70 years since the execution of N. Belogiannis: He was brutally chased alive and dead…

The procession to the executive branch - The arrest in exile of the Exarchates and the massive trials of the "man with the carnation" - The imaginative communication with his partner Elli in the cell, the friend who refused to shoot him and the sketch of Pablo Picasso

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Every night the death row inmates of Kallithea prison slept in the anxiety that this would be their last. Only on Saturdays did they sleep peacefully, knowing that executions were forbidden on Sundays. Even the German conquerors followed this unwritten law. That rift on Sunday, March 30, 1952, however, seemed to be different for the convicted Nikos Belogiannis, a leading member of the KKE and a fighter of the National Resistance. The same was true for three more of his incarcerated comrades.

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The time is shortly after 02.30 in the morning, when their sleep is interrupted abruptly. The jailer, accompanied by police officers, unlocks the cell. Belogiannis, 37, understands the reason for the visit. "Go for fresh air?" he will playfully ask. The royal commissioner, Colonel Athanasoulis, who is present, reads silently the decision of the execution of himself and his detainees, Dimitris Batsis, Nikos Kalouenos and Elias Argyriadis, due to espionage.

After preparing, wearing their good clothes, they are transported by motorbike to the area of ​​Goudi. They will stop at the back of the "Sotiria" hospital, a few meters from Mesogeion Avenue. They set them up on the Wall. At a distance of 10 meters in front of them is the executive detachment with weapons rather than legs, raising the deadly order. For purely psychological reasons, it is common for about half the rifles to have ammunition, so that the soldiers do not feel guilty that the convicts were executed with certainty by their own hand. The head of the detachment asks if he wants someone dying to have his eyes tied. Belogiannis denies, as do the others. Everything must be done quickly and to the utmost.

The time is 4.00 p.m. The place is still dark and the sun is slowly rising. Violating all rules of honor and respect for the convicts, the executioners order the drivers of the three military jeeps, the cage and the cayenne to turn on the headlights so that the space is illuminated and everything ends an hour earlier. At 4.12 p.m. the fateful command is heard. "Fire!".

Belogiannis and his comrades, despite the strong reactions to their death sentence from the international public opinion, the political world inside and outside the borders, the common people, even from the Church that intervenes publicly at the highest level, fail to escape . Why did you come to the execution of the so-called "man with the carnation"? Who was disturbed by his actions and why was he convicted? What followed after his execution, which shocked even the great Paul Picasso, who honorably painted his portrait.

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How he came from Argentina, the arrest in Exarchia, the first trial and his handy apology, the second espionage trial and how he heard the verdict smiling and holding a carnation. On August 30, 1949, the Athenian newspapers published the first news that Graus, the last stronghold of the Greek Democratic Army, which belonged to the Communist Party, had fallen into the hands of the government army, marking the end of his life.

After the military defeat, the leftist forces retreated to the territory of Albania and from there they dispersed to the then People's Republics and the Soviet Union. Most of those who surrendered within the borders were persecuted, exiled, even beaten and executed. The KKE itself was forced to adjust its policy by shifting the focus from the armed struggle to peaceful mass political action. As it was emphasized in the decision taken by the 6th Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the party, which took place in October of the same year: "The tactics of continuing the armed struggle, which expresses a petty-bourgeois spirit of despair and lack of perspective, would enable the opponent to strike a crushing blow against the fighters and leaders of the popular movement."

In the same decision, there was a detailed discussion about the creation of a potential illegal communal mechanism in Greece, while at the same time utilizing the existing legal possibilities. "Without delay, Koia must prepare and send to the big cities a whole series of Kohan executives for the empowerment and reorganization of local organizations, as well as for ensuring the implementation of the new scripture," he noted. This decision, especially with regard to its last part, found its first practical expression in the sending from Poland to Greece of the alternate member of the Central Committee of the KKE, Nikos Belogiannis.

In fact, the most serious illegal sector that should have been immediately reorganized was the Athens-based Communist Organization, which had been disbanded due to mass arrests and executions. Belogiannis will secretly arrive in Greece via Argentina, about 10 months after the end of the Civil War, in early June 1950, under the pseudonym Erikos Panoz. Initially, he stays at the hotel "Mega" on Stadiou Street and immediately begins the efforts of organizational reconstruction of the KKE.

He makes the first contacts, changes his identity, acquiring also a fake Greek citizenship, builds the illegal network and changes his place of residence. The fatal mistake is that he decides to stay in one of the "houses of the house", at Plapouta street no. 30 in Exarchia. The house is under surveillance by the law enforcement authorities and so, on December 20, 1950, he was arrested together with the executive Stathis Dozazos. The fact is not known to the communist circles, because the Police deliberately transport the leader under extreme secrecy to the General Security building.

The first person to look for her is his partner, Elli Ioannidou-Pappa, as he does not appear the next night at the appointment he had with her. The failure of the meeting was something unknown to Belogiannis's practice. She starts looking for him. On the 23rd of December, she goes to the giafka on Plapouta Street and finds the men of the Security waiting for her. About ten days later the arrests are announced in the press. The network of outlawed communist organizations began to disintegrate.

