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ΓΡΑΦΕΙ ΤΗΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ
ΤΟΥ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ
ΑΠΟ ΤΟ 1915
The National Herald
cv
A weekly Greek AmericAn PublicAtion
www.thenationalherald.com
July 30 - August 5, 2011
VOL. 14, ISSUE 720
In Washington Trip,
Venizelos Says Greece
Coming Back Again
WASHINGTON – New Greek Finance Minister Evangelos
Venizelos, in an address at the
Peterson Institute for International Economics here, said
debt-crushed Greece is determined to restore itself and that
the government’s goal “is to return to positive growth and create primary surpluses by 2012,”
an ambitious benchmark many
analysts said is impossible to
reach. Greece, suffering under
$460 billion in debt and a deficit
of more than 10%, is relying on
the so-called Troika of the EuUnion-International
ropean
Monetary Fund-European Central Bank for rescue loans to stay
afloat. The first series of loans,
$155 billion, was begun last
April, 2010 but has failed to sufficiently stem Greece’s slide toward bankruptcy and the country now has asked for a second
bail-out, this one for $229 billion, which means it will be repaying the loans for at least 15
years or more under new restructuring terms and a selective
default on its obligations. Despite those dismal numbers,
Venizelos, who recently replaced the beleaguered Fin.
Min. George Papaconstantinou
as Greece was being besieged
by protesters angry their salaries
have been cut, taxes raised and
pensions slashed while the rich
and tax evaders have largely escaped with impunity, spun an
optimistic note to his audience,
shortly after he met with U.S.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who is struggling to make
sure the United States doesn’t
default because of a budget impasse between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republicans, who control the House
of Representatives.
In his speech, The Greek
Debt Crisis: Challenges and Opportunities, Venizelos outlined
Greece’s efforts to rein in its
public spending and reduce its
massive debt pile. The Athens
Bringing the news
to generations of
Greek Americans
newspaper Kathimerini reported
that he was buoyed by his meeting with Geithner and IMF Managing Director Chirstine Lagarde, which he described as
“positive,” and said: “All of us
together - the IMF, the IIF (an
international banking agency,)
the American government, the
European Union, the European
Central Bank - need to send a
strong and clear message: We
have a program, we trust in its
implementation
and
its
prospects, and we will collectively achieve our goals.”
Venizelos provided no details
about the meetings, but he appeared satisfied and suggested
that both the US administration
and the IMF are fully backing
Athens in its effort to streamline
Greece’s economy in the wake
of an agreement by the Eurozone, the group of 17 countries
using the euro as their currency,
to give Greece more time to pay
back its loans at a lower interest
rate. “The discussion I had today
with US Treasury Secretary Geithner was very specific, very
practical and very positive. The
US administration supports the
new program for Greece and
will express its support to the
markets and the international
community. This is an act of support for Greece and its citizens,
who are making sacrifices in order for us to restructure our
country... as we have a new opportunity in our hands. We
mustn’t relax, but we do have
to grab this opportunity ahead
of us,” he said, without elaborating.
Following Venizelos’s address, Petros Christodoulou,
head of the Athens-based Public
Debt Management Agency, who
appeared with the Greek Finance Minister, said Greece has
not requested additional financial help from the IMF. “There
has not been a request,” he told
Continued on page 7
$1.50
Grossomanides Elected New AHEPA Leader
New Officers Will
Follow Karacostas’
Focus on Youth
By Constantine S. Sirigos
TNH Staff Writer
vestors Service cut Greece’s
credit rating three notches
deeper into “junk” territory,
warning that a bailout deal
struck the previous week between European governments
and banks will almost certainly
trigger a Greek default - the first
by an advanced Western economy in decades. Greece’s plight
has terrorized European financial markets for months.
Moody’s said the €109 billion
(about $157 billion) bailout
gives Greece a shot at revival af-
NEW YORK – Greek America’s
largest organization, AHEPA,
put its continued dynamism on
display at its 89th annual meeting, this one in Miami Beach’s
Fontainebleau Hotel, naming
Dr. John Grossomanides of
Westerly, R.I. to replace twoterm leader Nicholas Karacostas
as Supreme President, the highlight of a week of work and
recreation and the celebration
of Hellenic heritage during
AHEPA’s 89th Annual Supreme
Convention.
