1944

Liberated Athenians greet British soldiers in Athens

Events

January

• January 11: Allied airplanes bombard the harbour of Piraeus, destroying much of the city centre and killing 5,500 civilians.
• January 21: Four units of the Hellenic Navy ("Crete", "Themistocles", "Chios" and "Samos") take part in the landing at Anzio.
• January 26: 43 Greeks are executed outside Kozani by the occupation forces.

February

• February 29: Greek resistance movements EDES, EAM and EKKA sign a cooperation pact at Plaka, Epirus.

March

• March 10: The Political Committee of National Liberation (the "government of the mountains") is formed at Viniani, Evritania prefecture. Evripidis Bakirtzis is sworn in as Prime Minister.

April

• April 1: Leftist officers and troops of the Greek 1st Brigade revolt in Alexandria.
• April 3: 30 Greeks, under Lt. Col. Andreas Kalinskis, liberate Greek prisoners held by the Germans in Mytilene. Six Germans are killed in the operation.
• April 4: The village of Drosopigi in Florina prefecture, Macedonia, Greece, is totally destroyed by German occupation troops.
• April 5: 270 Greeks are executed in the village of Kleisoura (Kastoria), by the German occupation forces, in retaliation for the killing of two German soldiers in the area.
• April 5: Hellenic Navy crew members join the revolt in Alexandria.
• April 17: Communist resistance group ELAS attack and annihilate EKKA, a republican resistance group. EKKA leader, Dimitrios Psaros, is captured and executed.
• April 18: Alexandros Svolos replaces Evripidis Bakirtzis as head of the Political Committee of National Liberation (the government of the mountains).
• April 23: The revolt of Greek leftist troops in Alexandria is put down by force.
• April 24: 318 Greeks are killed by German occupation troops in Pyrgos, Kozani prefecture. 180 of them were burned alive.
• April 26: Greek guerrilas and British commandos kidnap Gen. Heinrich Kreipe, commander of the German garrison of Crete.

May

• May 1: 200 Greek patriots are executed by the Nazis at Kaisariani.
• May 4: The village of Saktouria in Rethymno prefecture, Crete, is totally destroyed by German occupation troops.
• May 4: The village of Margarikari in Heraklio prefecture, Crete, is totally destroyed by German occupation troops.
• May 9: 10 Greeks are hanged by the German occupation forces at Psila Alonia, Achaea prefecture. Several were members of the resistance group EAM.
• May 16: Sixteen inhabitants of the village of Saktouria in Rethymno prefecture, Crete, are executed by German occupation troops.
• May 17: The Greek government-in-exile meets with representatives of the various guerrila movements in Lebanon.

June

• June 10: German occupation troops execute 218 Greeks in Distomo, Boeotia prefecture.
• June 17: German occupation troops destroy Ypati, Phthiotis prefecture after executing 28 inhabitants.

July

• July 11: Lela Karayianni, leader of resistance group "Bouboulina" is captured by the Germans.

August

• August 11: The Greek 3rd mountain brigade lands in Taranto, Italy.
• August 13: German troops destroy the village of Anogia, Crete.
• August 17: German troops execute 148 Greeks in Kokkinia, Piraeus.
• August 21: German troops destroy the village of Damasta, Crete, after executing 30 inhabitants.

September

• September 5: 50 Greeks are executed at Kesariani by German occupation troops.
• September 8: Lela Karayianni, leader of the "Bouboulina" resistance movement, is executed by the Germans.
• September 14: German forces execute 114 residents of Giannitsa.
• September 15: ELAS guerrilas attack and capture Meligala, Messinia. Atrocities follow with as many as 1,450 dead.
• September 21: The Greek 3rd mountain brigade enters Rimini after defeating its German defenders.
• September 26: EAM/ELAS and EDES agree in Caserta, Italy, to place their men under the command of British Maj. Gen. Ronald Skobie.
• September 27: The Greek 3rd mountain brigade crosses the Rubicon.

October

• October 7: 300 Greek Jews lead 150 others in a revolt at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Nearly all are killed in the ensuing fight against the German guards.
• October 7: The first British troops land in the Peloponnese.
• October 12: The WWII German occupying forces move out of Athens.
• October 17: The Greek government-in-exile boards the Battleship Georgios Averof for the return trip to Athens.
• October 18: The Greek Government in exile, under Georgios Papandreou, arrives in Piraeus.
• October 20: Joseph Stalin and Sir Winston Churchill partition eastern Europe into "spheres of influence". Greece is marked as 90% under British and only 10% under Soviet influence.
• October 28: German soldiers, while on retreat, sabotage and destroy the bridge of Papadia, and the tunnel and bridge of Brallos.
• October 30: Thessaloniki is liberated from the German World War II occupying forces

November

• November 3: A 100 billion drachma note is put into circulation - the largest denomination of currency ever issued in Greece.
• November 28: PM Georgios Papandreou calls for the dissolution of all guerrila movements by December 10.

December

• December 1: Gen. Ronald Scobie issues a proclamation calling for the dissolution of the National Popular Liberation Army (ELAS). His call will go unheeded.
• December 2: Five leftist Ministers of the Papandreou government resign in protest at Gen. Scobie's call for the dissolution of the National Popular Liberation Army (ELAS).
• December 3: Members and supporters of the leftist EAM/ELAS demonstrate in Constitution Square, Athens. Police fire on the demonstrators killing 28 of them.
• December 4: Communist organisation ELAS and nationalist Organisation X battle at Theseum for control of Athens.
• December 21: Three ELAS divisions attack EDES at their stronghold in Epirus.
• December 22: The High Command of EDES orders its forces to retreat to Preveza.
• December 24: Sir Winston Churchill arrives in Athens in an attempt to resolve the political crisis between EAM and the re-instated Greek government of Georgios Papandreou.
• December 27: PM Georgios Papandreou submits his resignation in the midst of the post-World War II December crisis ("Δεκεμβριανά"). Winston Churchill leaves Athens for London.
• December 28: British ships start to evacuate the remnants of Napoleon Zervas' EDES forces off the Greek mainland to the island of Corfu.
• December 30: Epirus comes under the full control of ELAS.

Births

January

• January 9: Michalis Violaris, popular singer
• January 31: Christodoulos Pasiardis, Defence Minister of Cyprus

March

• March 14: Mariza Koch, singer
• March 17: Juan Ramon Veron, footballer

April

• April 20: Yiannis Gaitatzis, footballer

June

• June 21: Corinna Tsopei, Miss Universe of 1964.

October

• October 7: Nikos Dadinopoulos, actor
• October 19: Vasilis Botinos, footballer

November

• November 1: Sergio Markarian, football coach

December

• December 2: Dionysis Savvopoulos, music composer, lyricist and singer

Deaths

January

• January 7: Napoleon Lapathiotis, poet (suicide)

April

• April 17: Dimitrios Psaros, resistance leader

July

• July 31: Anestos Delias, rebetiko musician

August

• August 29: Attik, songwriter

September

• September 8: Lela Karayianni, leader of the "Bouboulina" resistance movement

November

• November 12: Tellos Agras, poet.

December

• December 3: Prince Andrew of Greece, in Monaco where he had been exiled.