Security battalions

With the beginning of the triple, German-Italian-Bulgarian occupation of Greece during the Second World War , the occupation authorities considered it necessary to preserve, albeit in smaller numbers, the Greek gendarmerie in the provinces and the police in the cities of Athens , Piraeus , Patra and Kerkyra , with the task of “compliance order and persecution of the communists. " The first puppet government of the quisling of General G. Tsolakoglu , within two years, gradually lost control of the Greek province, where partisan forces rapidly grew in the mountainous regions. Since the gendarmerie did not show zeal in the persecution of the partisans of the People's Liberation Army of Greece (ELAS), the Italians who controlled most of the country, and in particular the Bulgarians, who declared their occupation zone the territory of Bulgaria, limited the gendarmerie to large provincial cities. In December 1942, the High Command of Italian Carabinieri in the city of Karditsa tried to attract the local gendarmerie in operations against partisans, without the consent of the Ministry of the Interior of the puppet government. A little later, the German occupation authorities gave the gendarme formations under the command of the SS , also without coordinating this issue with the puppet Ministry of the Interior, after which the Quisling government decided to revive the Civil Police of the military period 1940-1941. So, in March 1943 , the Quisling government began issuing weapons permits for the people he elected, who, not being gendarmes, strengthened the local gendarmerie units in the "fight against communists and the protection of gendarmes from partisans." These persons received the name “gendarmes without a mandate”, formed 19 volunteer groups and eventually joined the gendarmerie forces. In any case, between 1941-1943 the clashes between the gendarmerie and the partisans were limited.

On December 2, 1942 G. Tsolakoglu resigned and his deputy and Minister of Education, gynecologist K. Logofetopoulos became the prime minister. The German occupation authorities quickly became convinced that Logofetopoulos did not have the strength to control the current military-political situation and only a few months later began to look for a replacement.

At the same time, some retired officers led by General Theodoros Pangalos were worried about the growing activity of the Greek National Liberation Front (EAM), especially after the creation of its military wing ELAS , believing that they, under the pretext of Resistance against the occupiers, had already begun to involve in their organizations the rural population, and, counting on receiving weapons from the British, after liberation will become the predominant force

After lengthy discussions, these officers came to the conclusion that the Quisling government itself should gain independence of movements and actions in this matter in order to interfere with the goals of the communist organizations, which somehow remained outside the law.

At the same time, they instructed a friend of Pangalos, industrialist Ioannis Vulpiotis, to probe the intentions of the Germans, through Christian von Klemm, the former military attache of the German embassy in Athens, with whom Vulpiotis maintained friendly relations. After receiving the relevant information, von Klemm passed it on to the SS commander in Greece. After receiving a positive answer, von Klemm brought her along the chain to Pangalos, who, with the consent of other retired officers, hastened to inform Ioannis Rallis about this, convincing the latter to accept the post of prime minister. At the same time, Pangalos said that he himself was not suitable for this post, by virtue of the dictatorship established by him in the pre-war years, for which he had been slandered. On the one hand, Rallis’s choice was due to the fact that he, as an old politician supporter of Venizelos, had influence both in the capital where he was running and in the province and, therefore, his calls for the inadmissibility of cooperation between citizens and the Communist Party of Greece would be more effective. On the other hand, it was “strange” that the Germans almost immediately agreed with Rallis’s candidacy and probably this was facilitated not only by von Klemm, but also by other factors and organizations.