Grossomanides ran unopposed
and will try to pick up on Karacostas’ legacy, that the organization’s recent program of outreach and efforts to attract the
Community’s youth. For Karacostas it was a bittersweet moment. He told The National Herald that the sad part was to see
a period of accomplishment
come to an end although he said
what was sweet was the acknowledgement of Order’s
achievements under his leadership.
Karacostas said he was confident about the future as he
passed the torch to Grossomanides, a man he has worked
with for 27 years and “who has
been a phenomenal Supreme
Vice President.” He said he was
also pleased to have been
elected to AHEPA’s Board of
Trustees, who then voted him
Chairman, so that he can continue to work toward his vision
for the re-invigoration of the organization.
In his final address as Supreme
President, Karacostas remarked
how he could never have imagined as an 18-year-old Son of
Pericles - who joined because he
wanted to play softball - that he
would be standing before a large
Continued on page 7
Continued on page 5
AP Photo/Petros GiAnnAkouris
This Trip Not Ruined
A group of Spanish university students from Seville pose for a photo next to a Roman-era funeral
monument on Athens Philopappou Hill as the ancient Acropolis is seen in the background, on
July 22. Greece is counting on tourism, it’s biggest industry, to pump in much needed revenues.
Frenemies Hold Greek Fate in Balance
By Marcus Walker
Wall Street Journal
ATHENS - As protesters battled
police outside Parliament last
month in a hail of rocks and tear
gas, Greece’s beleaguered prime
minister put his hopes in a secret phone call to an old friend.
“Let us form a government of
national salvation,” George Papandreou, the Socialist Prime
Minister, said to his chief rival,
Antonis Samaras, head of
Greece’s conservative opposition
and a buddy since the two men
were roommates at Amherst
College in Massachusetts 40
years ago. The details of their
secret mid-June talks reveal the
degree to which two friends each with far different prescriptions for economic salvation hold the fate of Greece in their
hands as the nation tries to get
its nearly $500 billion in government debt under control.
Their success or failure weighs
on the potential survival of Europe’s shared currency, the euro,
the crowning achievement of 60
years of European unification.
On July 25, European bond
markets fell after Moody’s In-
George Contas: The
Gentleman James Poll–Restaurateur and More
Legendary Knockout Brown
Packed A Really Big Punch
By Constantine S. Sirigos
TNH Staff Writer
By Steve Frangos
TNH Staff Writer
As one of the most recognized Greek-American champions of professional boxing one
would think George Contas
would, like famed wrestler Jim
Londos, still be an acclaimed-
Andonios
Defends Fr.
Recachinas
By Theodore Kalmoukos
TNH Staff Writer
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Bishop
Andonios, Chancellor of the
Greek-Orthodox Archdiocese of
America, has asked parishioners
at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox
church here to refrain from what
he said was gossip over the resignation of their priest, Father
Demetrios Recachinas, who they
alleged was cruising truck stops
for sex with men, and who Andonios said is now seeking professional evaluation. He also said
that the scandal could give pleasure to Satan. In a letter dated
June 22 to the parish here, Andonios acknowledged difficulties
surrounding Recachinas’ departure, but said: “I once again urge
all of you to refrain from gossiping or judging anyone, both of
which are most detrimental and
have always been considered unacceptable behavior by the
Church. The Archdiocese is continuing its investigation of those
Continued on page 3
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[email protected]
member of Greek-American history. As “KO” Brown, Contas
boxed against nearly every top
welterweight and middleweight
in the United States and Australia. From 1911 until 1920, no
one could knock him out or
come close to it in nearly 200
professional fights. With such a
stunning professional boxing
record, Contas should be recalled by Greek Americans from
sea to shining sea. But, alas,
those few dozen men who were
Greek American professional
boxers are today only recalled
by their families and by nonGreek fans of the history of
American boxing.
