Our history.
In our voices.

Introduction

An examination of how the war played out in Greece, and how it destabilized a nation to the point of an eventual Civil War. This era of Greece’s history led to a massive emigration and created a large Greek diaspora in Canada and elsewhere. With reminiscences from members of the Greek Canadian community that are housed at the HHF Greek Canadian Archives at York University.

The Road to OXI

As fascism was spreading across Europe, Ioannis Metaxas seized dictatorial powers and transformed daily life in Greece. But his militarization of the nation became a factor when Greece was pulled into World War II on October 28, 1940 with an ultimatum by Italy. Guests include Professor Sakis Gekas, HHF Chair in Modern Greek History at York University.

An Early Victory, A Crushing Invasion

War began with a cruel and punishing winter at the Albanian front, which led to victory for Greece – and an eventual German invasion. As parts of Greece quickly fell, the island of Crete was the site of the first major Allied victory. A look at the battles that shaped this war in Greece with guest Prof. Nicholas Doumanis, Professor of History of the University of Illinois Chicago.

Occupation and Hunger

Under the Axis Occupation, the Greek state collapsed and Greeks were subjected to hyperinflation, hunger, starvation, ongoing violence and atrocities. But a Resistance Movement grew, determined to overthrow the German, Italian and Bulgarian forces. With guest Spyridon Tsoutsoumpis, Historian of Modern Greece and Southeastern Europe at the University of Manchester.

The Holocaust

A look at Jewish life in Greece, before, during and after the War. The persecution Jews faced, particularly in Thessaloniki, and eventually deportations to concentration camps. How some Jewish Greeks survived and how this experience shaped their lives. With guests Kateřina Králová, Professor of Contemporary History at Charles University in Prague, Dianne Cadesky, daughter of Eli Benyacar and Esther Tivoli, both Greek Holocaust survivors.

The Seeds of the Civil War & Liberation

How the occupiers left Greece and the power vacuum left behind. How the roots of the Civil War are taking shape as conflict between resistance groups builds, fueled by ideological differences. With guest Triadafilos Triadafilopoulos, Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto Scarborough and the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

“Loss”

“Ta Meri Mas/Our Homelands”

Hosts Sandra Gionas and Prof. Sakis Gekas take a look at what life was like for the Greeks of Asia Minor, from daily life and culture to how the Ottoman politics affected them.

“Uprooted”

Hosts Sandra Gionas and HHF History Committee historian Terry Gitersos take a look at rising tide of nationalism, the breakdown of the Ottoman Empire and the how the Greco-Turkish War of 1920-22 ultimately led to the mass expulsion of Christian Greeks from Asia Minor and Eastern Thrace.

“Strangers”

Hosts Sandra Gionas and HHF History Committee volunteer Jason-Nikolaos Rodopoulos examine how the refugees were absorbed into Greece and Turkey, what efforts were made to help settle them and what they experienced as they tried to start their lives over in new places.

“A New Greece”

Hosts Sandra Gionas and HHF History Committee volunteer Natasha Bourliaskou discuss how the Greek refugees from Asia Minor and Thrace changed Greece, in terms of politics, sports, language, literature, food and music.

The Origins of the Revolution

Journalist Georgia Balogiannis and Professor Sakis Gekas, the HHF Chair in Modern Greek History at York University in Toronto, explore what the area, now known as Greece, looked like before the revolution and the conditions which led Greeks to revolt against the Ottoman Empire in 1821.

Not One War

Journalist Georgia Balogiannis and Professor Sakis Gekas, the HHF Chair in Modern Greek History at York University in Toronto, look at the various groups which took arms during the Greek Revolution of 1821, to examine what was in it for them?

The Brutality of War

Georgia Balogiannis and HHF History Committee historian Terry Gitersos look at the violence that permeated the Greek Revolutionary War of 1821. It went far beyond simple warfare, where vengeance, massacres and slavery were the price to be paid by fighters and civilians alike.

The Heroes of The Revolution

Georgia Balogiannis and Professor Sakis Gekas, the HHF Chair in Modern Greek History at York University in Toronto, go beyond the larger-than-life narratives of the Greek Revolution’s heroes to look at who they really were. Also, what exactly makes a hero in the first place?

Women of the Revolution

Georgia Balogiannis and Professor Sakis Gekas, the HHF Chair in Modern Greek History at York University in Toronto, delve into the feminine side of the Greek Revolution, featuring the female heroes who fought in and influenced the war. They also look at the toll the war took on the average Greek woman.

Philhellenes and the Greek Revolution

Georgia Balogiannis, Professor Sakis Gekas, the HHF Chair in Modern Greek History at York University in Toronto, and Chris Grafos, Co-Founder of the Greek-Canadian History Project and a historian with the HHF, look at the American and European Philhellenes who took up the cause of the Greek Revolutionary War.

The Founding of a Nation

Georgia Balogiannis and Prof. Sakis Gekas, the HHF Chair in Modern Greek History at York University in Toronto, along with Prof. Michalis Sotiropoulos from the University of Thrace, look at how the Greek Revolution ended and nationhood began. What challenges did the new state face and how did those initial years influence the nation Greece would eventually become?