The creation of the armed forces, whose goal was to "maintain law and order and fight against the ELAS Communists", was the condition that Ioannis Rallis put forward in early 1943, after the resignation of his predecessor K. Logofetόpulos , to accept the post of Prime Minister of the puppet government ^{[ 1]} . The creation of such a force was supported from the very beginning by the initiators of this proposal, Stylianos Gonatas and T. Pangalos. Initially, they advocated that the “Battalions” were created in order to prevent the future return of King George to Greece ^[2] . Other significant individuals who influenced Rallis at that time were Minister Tavularis and industrialist I. Vulpiotis. For their part, the Germans were aware of both the political internecine nature of the created formations and the fact that these formations knew better than the locality and those who participated in the Resistance. But most importantly, these compounds could facilitate their task, without the participation of German forces ^[1] . Mark Mazower, in his book “In Hitler's Greece”, calls the initial tasks of the created “Security Battalions” “the observance of order in the event of communist actions”, as well as the obstacle to the return of the king ^[3] . The second task, during the course of events, was abandoned, besides it was probably just a ruse to convince the officers of the supporters of E. Venizelos, who had been dismissed since 1936 by the regime of General I. Metaxas , to join the “Battalions” ^[1] . For their part, all who took part in the creation and command of the "Battalions" claim that they did this to protect the population from the activities of EAM. Recruitment to the Battalions officially began in June 1943. The number of volunteers at Battalions was initially minimal. Only one battalion was formed, the core of which were the Evzones, who continued to carry the guard at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in Athens during the occupation. Until the fall of 1943, the existence of the “Battalion” remained formal, partly because the Germans and Italians hesitated to give the “Battalion” weapons.

After the surrender of Italy in September 1943, a double problem arose for the Germans in Greece. On the one hand, Italian weapons fell into the hands of Resistance organizations and mainly ELAS , which resulted in the escalation of the Resistance. On the other hand, the Italian troops were no longer allied and the German army should have occupied their area of ​​responsibility. Also, after the defeats in Africa and Italy, Greece became vulnerable to the possible landing of the Allies ^[4] .

Thus, efforts were intensified to create local military units that would fight against the Greek partisans. In January 1944, pressure increased on retired officers who were required to be called up to serve in the Battalions, as well as on police officers who were massively obliged to join the Battalions ^[3] . A significant role in establishing contacts between right-wing (“nationalist”) organizations with the Germans was played by the British agent Stott, who, according to post-war British statements, acted on his own initiative ^[5] .

The historian T. Gerozisis writes that the objective final intentions of the British and Germans “coincided”. In addition, both of them in 1943 knew that the complete destruction of the democratic Resistance was impossible ^[6] . Gerozisis believes that the "Security Battalions" stood simultaneously ^[6] :

• quisling government in Athens and the Germans
• British government
• emigrant greek government in cairo

The very Gerozisis writes that General Pangalos quickly realized that his idea was getting out of his control. His idea was to create anti-communist forces capable of simultaneously preventing the return of the king after liberation. But he was not able to outwit the Germans, the British, and the emigration government with the royal court at the same time. The “battalions” became an anti-communist and frankly collaborative force, and eventually acquired a pro-monarchist character. Since September 1943, Pangalos began to recall his friends from the "Battalions", but he was not able to "wash off" this story to the end ^[6] .

The 1st Battalion began to form in May 1943, even before the official announcement of the formation of the “Battalions”. In mid-June, it was decided to form another 4 “Battalions”. They were created between June and October of the same year and consisted of 300 privates and 20 officers each ^[1] . "Battalions" were created in Athens, after which they went to the province, mainly to western Greece and the Peloponnese. It was envisaged that the “Battalions” that arrived at the site were only the core and, with the involvement of local collaborators, the composition of each “Battalion” should be increased to 600 privates and 50 officers, as well as 1 German liaison officer ^[1] , which according to T. Gerosisis and was the actual commander ^[6] . The “Battalions” were joined mainly by mendicant people who, in conditions of mass starvation, tried to survive in this way, since service in them was accompanied by a good salary and other privileges for that period. Criminals and anti-communist officers entered the “Battalions” ^[3] , among which there were EDES officers in Athens. The actions of the latter were condemned by the head of the EDES in December 1943 ^[3] 358. Political opportunists also joined the “Battalions” as well as members of organizations that were originally resistance organizations that, for one reason or another, clashed with ELAS, typical examples of which were 200 people from the organization National and Public Liberation (ECCA) Colonel D. Psarros , defeated by forces and ELAS, as well as members of the "National Army" who, after clashes with ELAS in the Peloponnese, took refuge in large cities. Finally, people who lost their relatives due to the activities of the partisans and whose decision to join the "Battalions" also entered the "Battalions" motivated by feelings of revenge.