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At the same time, the trial of Belogiannis is underway based on the compulsory law 509 of 1947, which had formally outlawed the KKE. A total of 19 people were referred to the Extraordinary Military Court of Athens on October 1951, 93. It was obvious that this was a political trial. Defendants were tried for their beliefs. Hardly any historian disputes that the process was directed. It is just that some writers who have dealt with the case have tried to trivialize or even deny the responsibilities of the new government of Plastira, which wanted the abolition of the extraordinary military courts, leaving all the responsibility for the trial to the extrajudicial and the extrajudicial. mainly the American.

A very small excerpt from Belogiannis' handy apology was recorded in the minutes of the trial. Less than 100 words, concerning the applause of the Communist Party by the accused. He quoted it exactly as stated in the Book of Minutes of the Extraordinary Military Court of Athens: "I absolutely deny your accusation. He is a member of the Central Committee of the KKE and for this reason he is currently judging supporting the policy of the KKE, supporting his life. I consider Law 509/47 on the basis of which you are judged to be unconstitutional and as a law of expediency and I consider the extraordinary military courts as courts of expediency.

The KKE has never, until today, attempted to seize the Authority by force. "What the Greek people have gained so far for their bread, they owe to the KKE". Finally, at three o'clock in the morning of November 16, 1951, the decision was issued. Belogiannis, Ellis's partner and ten more of the 93 communists are sentenced to death. The only military judge who did not vote in favor of the death penalty was Brigadier General George Papadopoulos, later the leader of the junta. An international outcry erupts, with Prime Minister Nikolaos Plastiras declaring that the decision will not be implemented.

The discovery of wireless

However, things are not as simple as they seem. Two days before the decision was issued, the Suburban Security of the Hellenic Gendarmerie, with the assistance of the technological means at the disposal of the American aircraft carrier "Roosevelt", which had anchored off Piraeus, discovered two illegalities. One in Kallithea and one in Glyfada. According to the Police, these wireless were used in the communication of the domestic nuclei of the KKE with Moscow. The old communist Nikos Vavoudis was responsible for the wireless of Kallithea. Once again, Belogiannis is considered responsible, who, together with 28 other people, is now accused of espionage, according to the 1936 Penal Code.

The second trial begins on February 15, 1952 before the Permanent Military Court of Athens. Belogiannis denies all accusations and highlights the patriotic actions of himself and his comrades against the Germans during the Occupation. The case is taking on enormous proportions, not only in Greece but all over the world. Support events are taking place in many European cities. Within 15 days, the court unanimously sentenced Belogiannis, Elli Pappas, Nikos Kalouenos, Dimitris Batsis, Elias Argyriadis and Takis Lazaridis to death.

"Nikos is innocent"

Immediately after the announcement of the sentence, another important member of the KKE, the prosecuted Nikos Ploupidis, sends a letter to the Authorities in which he personally assumes responsibility for the operation of the radios. He states that he will surrender, as long as "the friend and comrade of N. Belogiannis" is not led to the executive detachment. In fact, in order not to question the letter, he leaves his fingerprint at the bottom. The government refuses to negotiate with a wanted person.

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Two days after the publication of the letter, the general secretary of the KKE, Nikos Zachariadis, from the radio station "Eleftheri Hellas" that broadcasts from Bucharest, characterizes the letter "Directness of the Police" as saying that he is a foreigner. With the move, the party leadership essentially allowed Belogiannis to be executed. Shortly afterwards, he would denounce Ploupidis as a security hub and an agent of the enemy and would remove him from the KKE. For the story, Ploupidis will be arrested a few months later and executed in August 1954. After a while, the victim will realize his mistake and will correct him.

Belogiannis himself, dressed in every formality, listens to the verdict expressionless. In his hand he holds a carnation given to him by the photojournalist Panagiotis Mitsouras, asking him to pose in front of his lens. The black and white snapshot will go down in history. Many were quick to say that the flower was red (apparently to associate it with the color of the KKE), but in fact it was white or pink - although of little importance.

The Plastira government is unable to quell international reactions. In about a week, it receives 250.000 telegrams from progressive people around the world asking for the execution not to take place. Figures such as the actor Charlie Chaplin, the poet Jean Cocteau, the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, the writer Paul Eliard, the Nazi Hickett, the painter Paul Picasso, the French general de Gaulle and 159 deputies of the two great interventions.

The Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Spyridon Vlachos, states in his letter to the king that "I am shocked by the moral exaltation of Belogiannis. I consider it superior to the first Christians, because Belogiannis does not believe that there is a Coming Life ". Despite the appeals, however, the sentence was never changed, nor was a royal pardon granted. During the riots of March 30, 1952, Belogiannis and three of the convicts will be executed by firing squad so that they do not have time to receive any pardon. Elli Pappa will not be executed because she was pregnant with Nikos's child, who will later give birth in prison, while Takis Lazaridis saves her because of his young age.

Picasso's sketch

Shocked by the tragic event and seeing in the newspapers the photograph of the "man with the carnation", the famous Spanish painter Paulo Picasso, who has been a member of the Communist Party of France since 1944, takes his pen and begins to paint the paper on paper. Exactly in the same position with the photo he had in front of him.