Contas was born in Sparta,
Greece on Aug. 25, 1891. His
father brought the 8-year-old
George to Chicago in 1899.
While vague reports exist in the
published press that Contas’
original Greek name was very
long I have as yet to discover
his name before it was shortened. He was placed in grammar school once he reached
Chicago but proved too uncontrollable for his teachers and
was soon sent to a school of correction in Woodstock, Illinois.
The first time Contas ever pulled
on a pair of boxing gloves was
in the exercising room there.
During his first boxing match,
Contas punched out four teeth
of his opponent. His father was
immediately wired to come and
take his by-then 12-year-old son
away. Young Contas did not say
long in Chicago, traveling to
Kansas City to visit a cousin,
most likely George Pepers, who
owned a flower store and hired
young Contas. Pepers had his
own aspirations to be a boxer
and had received some professional training. It must have
been Pepers because he’s always
identified in news accounts as
Contas’ cousin and a fellow professional prize fighter. Later
newspaper accounts report that
Contas had even tried his hand
as a wrestler in his early years.
Contas was a welterweight
fighter who fluctuated between
145 and 155 pounds during his
professional career. Weight did
Continued on page 5
NEW YORK – Many Greek
American family histories begin
with the story of a name. When
people first encounter the name
of the family of entrepreneurs
named Poll, few guess that it is
Greek. When James Poll – who
said he regrets the de-Hellenisation of his family name as a loss
of his identity – tells you he once
owned ships, restaurants and a
nightclub, and that his sons operate some of the New York
area’s finest establishments, you
are pretty sure you are speaking
to a Greek. But after exchanging
some words with this sharp-witted and dapper gentleman in his
ninth decade, one wants to hear
the full story.
It begins of course, with a journey, and an even earlier name
change. James Poll’s father was
named Angelos and his father’s
family was named Voyagis, but
when the grandfather became a
priest, hewing to tradition, he
changed it to Papadopoulos.
Continued on page 4
James Poll (L) has owned ships, restaurants and nighclubs in N.Y. His sons - that is Dean to his
right - are the third generation of entrepreneurs. Jame’s father Angelos started the dynasty.
Sophocles Waits to Stand in New York Park
By George P. Embiricos
Special to The National Herald
ASTORIA, N.Y. - A larger than
life-sized statue of the ancient
Greek tragedian Sophocles has
been completed and is awaiting
installation in Athens Square
Park on 30th Street and 30th
Avenue here, waiting to be the
newest addition to a pantheon
of famous Greeks adorning the
popular gathering spot. The lifelike statue is currently standing
in the Modern Art Foundry in
Astoria, where it was cast. It will
be installed in the park as soon
as the necessary funds are
raised, said George Stamatiadis,
Treasurer of the Athens Square
Committee.
In an interview with The National Herald, Stamatiadis said
that following a $64,000 donation from TransCanada, there is
“roughly another $90,000 to be
raised.” The Committee has recently begun an advertising
campaign in The National Her-
Dennis Syntilas (R) with Chris
Vilardi, sculptor of the statue
of Sophocles that will soon
grace Athens Square Park.
ald, requesting that 300 GreekAmericans donate $300 each in
the spirit of the ancient fighters
led by King Leonidas of Sparta,
who kept the Persian Army at
bay in 490 B.C., stalling an invasion until the rest of the
Greeks rallied. Stamatiadis mentioned that the Committee will
probably include a list of all donations made so far in order to
spur
further
fundraising,
adding, “It is our hope that
throughout the United States,
there are 300 Greek Americans
that can support this project as
a thank you to the country for
the opportunities it has provided
them.”
Athens Square Park’s creation was funded by New York
City and the groundbreaking
ceremony occurred in 1990. According to the Department of
Parks and Recreation’s website,
the idea to reuse the then-rundown play space as a neighborhood gathering place originated
with members of Astoria’s sizable Greek-American population, many of whom had immigrated to New York after the
Greek civil war of 1945-49 and
the relaxation of restrictive
American immigration laws in
1962. The Athens Square Committee promoted the Park’s renovation, with Stamatios Lykos
as the architect. With the intention of creating “a little bit of
Athens in Astoria,” the Park encompassed three zones: a central court with amphitheater
and sculpture, a recreational
space, and a seating area along
the perimeter. Further renovations in 1993 focused on new
trees and plantings, benches
and tables, a playground, and a
basketball court.
