Der griechische Bürgerkrieg 1946 bis 1949. Ereignisse und Erinnerungen / The Greek Civil War 1946 to 1949. Facts and Memories

Abstract

Abstract This article is dealing with an important chapter in the history of Greece that has hitherto received very little attention by the German research community: the Greek civil war from 1947 to 1949, whose consequences left their mark on the Greek society for a long time. The topic has to be addressed through its classification in two contexts. First in a historical context that comprises the past history and foremost the conflicts without which the armed struggle probably would not have erupted. This also includes the posthistory and the dealings with the civil war in the memory culture and politics of history, from the 1950s to the present time. A comparison with a, in some respects, similar development concerning the Spanish civil war further examines the Greek example. The second context is a theoretical one. Although research rather tends to neglect civil wars vis-a-vis wars between states, there numerous approaches to the topic of civil wars, some of which are dealt with in this article. The summary examines to which degree they apply in the case of Greece.