77
modem74. Anarchist ideology did not resonate with the political Zeitgeist. Eventually, of
course, larger events in Greece succeeded in not just silencing, but stamping anarchy out
completely, key among which were: the dictatorial regime of Metaxas between 1936 and
1941; the war and German occupation of Greece between 1941 and 1945; and the
subsequent civil war between 1947 and 1949 (Clogg 2002a; Clogg 2002b; Heurtley 1965;
Higham & Veremes 1993; Iatrides 1972; Kourvetaris & Dobratz 1987; O'Ballance 1966;
Petrakis 2006). During this period, the citizen came to re-evaluate their relationship with
the state and, during times when the government ceased to exist, came to return to
localization as a means of both resistance and, perhaps most importantly, protection. The
civil war was especially a period of intense localization as trusted networks became
concentrated further along the lines of political ideology.
Contemporary Greek anarchism re-emerged in 1967 when international student
rebellion and libertarian movements plus local socio-economic and political conditions
made the anarchist agenda relevant again. It is important to consider this early time in
Greek anarchist history in some detail. By 1967 the KKE had been outlawed in Greece
and Left wing groups were fiercely fighting for political power against the ruling British,
and eventually American-backed, conservative government which had dominated since
the end of the civil war in 1949. Greeks all over the country, and especially in rural areas,
were suffering from severe economic inequality, underdevelopment, underinvestment,
and poverty (Mazower 2000). Left wing politicians recognized this situation as an
opportunity to broaden their support and so began to mobilize trade unions and students
against the Right; an easy task as, in addition to the difficult conditions mentioned above,
74 The period between 1924 and 1936 was particularly tumultuous as Greece underwent twenty-three
changes of government, one dictatorship and thirteen coups of varying degrees (Van der Kiste 1994:152-
153).