The seven-and-a-half foot
statue will not be lonely. Already
included in the Park is a bronze
statue of the philosopher
Socrates, designed by the artist
Anthony Frudakis, and three
Doric columns on a circular
base, installed in 1996. In 1998,
the city of Athens donated a
Continued on page 3
COMMUNITY
2
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JULY 30 - AUGUST 5, 2011
GOINGS ON...
J
37th Year of Cyprus Tragedy Marked on July 20
Young Professionals Summer Bash in NY
Cypriot organizations in NY organized events to mark the 37th
year of the Turkish invasion. Seated in the first row at a memorial service at St. Demetrios Cathedral are Costas Tsentas, Panicos Papanicolaou and Dimitrios Kaloidis. Cyprus’ Consul General in NY Koula Sophianou and Greek Consul Evangelos
Kyriakopoulos were also present.
The Church of the Evangelismos hosted a networking party on
the Rooftop Lounge of the Empire Hotel in Manhattan on July
18. All enjoyed the warm summer night outside and live jazz
inside. This was the last reception before the fall, but the
parish, led by pastor Nathanael Symeonides, is looking forward
to the annual softball game vs. the Hamptons church Aug. 20.
Medea Shocks Audiences in New York
Euripides’ Medea was presented by the American Thymele Theatre in with free admission at 3 venues, an Amphitheater above.
Danijela Popovic as Medea pleads and gets a one day reprieve
from King Creon of Corinth, played by Zenon Zeleniuch. Little
did the nearby chorus know, that was just enough time for the
sorceress to work her dark magic.
tnh/costAs beJ
Greek Music and Dancing in Astoria
Yiannis Papastefanou and his orchestra were the featured performers this week at the annual Greek Nights Under the Stars
series that drew a large crowd of onlookers and dancers to Astoria’s Athens Square Park. Hellenic music and culture will be
presented every Tuesday through September 13 by the Athens
Square, Inc. cultural and educational organization.
In the Spotlight: Irina Constantine Poulos
By Constantine S. Sirigos
TNH Staff Writer
NEW YORK – Growing up in
Athens didn’t necessarily prepare Irina Constantine Poulos
for her experience when she arrived in New York to study
Choreography at the Tisch
School of the Arts of NYU, but
being raised by an exceptionally
loving and supportive family,
and a having a circle of extraordinary friends provided her with
the spiritual armor that is often
required to “make it there,” in
the words of the famous song
about the Big Apple. After 17
years of dance training, she
moved to New York in 2001
with two 40-year-old suitcases
with broken wheels that two of
her grandparents had used
when they had immigrated to
the States back in time. Upon
arriving, she was abandoned by
a non-English speaking taxi-driver in the woods somewhere
north of New York. Stranded
with no one to ask for directions, she told TNH: “I knew
then the journey had begun.”
TNH: What drew you to New
York?
ICP: The dream I was chasing after was to study Choreography at the Tisch School of the
Arts, which in my opinion is the
leading educational institution
in the performing arts.
TNH: New York is a tough
place for an artist. What did you
do after graduation?
ICP: After earning my MFA
in Choreography and Performance, I founded two dance
companies through which my
creative ideas would come to
life, and pursued the teaching
of movement technique and
choreography classes in a variety of educational and creative
settings. Simultaneously, I
would work as anything imaginable in an effort to feed the
dream. I used to keep a written
list of my endeavors, which I
would periodically send to my
family jokingly adding: A life of
financial sacrifices is finally paying off! The list included: being
a paralegal, lighting and costume designer, theater electrician, bouncer, physical therapist, gymnastics teacher, Greek
language tutor, and insurance
broker, from which I moved on
to interior designer and building
manager, where I was involved
in construction and plumbing.