The 2nd Battalion, formed in June, was transferred to Patras so that it forms the nucleus of the future 2nd regiment. The remaining 4 battalions in Athens formed the 1st regiment of Athens, led by I. Plidzanзbulos. These and all subsequently created formations were subordinate to the High Command of the "Battalions" under the Ministry of Defense of the puppet government. The command of all the "Battalions" on November 25 took the promoted to the rank of Major General V. Dertilis.

Having taken the form of the guard units of the Greek army, the Germanocoliades , from January 1944, began to wear tunics of the former Greek army and German boots. In their form, the Greek coat of arms and crown were replaced by a laurel wreath. In the oath of officers and private "Battalions" they swore absolute obedience to Adolf Hitler and surrendered themselves to the jurisdiction of German military law.

In parallel and independently of the Security Battalions, an ultra-right colonel. D. Papadongonas, with the support of Italians and then Germans, proceeded to create Demonstration gendarmerie battalions , which differed from the "Security Battalions" both in their composition and their organization ^[7] . These battalions were directly held by the Germans, although they were formally subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior of the puppet government and the 2nd headquarters of the gendarmerie. After initial hesitation, the Germans allowed the organization of these battalions after Hitler’s personal approval for “saving German blood” ^[8] . Papadongonas was considered an Anglophile, and in order to convince the Germans that he would not fight against them, he offered his family hostage. The Germans rejected the offer of Papadongonos, thereby expressing his confidence in him ^[8] . Two days after Hitler’s approval, on November 1, 1943, the Leonid Battalion was created in Laconia , led by Leonid Vretakkos, whose brother, Telemachus Vrettakos, was killed months earlier by the ELAS partisans. The battalions of the Peloponnese, unlike the others, wore gendarme uniforms, civilian clothes or old German and Italian uniforms ^[1] . The supreme commander of the "Battalions" was the commander of the SS and police in Greece, Lieutenant General Walter Shimana . The direct commanders of the "Battalions" were V. Dertilis and then I. Plidzanόbulos.

The most famous officers of the Volunteer Gendarmerie battalions were: D. Papadongonas (commander of the Peloponnese battalions, was killed during the December battles of 1944, fighting on the British side in Athens ), P. Stupas (commander of the Battalion Meligalas, committed suicide during the siege of the city of P ELAS), L. Vrettakos (commander of the battalion "Leonidas" in Laconia), N. Kurkulakos (commander of the battalion in the city of Patras), etc.

The activities of the "Battalions" were basically and essentially anti-communist . Although an attempt was made to expand their activities throughout the country, the main regions of their activity were Middle Greece ( Agrinion and Navpakt ) and Peloponnese ( Tripoli , Patras , Nafplion , Gythio, Kalamata , Sparta , etc.), as well as Athens, the island Euboea and, from time to time, some regions of Thessaly .

In Macedonia and Thrace, members of the rural right-wing organizations ΥΒΕ, ΕΚΑ and ΠΑΟ, were armed by the Germans to defend their villages from ELAS, forming the so-called “National Greek Army” (ΕΕΣ). Their most famous leaders were K. Papadапpulos ( Pieria ) and M. Papadόpulos ( Kozani ). These formations were not directly related to the Battalions, wore civilian clothes, but followed the Germans in punitive operations and guarded strategic positions (bridges, passes) with them. On the island of Crete, the formation of collaborations of collaborators in general failed. With the exception of the so-called “Schubert Punitive Team” (Jagdkommando Schubert) of 100 people, mainly from the released criminals for this purpose ^[9] .

