Greek Resistance Theatre in World War II

Abstract

The Greek resistance movement, supported and directed by EAM (Ethnikon Apeleftherotikon Metopon—the National Liberation Front) in the mountains of Greece under the German occupation of World War II, spawned a popular resistance theatre that schooled itself among the people and brought a measure of political enlightenment to peasants in the mountain villages, who had small exposure to theatre. Those who went to market saw some Karaghiozis—Greek shadow puppet theatre—and those who attended religious festivals occasionally saw Lenten plays. Secular theatre was sometimes performed in tents in provincial villages and refugee settlements.Because, in the beginning, artists would not come into the mountains to write songs for the struggle or to dramatize events, the andartes, or mountain fighters, began to write and perform. Their intention initially was to familiarize the people with their work and to develop friendly territories in which they could operate freely.