And there was the socializing
with the majority of the world
in New York, meaning the business part of it, just another form
of performing really.
Irina Constantine Poulos, consumate professional, has had a
lot of day jobs to feed her choreographers dream in New York.
TNH: And your more recent
endeavors?
ICP: I acted as the movement
consultant on a project at the
School of Cinematic Arts at the
University of Southern California, which involved choreography for body movement-based
social games for the rehabilitation of upper limb sensorimotor
function of wheelchair confined
individuals. To those letters, my
family has always warmly
smiled and replied: We’re not
worried, Bouboulina (my nickname), we know if you were to
be thrown in the midst of the
deep ocean you’d still find a way
to swim your way out.
Well, as our good old Heraclitus would say Panta Rei –
Everything flows. I am now the
Artistic Director and Choreographer of Choreo Theatro
(www.choreotheatro.org), a
non-profit Greenpoint-based
performance company, which
has been making leaps of success over the past couple of
years, all thanks to the talent,
generosity of spirit and support
of a big circle of artists and
friends who believed in the idea
which started years ago, during
a February meeting within two
non-heated, badly in need of
renovation rooms at an industrial building facing Brooklyn’s
waterfront. With the support of
the Kennedy Foundation, those
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rooms looking at Manhattan’s
skyline from their 17 large windows have turned into a performance production studio, an inspiring home to dancers,
choreographers, costume, set,
lighting, sound and interaction
designers, painters, photographers, composers, musicians,
and writers — a space in which
imagination prevails by bringing
to life what is deemed by many
people as the impossible.
TNH: What was Choreo Theatro’s last production?
ICP: It was a collaboration
with The Readers of Homer,
which put Odysseus’ adventures
onto the stage of the famous
92nd Street Y. We are keeping
our next one a secret until all
publicity material is ready, but
we promise that it will be a once
in a lifetime experience. In this
contemporary multimedia manifestation, a unique collaboration
of modern dance, original music,
and never before utilized virtual
reality technology provided by
the School of Cinematic Arts of
USC will shape the timeless
dilemma of an untold story.
TNH: What is required to be
a good choreographer?
ICP: I sometimes relate being
a choreographer to my idea of
what genuine parenthood is; the
love one gives, whether that is
to one’s students, collaborators,
audiences, or art itself, comes
back infinitely multiplied. But
in order to give, one first needs
to understand how the “other”
feels, thinks, and perceives the
world on its own. I call this the
careful study of the human spirit
and its innate contradictions.
People are breathing oxymora,
and so it is part of human nature
to struggle, strive, fail and thrive
again within life’s conjoined oppositions. With that always in
mind I approach each person as
a unique amalgam of thoughts,
ways of sensing and interacting
with the world. I can then connect those into a form of expression in dance. With its healing
power we can confront life,
death, and everything in between, through a poignant expression but wordless language.
TNH: Has your life path been
influenced by your Ancient
Greek heritage?
ICP: Undoubtedly, though in
more abstract ways than perhaps expected. The Greek ideals
I was taught as a young student
at Athens College were embedded in my being in spite of the
fact that I was never able to recite them verbatim. Funnily
enough, it was not until after I
came of age that I felt the irresistible urge to go back and read
our philosophers’ works, a second and a third time around,
now truly being able to apply
their views to today’s world.
TNH: What’s the greatest lesson you've ever learned?
ICP: Two years ago my father
got unexpectedly sick with terminal cancer that gave him
three months of life at the early
age of 68. In an effort to prepare
our mother, my little sister and
myself, he said certain “whys”
do not have an answer. I later
on realized through reading the
journals he left for us that what
he truly meant, but was hard to
say aloud, was that certain ‘answers’ are as simple as learning
how to let go. We live in an era
that promotes a never-ending
struggle for success, which is a
great goal to have overall, but I
have found that what we are almost never told is that we are
not invisible, and that we are
certainly not infallible. And so
when faced with those irrevocable turns of life, we remain
numbed, instead of gracefully
accepting our loss and carving
a path towards a new future.
