Zannas, Alexandros

Zannas was born in the capital of Ottoman Macedonia , Thessaloniki in 1892 . His father, the pharmacist Dimitrios Zannas (1850–1915), was a well-known person in the city, respected by all groups of the population, including the Ottoman authorities. His father secretly took part in the struggle for Macedonia , but was beyond suspicion ^[1] . The center of Greek propaganda in Macedonia was the consulate of Greece in the city, but the consulate was monitored. Practically the center of the "Struggle" became the house of Zannas. The house was a meeting place for military commanders, weapons were transferred here, coded correspondence with partisan detachments passed through the house and was delivered to the consulate, the wounded were taken asylum.

It was only in December 1906, when Zannas Sr., after having bribed the guards, made it possible for officer Ioannis Avrosoglu to escape from prison, a search was conducted in the house ^{[2] [3]} . “Offended” pharmacist Zannas returned his Ottoman awards, after which the Turkish authorities called for officers who showed excessive zeal. The authority of Zannas the eldest in the city was undeniable.

Alexandros Zannas and his brother Konstantinos were already involved in his father’s underground activities as a teenager ^[4] . Alexandros was involved in the transfer of mail, weapons and ammunition. In addition, he was employed at the consulate of Greece, where he was charged with collecting information on the activities of the Bulgarian Committee in the city ^[5] . After by 1908 the Struggle for Macedonia had been curtailed and having finished a gymnasium in the Macedonian capital, Alexandros Zannas left for Germany to continue his studies.

With the beginning of the Balkan Wars in 1912, Zannas interrupted his studies in Germany, where he studied as an engineer, and joined the volunteer squad of “Captain Matapasa” (Mikhail Anagnostakos - 1875-1913). The fighters of the detachment Matapasa acted as “pioneers” (reconnaissance scouts) ^[6] ahead of the VΙΙ division of General C. Kleomenus and helped the division to liberate the Macedonian city of Katerini from the northern spurs of Olympus ^{[7] [8]} . VII Division Kleomenusa first entered the capital of Macedonia, Thessaloniki. The commander of the Turkish group, Hassan Tahsin Pasha, agreed to surrender the city to the Greek army in the morning of October 26, 1912. Old Macedonian Athanasius Exadactylos, together with Ion Dragoumis, raised the Greek flag over the Greek consulate in the city.

At the same time, Alexandros Zannas, together with an unknown Greek sailor, hoisted the Greek flag over the White Tower , accompanied by joyful exclamations of the Greek population of the city ^[9] . Immediately after the liberation of the city, Zannas Sr. established a branch of the Greek Red Cross in Thessaloniki and led him until his death in 1915.

During the First World War, Alexandros Zannas married Virginia (Virginia Zanna 1897–1980), the daughter of Penelope Delta , through whom he met and became friendly with Prime Minister E. Venizelos . Friendship with Venizelos Alexandros Zannas remained faithful to the end of the life of this great politician. Later Zannas was also friendly with officer N. Plastiras . Not least due to his friendly relations with Venizelos, during the period of the National split, Zannas became a founding member of the “Committee of National Defense”.

We have no information when Zannas received flight training. But with the entry of Greece into the war in June 1917, the Greek Army Aviation Service (ΑΥΣ) became active in Macedonia, which was assisted by the French under the command of “Major Den” ^[10] . Dan’s assistant in the development of ΑΥΣ was the “Greek pilot Alexandros Zannas”.

On March 13, 1918, the 531st Fighter Squadron was created, which included the Nieuport 24bis and Spad VII / XIII aircraft. The squadron command was assigned to Alexandros Zannas ^[11] . The aviation experience acquired by Zannas during the First World War was reflected later in his aviation ministerial activity.

Meanwhile, in the same year of 1918, the wife of Zannas joined the Greek Red Cross as a sister of mercy.

Zannas became the first aviation minister in Greece, more specifically, deputy minister with Venizelos as minister from December 28, 1929 to March 30, 1930, and then minister until May 25, 1932. Being a military pilot and squadron commander during the First World War, Zannas initiated the creation of a unified Greek military aviation ^[12] Before that, Military aviation was divided into army and naval aviation and the initiative of Zannas met resistance from both army and naval pilots officers ^{[12 ]} . In order to overcome this resistance, Zannas proposed that Venizelos personally head the ministry initially ^[12] . At the same time, from February 25 to May 25, 1932, Zannas served as Minister of Agriculture.

He was later elected to the Hellenic Parliament in 1933 and 1936.

Being a supporter and friend of Venizelos and following N. Plastiras, Zannas took part in the unsuccessful coup attempt of 1935 . Zannas, along with Colonel S. Sarafis and the captain of the Navy, Colialexis, was in the triumvirate of conspirators ^[13] and after the unsuccessful outcome of the coup was driven ^[14] . In March 1936, in Paris , Zannas was sitting at the head of the dying Venizelos, listening to the latest instructions from his leader.

With the beginning of the Italian invasion of Greece (October 28, 1940), Virginia Zanna sent her nineteen-year-old daughter Eleni, and then her second daughter, Argini, the sisters of mercy to the front. At the same time, Virginia Zanna stated: "There is a place for my children, next to the courageous, fighting for our freedom" ^[15] . Virginia Zanna herself led the corps of the sisters of mercy in front-line Macedonia and Thrace . Subsequently, Virginia Zanna was awarded the Florence Nightingale Red Cross Medal . On April 27, 1941, with the Germans joining Athens, the mother-in-law of Zannas, the writer Penelope Delta , committed suicide in the house of Zannas in Athens. Today the house has a memorial plate.

With the beginning of the triple, German-Italo-Bulgarian occupation, Alexander's elder brother, Konstantin Zannas, who by this time became president of the Greek Red Cross, was arrested by the Germans for sheltering and evacuating the British military in the Middle East ^[16] . Aleksandros Zannas himself tried to create an organization of the Resistance outside the National Liberation Front led by the Greek Communists .

In 1942, Zannas was arrested by the Italian occupation authorities and sent to Italy. From the Italian prison Zannas wrote to his children: “you just do not be sad. I want with your head held high, with composure typical of the Macedonians and common Greek dignity, you stand before the storm, which in any case will pass quickly ” ^[17] .

After the Liberation of Greece in October 1944, Zannas was again involved in political activities and was elected a member of parliament in 1950. He was a member of the ruling council of the Liberal Party and one of its most prominent figures, while remaining faithful to the creator of this party, E. Venizelos. In 1945, continuing the family tradition, he became the president of the Red Cross of Greece ^[18]

Alexandros Zannas died in Athens on June 16, 1963 ^[19] .

His son, Pavlos Zannas (1928–1989), became a renowned writer, translator and film critic.

The Benaki Museum in Athens contains the Alexander & Virginia Archive Zannasov ^[20] .

• The struggle for Macedonia (memories) (" Ο Οακεδονικός Αγών (αναμνήσειή) " - Θεσσαλονκη 1960)
• Occupation (memories) (" Η Κατοχή (αναμνήσεις - επιστολές) " - εκδ. ΕΣΤΙΑ, Αθήναι 1964)
• articles in newspapers and magazines.

According to the information of the Grand Lodge of Greece (ΜΕΓΑΛΗ ΣΤΟΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ) Alexandros Zannas was a member of it ^[21] .

• «Εώτερον Εγκυκλοπαιδικόν Λεξικ Ηλίου» τομ. 8ος, σελ. 653.