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The executive detachment that would take the life of Nikos Belogiannis also included a good friend of his, Thanasis Rodopoulos. At that time he was serving his military service in an Infantry camp, in the area of ​​Agia Paraskevi, Attica. At three o'clock in the morning of March 30, 1952, the officer wakes him up, along with about twenty other soldiers, who are ordered to get dressed quickly and get on the truck.

In a few minutes they had arrived at the mansion of the "Sotiria" hospital where the execution would take place. As soon as Rodopoulos saw the place, he understood who he would have in front of his rifle. He was confused. All the soldiers got out of the vehicle except him. "Come out, what are you sitting on?" the captain will tell him. "I will not go out," he replies with a sigh. The officer gets annoyed. Without a second thought, he pulls the revolver out of his belt and turns it on his face in protest. "You know what I can do under martial law right now, right?" "I know, Captain. Do what you think. "I do not get out of the cayenne," the soldier replies.

The captain is furious, but decides not to pull the trigger. After a few seconds of high intensity, he puts the gun in the holster and pulls it away to set up the rest of the executive detachment. Surprisingly, he decides not to report the incident to his superiors and so the young man was never prosecuted. The story was told by Rodopoulos himself three days after the execution of Belogiannis, to the film director Fotos Laiprinos. As he had confessed to him at the time, what he could not stand and made him stay in the truck was not the execution itself, but the sight. He was afraid of Belogiannis's eyes in case she recognized him.

Rodopoulos knew him from a small child. In Vrachneika of Patras, where he grew up, his family had hidden for a while in the house the then wanted Belogiannis. They had played together, they had hung out, they had chatted for hours. How could he now shoot him? In March 2017, the general secretary of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoupas, took a gun from the headquarters of Perissos and set off for Aaliada. It was a dark Walther pistol from 1938. It did not belong, of course, to the leader of the Communist Party, but to Nikos Belogiannis, and was kept for years along with its case in a special room with many other historical documents.

Mr. Koutsoupas took the precious book to the opening of the permanent exhibition "Nikos Belogiannis" which has been operating since then at the home of the fighter in his hometown. As he later explained to the prime minister, who also gave the "present", Belogiannis had taken this weapon "during the Occupation period from a German and had it with him in the Democratic Army as a political commissioner". Mr. Tsipras asked to know how the pistol came into the ownership of the Communist Party.

"It's a whole story. The fighters hid it and that is why it should never be lost. And they did not hide only weapons, they hid papers, personal information and much more, with a huge risk to their lives, let alone weapons. It was being executed. " Together with Walther, Mr. Koutsouipas then placed Belogiannis's gloves in the special display case. For the record, note that the pistol can not be seen today in the newly established museum. Donaha was exposed for a few hours and was immediately returned to Perissos for security reasons, as stated. Belogiannis' son, who is also named Nikos, did not like the move at all.

They are afraid of him and he is dead

Authorities apparently feared Belogiannis still dead. According to his file kept by the Hellenic Gendarmerie, on April 15, 1952, ie two weeks after its execution, the Piraeus Police Directorate, in a letter to the General Security Sub-Directorate, states verbatim: "Please in the Third Cemetery on Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Good Saturday, in accordance with an oral instruction given to the Commander of the General Security Department, in order to prevent gatherings and other diversions in the grave of the executed convict ".

The irony of the case is that an order had been given earlier to gather information even about the tomb itself. Who made it, from what kind of materials, even in what way. On April 30, 1952, a report of a police body was submitted to the Intelligence Service of the General Security Sub-Directorate, which reads as follows: 28-4- 1952 SPARVERIS Nikolaos son of Filippos and Marieta, 31 years old, from Bernardadou, Tinos, fish sculptor at 49 Kouianoudi Street, resident at 72 Varvaki Street, Central Committee of Athens. He used as a craftsman the KYLARIAN Philip of Philip, aged 16, resident of Peristeri. The order for the construction of the tomb was made under the following conditions… ".

Life in the cell was very difficult for both Nikos Belogiannis and his partner Elli Pappas. "He was in isolation in nearby cells, so that he could communicate and cough. Exchange notes. "In the beginning it was a complete tragedy, because she had neither paper nor pencil," she said in a 1992 interview with the Postman magazine, describing her imaginative efforts to communicate with her lover. "Nikos found such a bullet, took out a little's and sent it to her. I wrote to him holding it in my fingernails. Take paper from the trash, wash it, dry it. "This happened many times a day."

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And he continues: "Nikos's cell was a 'white cell'." The whole twenty-four hour bath in a torturous light. Hers was "black" µ About to light the corridor butt and send a triangle of light to the ceiling of the cell. With the reflections, I wrote to him and read his. At some point the Sun's melted, it left my nails, I lost it. I then burned the edge of a match and used it as stationery. Since then, Nikos started asking for cigarettes in prison. The funny thing is that the brownies who knew that he did not smoke thought that "Belogiannis broke" and started smoking. In fact, they channeled it into the newspapers… ".

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