TNH: Do you have role models?
ICP: Kipling’s poem “If” encompasses all that I was raised
to strive for. I do think it relevant to our Greek ideals, and
the way our ancestors wanted
us to lead our lives.
TNH: What’s your ultimate
goal in life?
ICP: To live a full life. It is
what brought me to New York,
the inspiration behind founding
Choreo Theatro, the reason why
I laugh when faced with adversity.
[email protected]
If you'd like to nominate a notable member of the Greek
American community for “In
the Spotlight”, please contact
[email protected] with your suggestions.
n THROUGH AUGUST 5
TARPON SPRINGS, Florida Aegean Legacy, a solo exhibition
featuring the outstanding works
of artist Pantelis Klonaris, will be
on display at the Tarpon Springs
Cultural Center from June 10
thru August 5. A native of Tarpon Springs, Klonaris has spent
the last 30 years designing compositions across a wide range of
mediums. His large, vivid, and
dynamic canvases combine images from ancient Greece and the
natural world. Klonaris believes
that his work advocates human
sustainability, increased social
awareness, and improved quality
of life—conditions he considers
essential to positive human development. He uses such varied
sources as world history, technology, design, and business strategies to contextualize current
events and shed light on the
dominant factors that structure
our society. Klonaris attributes
much of his sense of social responsibility to his Greek heritage
and the role of ancient Greece in
creating western civilization. Yet
he also believes that artists play
an essential role in developing
society and culture through their
visionary abilities to think outside
the box. Free admission. The Tarpon Springs Cultural Center is located at 101 S. Pinellas Avenue.
For more information, contact
Lisa Cobb at 727-942-5605.
n THROUGH AUGUST 7
(WEEK LONG SESSIONS
STARTING EACH MONDAY)
BOSTON, Mass. – Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston presents Summer Camp 2011 for
youths aged 8-18. The weeklong
summer camp sessions embrace
children from throughout the
world, and feature a dedicated
staff of counselors, priests, and
lay leaders. Activities include
sports, swimming, arts and crafts,
and Greek dancing. Children also
learn more about their Greek Orthodox faith and cultural heritage. For more information on
the camp, please visit www.mbcamp.org or call 603-746-4400.
n AUGUST 6-13
NEW YORK, N.Y. Xoregos Performing Company presents
Sophocles' stunning drama,
Antigone for thirteen free performances in parks and libraries in
four boroughs this summer. The
company continues its tradition
of Greek classical productions
with this drama of the fate of dipus' four children, Polynices,
Eteocles, Ismene and Antigone.
When Antigone flouts Creon's
law, is it rebellion or heroism?
Should an individual's beliefs supersede a King's edict? The production is directed and choreographed by Shela Xoregos, with
a mix of traditional and modern
elements. Costumes are by
Regina Cate, known for her innovative designs for San Francisco's Magic Theater. Composer
Edward RosenBerg III sets Choral
Odes to classical music and
sounds the actors make in various ways. The classically trained
cast members have performed in
many New York productions of
plays by Shakespeare, Euripides,
Chekhov and others. All performances are free to the public and
are sixty-five minutes long. For
the outdoor locations you are encouraged to bring a blanket and
picnic. The schedule follows.
Antigone starts on time. Saturday, August 6 at 3:00 p.m.
Queens Library at Jackson
Heights , Queens; Monday, August 8 at 6:00 p.m. Jefferson
Market Library, Sixth Avenue at
10 Street the Village, Manhattan;
Tuesday, August 9 at 6:30 p.m.
Central Park at 80 Street, on lawn
facing the Delcorte Theater, Manhattan; Wednesday, August 10 at
6:30 p.m. Yorkville Branch Library, 222 East 79 Street, Manhhattan; Saturday, August 13 at
3:00 p.m. Queens Library at 4020 Broadway, Long Island City,
Queens. For more information
call: 212-239-8405 or visit:
www.xoregos.com
n AUGUST 18 – 21
PORT JEFFERSON, N.Y. – Assumption Greek Orthodox
Church is pleased to present its
annual Greek Festival, a community event put together by the
families of The Assumption. Featuring culinary delights like gyros, pastitsio, moussaka, souvlaki,
spanakopita, tyropita, and much
more! Also traditional Greek pastries such as baklava, galaktobouriko, among others. There
will also be a folk dancing exhibition, and continuous Greek music. Church tours will acquaint
the public with the rich symbolism that is inextricably linked to
Orthodox Christian worship. Finally, the Festival will feature the
most successful raffle on the East
Coast, with a total of 270 prizes.