By the end of the occupation, the total number of Greek collaborators in 9 Security Battalions and 22 volunteer battalions reached 22,000. To this should be added the forces formed directly by the occupation authorities and bypassing the puppet government among national, linguistic and religious minorities in the north of the country:

• in the northwestern region of Thesprotia , Epirus was involved by the invaders in operations against partisans of about 3 thousand Cham Albanians - Muslims who distinguished themselves in the executions in Paramitya in September 1943 and the destruction of Greek villages ^[8] .
• From the beginning of the occupation, Italians created the so-called "Roman Legions" from among the Greek-Latin-speaking Aromanian population of western Thessaly and Western Macedonia . Despite the ambitiousness of the Italian project to create an autonomous Pindian principality , the number of legionnaires did not exceed 1 thousand people and, due to inefficiency and low morale, in the summer of 1943 the "legions" were disbanded ^{[10] [11]} .
• more numerous and commensurate with the “Security Battalions” were collaborationist groups from the Slavic-speaking (Bulgarian-speaking) minority of Western and Central Macedonia.

Under the influence of Bulgarian propaganda and with the support of the first Italian and then German occupation authorities, the security guard collaboration groups numbered about 12,000 local militants and “volunteers” from Bulgaria by 1944, who, according to some of today's Bulgarian authors, “were charged with protecting the local population »From ELAS ^{[12] [13]} . Moreover, 3 volunteer guard battalions (the so-called "Werner battalions" ^[14] ) were placed at the direct disposal of the SS Reichsfuhrer, Heinrich Himmler . At the same time, it should be noted that according to the pre-war data of the League of Nations , the number of “Slavophones” (or “Bulgarianophones”) of Greek Macedonia barely reached 80,000 people ^[15] .

The first independent action of the Battalions in Athens was the raid on November 27, 1943 at military hospitals and their cleansing from the Communists. “Battalions” also began to search houses, which became the reason for the robbery and terrorization of the population ^[1] .

In many cases, women were beaten and raped, whose relatives fought in ELAS, and their houses were burned ^[3] . The former orphanage of Hadzikonstas was turned into a prison, where the “Battalions” held those of their prisoners whom the Germans did not take to the Haidari concentration camp and were not sent to forced labor in Germany. The “battalions” took an active part in the raids, as, for example, in the first and second raids in Nicaea , in the raid in Kesariani , in raids with SS on Kesariani, on Viron and other suburbs of Athens ^[16] , including the battle for “ Imitos Fortress ". The shameful duty of the "Battalions" was to protect the corpses of the hanged Germans, so that they would not be taken away by relatives and to intimidate the population ^[3] .

Both the Security Battalions and the Papadongonas battalions took part in German punitive operations against partisans. In January 1944, the battalion of Vrettakos took part in the punitive “Operation Thrush” ^[8] .

In February 1944, battalions took part in punitive operations in Achaia , in March of that year in Laconia and Messinia, having committed a number of atrocities against the civilian population ^[1] . In April, operations and atrocities repeated in Achaia and Elis . The “battalions” also participated in the 1944 summer operations in the Peloponnese, and the local “battalion” took part with the Germans in guarding the Jews of Patra , before being sent to Auschwitz ^[3] . The “battalions”, collecting information for the Germans, also took part in the preparation of the “Kalavrit operation,” which ended in the massacre of the townspeople. On the island of Euboea, the local “Battalion” became famous for its indiscipline and violence, also engaged in extortion and speculation in the black market ^[3] .

On the account of the "Security Battalions" there are also numerous executions carried out in response to the killings of partisans by the German military. On March 15, 1944, collaborators from the "Battalions" shot 200 Communists in Patras, under German control,. Also in March, the “Battalion” of the city of Kalamata shot 40 people ^[1] . On April 25, and regardless of the subsequent execution of 200 May Day Germans, Colonel Papadongonas shot 110 people in revenge for the killing of ELAS guerrillas by German General Krenz, whom Papadongonas respected ^[8] . At the same time, on July 31, the “Battalion” of the city of Agrinion hanged 60 ELAS prisoners and arrested EAM members in Kalivia. On the other hand, the German occupation authorities carried out executions in revenge for the murder of members of the "Battalions", just as they did for the murder of their soldiers ^[8] . In May 1944, the Germans declared the entire Peloponnese a military zone, forbade movement, and established a universal curfew. Compliance with these measures was taken over by the Security Battalions.

