book particularly informative. This is a very well-written book; a real page-turner. It is one of the best accounts of the Greek Resistance and the Civil War one can find and, despite the fact it was written fifty years ago, reading it is still a very useful and meaningful enterprise.

[Gino Fortunato]

I abandoned reading this book. It was written in the early 1970's and refers to the participants in highly stiff proletariat vs. Bourgeoisie terminology and I just could not get past it.

[Kaan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mevzuya tamamen Kapetanios'ların (dağ gerillaları) üzerinden baktığı için eksik bir bakış sunduğunu düşünüyorum. En azından kitap yazıldığı sırada Mao'cu olduğunu bildiğimiz yazar, bir politik hesaplaşmanın içinden, tarihi güncelliğe uyduruyor biraz da. 70'li yılların "Sovyet sosyal emperyalizmi-Maoculuk" tartışmalarında safını tutmuş bir insanın yazımı.

Yazar girişte her şeye kaynak veremediği için özür diliyor; kısmen dedikoduları da aktardığı için. ("Yazarın notu" kısmında ima ediyor). Ön sözde Poulantzas da buna değinmiş; kimse yazarın önyargı ve yorumlarını kabul etmek zorunda değil ama bir bakış açısı sunuyor diyor. (Tabii ki o da aynı ön sözde Stalinci kadroları mahkum ediyor.) Yazarın kimi zaten bağcıyı dövmek istediğini de anlıyorsunuz; örneğin 10 sayfa önce legalizmle eleştiren KKE, 10 sayfa sonra isyan başlattı diye eleştiriliyor; gene aynı şekilde 10 sayfa önce seçimlere katılma kararı alacak diye suçlanıyor, sonra almayıp boykot edince "İngilizlerin ekmeğine yağ sürdü" diye.

Okurken bu noktaları görmek mümkün ancak yazar bilerek veya propaganda/dedikodulara kapılarak yanlış maddi bilgiler de veriyor. (Pek iyi niyetli değil gibi.) Örneğin Karagiorgis adlı parti üyesinin cesedinin KKE lideri Zahariyadis'e ait bir evin bodrumunda ölü bulunduğunu söylüyor ki Karagiorgis Romanya'daki bir hapishanede ölüyor aslında. Bu çok ciddi bir yanlış mesela.

Özetle bir bakış açısı sunsa da eksik bakış açısı sunan, çapraz okumalarla beraber konuya dair okunabilecek bir kitap.

Ekleme: Çeviride bazı sıkıntılar var. Misal kişi isimleri genelde Avrupa dünyasındaki karşılıklarıyla yazılmış, bu çeviride olmaması gereken bir şey. Örneğin Yunanistan Kralı'nın adı II. Georgios'tu, oysaki yazar/çevirmen II. George olarak aktırmış, baştan İngiliz kralı Yunanistan'dan hak iddia ediyor sandım gerçekten. Pek çok isim bu şekilde aksettirilmiş. Daha büyük araştırma yapmak için gerçek isimleri ne acaba diye bakmak aramak zorunda kaldım. Yer isimlerinde de bu boyutta olmasa da benzer şeyler var.

[Dimitris Lampos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Η πιο σημαντική μελέτη για την κατοχή και τους 2 εμφύλιους (εκτός από το βιβλίο του Χαριτόπουλου που είναι ακόμα πιο αναλυτικό για τον 1ο εμφύλιο). Πέρα από κομματικές αγκυλώσεις και λοιπές παρωπίδες, αυτό θα ήταν το σύγγραμα με το οποίο θα έπρεπε να ξεκινήσει όποιος θέλει να μελετήσει εκείνη την ιστορική περίοδο. Ξεσκεπάζει την προδοτική ελληνική αστική τάξη και τον ύπουλο ρόλο των μεγάλων δυνάμεων κατά την κατοχή και τους 2 εμφύλιους πολύ ξεκάθαρα, αποδεικνύοντας ότι οι εμφύλιοι ήταν αποτέλεσμα της θέλησης και μεθόδευσης των ξένων δυνάμεων, κυρίως Αγγλίας και Σοβ. Ένωσης, ενώ από την άλλη δεν χαρίζεται στο ΚΚΕ ούτε στο ελάχιστο. Ταυτόχρονα δε μπορεί σε καμία περίπτωση να θεωρηθεί αγιογραφία του Άρη, όπως κακόβουλα θα μπορούσε να κατακριθεί ως τέτοιο το αντίστοιχο βιβλίο του Χαριτόπουλου, "Άρης, ο αρχηγός των ατάκτων". Σε μια άλλη χώρα, που θα υπήρχε ελάχιστη αξιοπρέπεια, θα είχαν τιμήσει τον Eudes για την τεράστια προσπάθειά του και το πολύτιμο βιβλίο ιστορίας που μας χάρισε.

