Political Activism by Greeks in the Diaspora

Following the end of the Civil War the defeated fighters of the Democratic Army and a large number of civilians crossed the Greek borders and sought refuge in the neighboring countries. This talk will elucidate their itinerary and the formation of political refugee communities across Eastern Europe, ranging from Uzbekistan to East Germany. More particularly we will highlight the policies of the Greek state towards political refugees, its decision to strip off their citizenship, and their efforts to repatriate to Greece, which became possible only in the 1970s and 1980s. Therefore these diasporic communities offer an alternative understanding of the transnational networks of the Greek Left and the complicated worlds of exiles, refugees and displaced persons in the Cold War era.