The “battalions” worked closely with the German occupation forces ^[8] , both combat units in operations, as well as prisoner guard units, support units, and “death units”. Their cooperation, in the reports of the Germans themselves, is characterized by exceptionally good. They took part in celebrations on the occasion of Hitler's birthday, as well as in the celebration of March 25 , which was organized by the Germans. After attempting to assassinate Hitler on July 20, 1944, Papadongonas sent him a congratulatory telegram on the occasion of his rescue. The head of the SS, Heinrich Hitler, answered the telegram. He thanked him on behalf of the Führer, promising additional supplies for the "Battalions" ^[8] . The formation of these "Battalions" has also become the object of German propaganda. The collaborators of the "Battalions" were presented by the Ministry of Propaganda in Berlin as "strong guys on the side of the Wehrmacht" ^[8]

One of the last actions carried out by the Germans during their evacuation from the Peloponnese was the transfer of ammunition and weapons depots to the “Battalions” to continue the struggle against the Communists. The battalion commander, Plidzanopoulos, declared, as Liberation was near, that the Germans should have left Greece without any problems in order to avoid further bloodshed ^[3] . "Security battalions" covered the Germans' withdrawal, impressing the Shiman with their faith and fighting spirit. In Patras, one of the conditions put forward by the commander of the “Battalion” Kurkulakos in order to surrender was to allow the Germans to leave without hindrance ^[8]

The “battalions” were condemned as treacherous by the statement of the emigration government in Cairo in January 1944, and by the joint statement of the Resistance organizations ΕΚΚΑ, EDES and EAM in February of that year. In the Caserta Agreement, signed before the liberation of Greece, the "Battalions" were described as enemy bodies.

After the German troops gradually left Greece, the “Battalions” were besieged by ELAS forces in the cities of Nafplion , Agrinion, Tripoli, Corinth and Patras and surrendered. The prisoners were transferred later arrived under the pretext of humanitarian operation "Manna" to the British troops. The commander of the volunteer gendarme battalions, D. Papadongonas, was besieged in Tripoli by the forces of Aris Veluchiotis at the end of September 1944. Initially, he repelled the ELAS attack and terrorized the city ^[17] , but ultimately surrendered on October 1 to the British compound, mediated by the politician P. Canellopoulos and under the guarantee of British officers. He and his people were transferred to the island of Spetses , and from there to Athens.

The battalion of the town of Meligalas, together with the surviving collaborators of the city of Kalamata, was destroyed by ELAS units during the three-day Battle of Meligal ( September 13 - 15 ), after which the executions of the most compromised collaborators followed ^[3] . The shootings of collaborators were also carried out in the cities of Gargaliani and Pyrgos. The battalion of the city of Patras, under the command of Kurkulakos, left the city and was guarded by the British in a camp at the airfield in Araxos ^[8] “battalion” of the city of Agrinion surrendered to the units of ELAS on September 14 , after three days of resistance. In Athens, the “Battalions” were disarmed by the city’s ELAS squads and were imprisoned in the Goody camp under the protection of the British.

Macedonian collaborators gathered in the border town of Kilkis and were surrounded by ELAS forces. One of the fiercest ELAS battles against collaborators followed, in which 128 ELAS fighters and (according to various estimates) up to 1,500 collaborators were killed. After the occupation of the city by ELAS forces, the shooting of the most compromised collaborators followed ^[18] .