[Marianna Sharktooth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ένα βιβλίο που αναφέρει τα γεγονότα με την σειρά. Ο συγγραφέας, σίγουρα δεν είναι αντικειμενικός, δίνει όμως μια σαφή εικόνα της τότε κατάστασης και τον λόγο που εξελίχθηκαν έτσι τα πράγματα, φτάνοντας στο σήμερα. Δεν μπορώ να πω οτι ολοκλήρωσα το βιβλίο πολύ σοφότερη, διότι ειναι ένα δύσκολο ανάγνωσμα, και δεν σου μένουν πολλά με τον τρόπο που είναι γραμμένο. Θα το πρότεινα για ιστορική μελέτη.

[Dimitrios Dimopoulos · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has information about the procedures that took place during German occupation in Greece. Many detail, for example where the airoplanes of allies landed and the congratulating messages for the actions of the partizans. Of course the information contradicts with other sourses. Generally speaking it is a good source.

[Mltch Tlea · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Kapetanios is a useful corrective to most histories of the Greek revolution, drawing on a huge range of interviews and primary sources.

The most interesting parts cover the tensions between Aris Velouchiotis and the KKE leadership, over the latter's effort to divert the popular rising into safe channels

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biased and unstructured. Closer to chronography than history, but overall a good read.

[Dimitrii Ivanov · Rating 4 out of 5]

A history book written like a current-affairs one, with passion for truth and own line of argument the author is rather explicit about. The translation into idiomatic English is particularly superb.

[Marc Lichtman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very important book on the Greek Civil War, which few people outside of Greece know anything about. It is part of a much broader discussion, which was fought out around the world between the followers of the official line of Stalin and those workers in various parties, especially, but not exclusively the Fourth International, who were interested in making socialist revolutions rather than being interested in aiding the "Allied war effort." In Greece there were such people in the Communist Party, and it was necessary for the "official party" to eliminate them.

First of all, if a Leninist policy had been followed in Germany, Hitler would never have come to power. The "theory of social fascism" wasn't simply wrong, it constituted the best aid the Stalinists could have given Hitler if that had been their aim. For this read the Trotsky compilation The Struggle Against Fascism in Germany and/or Fascism and Big Business by Daniel Guerin.

For the question of the popular (or people's) front, in Spain, read Trotsky's The Spanish Revolution and/or Felix Morrow's Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Spain. For France, read 'On France.

For the United States, where no genuine popular front was possible and the line of the Kremlin was simply support to Roosevelt, read The Socialist Workers Party in World War II: Writings and Speeches, 1940-43 by James P. Cannon, Labor's Giant Step: The First Twenty Years of the CIO: 1936-55 by Art Preis, and 'Fighting Racism in World War II: From the pages of the Militant.

There are many more....

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The true face of the Greek people has been stolen and is hidden from the world."

It's hard to imagine the level of destruction that Greece was left with following its occupation and civil war. 10% of its population would die during this period, the majority of whom perished of starvation during the Axis occupation. 300,000 Athenians starved to death in the winter of 1942-1943, Athens was turned into a city-sized concentration camp. There was 10 working locomotives in the country after Liberation, and no rail lines were in working order.

The civil war itself was a mistake from the get-go, mired by blunders before it even started. The left stood no chance, and their defiance and continued fighting efficiency is nothing short of heroic. It was all for not however, and Greeks would continue to struggle for democracy well past the end of 1949.

The prose of this book is excellent, it's filled with primary sources - be it letters, correspondences, journal entries or memoirs of many of the key figures within the conflict. Moreover, the Greek Civil War was the test run for the Cold War. As America emerged from the Second World War as the preeminent western power, it replaced Britain and became the main supporters of the monarchist faction in the civil war. Its commitment to anticommunism, NATO (in the coming years), using collaborators and death squads to ensure a country never veers too far into national independence. All of these tactics would be deployed globally in the following half century.

A harrowing tale, and a great Left History. It should be required reading if you wish to understand the post war order.

[Αθανάσιος Αναγνωστόπουλος · Rating 2 out of 5]

Μελέτη στρατευμένη, που δείχνει τα χρόνια της.