STATEMENTS OF LEADING PROTAGONISTS
Source: Anthology of Homeland History, by Menelaos Pagoulatos.
Charles De Gaulle 1890-1970
" I fail to give the most needed gratitude that I feel for the heroic resistance of the people and the leaders of Hellas. " (From a speech to the French Parliament after the ending of the 2nd WW.)
Maurice Schumann 1911-1992
" Hellas is the symbol of martyric, enslaved, bleeding, but live Europe . Never has a defeat been so honorable for those who underwent it. " (From the message that he addressed from London's BBC to the enslaved peoples of Europe on the 28th of April 1941, the day Hitler occupied Athens after Greece had fought a 6 month war against Mussolini and 6 weeks against Hitler.)
" I'm sad because I'm getting old and I will not live much longer to express my gratitude to the Hellenic people whose resistance determined the 2nd WW. " (From his speech that the Moscow radio station aired the 31st of January 1943 after the victory of Stalingrad and the capitulation of Marshall Paulus.)
" You fought without weapons and you won, being small before the great ones. We owe you gratitude, because you bought time and, thus, we could arm ourselves. As Russians and as fellow humans, we thank you. " (When Hitler attacked USSR )
Georgy Constantinovich Joucov 1896-1974
" If the Russian people managed to raise resistance before the gates of Moscow , to contain and reverse the German hurricane, they owe it to the Hellenic people who delayed the German divisions that could have beaten us. The gigantic battle of Crete was the peak of the Hellenic contribution. " (Extract from his memoirs of WWII)
Benito Mousolini 1873-1945
" ...the war in Greece proved that anything can be shattered, with respect to the military, and that surprises always await us. " (From a speech that he voiced on 10/05/1941.)
" As a matter of historical truth, I must ascertain that only the Hellenes, of all the adversaries that confronted me, fought with daring courage and the highest disregard to death..." (From a speech he voiced on the 4th of May 1941 at Reichstang.)
Sir Robert Anthony Eden 1897-1977 Prime Minister 1955-57.
" Regardless what historians will say in the future, what we can say now is that Hellas gave a memorable lesson to Mussolini, that she was the reason of the resistance in Yugoslavia, that she kept the Germans on the soil of Ipiros and Crete for 6 weeks, that she changed the chronological order of all of the German Major Generals' plans and, thus, brought about a general alteration in the entire war's journey and we won. " (From one of his speeches to the British Parliament on 24/09/1942.)
Winston Churchill 1874-1965. " The word heroism, I'm afraid, does not reflect in the least the Hellenes' acts of self-sacrifice that were the defining factor of the victorious ending of all the nations' common struggle during the 2nd WW, for human freedom and dignity. "
" If it were not for the bravery of the Hellenes and their courageous hearts , the ending of the 2nd WW would not have been clear. " (From a speech to the English Parliament on 24th of April 1941.)
" Until now we were saying that Hellenes fight like heroes. Now we will say: Heroes fight like Hellenes. " (From a speech he voiced on BBC the first days of the Greek-Italian war) (From a speech he voiced on 28 October 1940 when Italy attacked Greece)
Sir Harold Leofric George Alexander 1891-1969
" It would not be an exaggeration to say that Hellas overturned all the German plans forcing Germany to delay for 6 weeks its attack on Russia . We ask ourselves what would have been the position of the Soviet Union without Hellas . " (From a speech to the British Parliament on the 28th of October 1941.)
King George VI (1898-1952) " The great struggle of Hellas was the first big detour for the 2nd WW."
" For Hellas there was granted a delay of 3 hours on the 28th of October 1940 so that she can decide on war or peace, but, even if a delay of 3 days or 3 weeks or 3 years was granted, the answer would have been the same."
" The Hellenes have taught dignity throughout the centuries (history). When the entire world had lost all hope, the Hellenic people dared to doubt the German monster's invincibility fighting back with the proud spirit of freedom. " (From a speech he voiced on radio 10/6/1943.)
" The heroic struggle of the Hellenic people against the German attack, having so thunderously won the Italian attempt to invade the Hellenic soil, filled the American hearts with enthusiasm and won their sympathy. A century and a half earlier during the war of independence, our nation expressed its fiery sympathy for the Hellenes and was hoping for the Hellenic victory." (Radio Declaration of the Highest Coucil of Ahepa, on the 25/04/1941, that was aired from the White House.)
NOTES
" The 10th of April 1941, after the capitulation with Germany , the fortresses of Paliourotes and Roubel surrender. "
" The Germans express their marvel to the Hellenic soldiers, they declare that it's their honor and pride to have as adversaries such an army and ask from the Hellenic Administrator that he examine the German army as evidence of their honor and recognition! The German flag is raised only after a full withdrawal of the Hellenic Army. "
" One German officer of the air force declares to the administrator, the 2nd General Deden of the division of Eastern Macedonia, that the Hellenic Army was the first army to which the stukas did not provoke panic. "Your soldiers", he said, " instead of fleeing in an insane manner, as they did in France and Poland , would shoot at us from their positions. " "
AESCHYLUS: FOR ONLY WE HELLENES DO NOT COUNT, CONTRARY TO BARBARIANS, THE NUMBER OF ENEMIES IN WAR.
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