The collaborators of the "Battalions" were assembled in the barracks of the Goody area in Athens and were under British control. The behavior of the British towards former collaborations began to “annoy” the Greeks. Even a month later, not a single employee of the invaders was convicted and many behaved defiantly. The decision of the British to pay the delayed salary to the composition of the Security Battalions established by the Germans provoked outrage from the ELAS fighters ^[6] . General Trasivulos Tsakalotos , commander of the 3rd Mountain Brigade, wrote "they were needed as opponents of the EAM" ^[6] . Collaborators from all over Greece began to gather in Athens under the protection of the British ^[6] . In contrast to the massive acts of retaliation in France and Italy against employees of the occupiers, who, several hours after the Liberation, turned into a blood bath with 9,000 and 12,000-20,000 killed, respectively ^[19] , in Athens, ELAS ordered that violence and lynching be prohibited. After the start of the fighting in December 1944, the British and the government of G. Papandreou without hesitation armed and threw into the battle against the ELAS city detachments the collaborators of the “Security Battalions”. Much later, the Deputy Minister of War, Leonidas Spais , wrote: “It was the decision of the British and mine. I do not justify my actions, but there was no other way. Our military forces have been exhausted. At our disposal were 27 thousand people of “security battalions”. We used 12 thousand, the least compromised ^[20] .

Many of the collaborators legitimized by their participation in the December battles on the side of the British and the government of G. Papadreu were enrolled in the “National Guard Battalions” created after the occupation and distinguished themselves in acts of violence and revenge against the left ^[3] . Following the logic of their participation in the civil war (1946-1949) on the side of the royal troops, many of the sentenced collaborators were amnestied, some of them continued their careers in the royal government army. Papadongonas, who was killed during the December battles of 1944, was posthumously promoted on the basis of occupation law, but after subsequent protests his promotion was canceled as a “mistake” ^[21] The initiator of the creation of the Battalions, Ioannis Rallis, although he was acquitted at the trial of collaborators for the creation of the "Battalions", as well as Pangalos , was found guilty of high treason and died in prison in 1946. Despite the fact that former members of the "Security Battalions" were on the side of the winners of the Civil War, they never managed to win sympathy or even a neutral attitude among the Greeks. Even now, the consonant Greek words "tagmatasfalitis" (ταγματασφαλίτης "- a member of the Security Battalion) or" tagmatalitis "(ταγματαλήτης - a bully from the battalions) are a disgrace in folk culture, a synonym for betrayal and collaboration is not patriotic. and heroes ^[22] .

• Τάσος Βουρνάς, Ιστορία της Νεώτερης και Σύγχρονης Ελλάδας , τόμοι Γ (ISBN 960-600-526-7) και Δ (ISBN 960-600-527-5) , Πατ
• Γενικό Επιτελείο Στρατού, Διεύθυνση Ιστορίας Στρατού, Αρχεία Εθνικής Αντίστασης, 1941-1944 , τομ. 8: Κατοχικές αρχές, Τάγματα Ασφαλείας, Εγκληματικές ενέργειες των Βουλγάρων , Αθήνα 1998
• Δουατζής Γιάννης, Οι Ταγματασφαλίτες , Αφοί Τολίδη, Αθήνα 1983
• Κέδρος Ανδρέας, Ελληνική Αντίσταση 1940-44 , Θεμέλιο 1993.
• Σωστόπουλος Τάσος, Η αυτολογοκριμένη μνήμη: τα τάγματα ασφαλείας και η μεταπολεμική εθνικοφροσύνη , Φιλίτ
• Μάγερ Χέρμαν, Από τη Βιέννη στα Καλάβρυτα: τα αιματηρά ίχνη της 117ης μεραρχίας καταδρομών στη Σερβία Εαλτηα
• Μαρκ Μαζάουερ, Στην Ελλάδα του Χίτλερ , εκδ. Αλεξάνδρεια, Αθήνα 1993.
• Seckendorf Martin, Η Ελλάδα κάτω από τον αγκυλωτό σταυρό, Ντοκουμέντα από τα γερμανικά αρχεία , Θεμέλιο, Αθήνα 1991.