Thursday, August 18 5 p.m. – 10
p.m., Friday, August 19 5 p.m. –
11 p.m., Saturday August 20 1
p.m. – 11 p.m., Sunday August
21 1 p.m. – 10 p.m. The Festival
is located at 430 Sheep Pasture
Road. For more information, call
631-473-0894, email [email protected], or visit
www.portjeffgreekfest.com.
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio –
Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek
Orthodox Cathedral presents the
38th annual Greek Festival 2011.
Come for amazing Greek meals,
such as souvlaki, saganaki, and
calamari, homemade pastries,
live music and dancing. Authentic Greek music performed by
three Greek bands, including
Orion Express, and Hellenic
dancers in traditional folk costumes. Two tavernas offer Greek
wine and beer. The Kid’s Corner
offers treats, two large bounce
houses, and face painting. Thursday, August 18 4 p.m. – 10 p.m.,
Friday, August 19 3 p.m. – 11
p.m., Saturday August 20 12 p.m.
– 11 p.m., Sunday, August 21 12
p.m. – 9 p.m. The Festival is located at 3352 Mayfield Road. For
more information, call 216-9233300, or visit www.clevelandgreekfestival.com.
SOUTH GLENS FALLS, N.Y. – St.
George Orthodox Church presents the 2nd annual Adirondack
Greek Festival. Friday August 19
5 p.m. – 9 p.m. and Saturday, August 20 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. The Festival is located at 55 Main Street.
For more information, call 518792-2359.
WINCHESTER, Virginia – Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church presents the Winchester Greek Festival August
20-21. Join us for live Greek music, delicious Greek food, and
great fun for all. The Festival is
located at 1700 Amherst Street.
For more information, call 540667-1416.
n AUGUST 26 – 28
ROCHESTER, Minn. – Holy Anargyroi Greek Orthodox Church
presents 2011 GreekFest. Authentic Greek foods, live Greek
music and dancers, bake sale featuring locally made Greek pastries, a carnival for children,
silent auction, and Church tours.
Free admission and parking. Friday, August 26 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.,
Saturday, August 27 11 a.m. – 8
p.m., Sunday, August 28 from 11
a.m. – 6 p.m. The Church is located at 703 W. Center Street.
For more information, call 507282-1529.
CHICAGO, Ill. – Chicago Greektown presents “Taste of Greece
2011” August 27-28. Come for
food, fun, and dancing from 12
pm – 11 pm. Located at 100-400
S. Halsted Street. For more information, call (847) 509-8050.
n SEPTEMBER 3 – 4
LANCASTER, Calif. – Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church presents the Greek
Festival 2011, your ticket to the
tastes, music, and celebrations of
Greece and the Greek isles. There
will be live entertainment,
dancers, Greek cooking demonstrations, Church tours, door
prizes, a raffle, and lots of Greek
hospitality! Saturday from 11 am
– 9 pm, Sunday from 12 pm – 9
pm. The Festival is located at
43404 30th Street West. For
more information, call (661)
945-1212.
n SEPTEMBER 9 – 18
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Holy
Trinity – St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church presents its annual Greek Festival on the two
weekends following Labor Day.
All family, friends, and visitors
are welcome to attend and enjoy
the delicious Greek food, lively
music, fun, and philoxenia of the
Greek community. Friday, September 9 and 16 from 6 pm – 12
am; Saturday, September 10 and
17, from 2 pm – 12 am; Sunday,
September 11 and 18 from 2 pm
– 10 pm. The festival is located
at 1641 Richmond Avenue. For
more information, call (718)
494-0658.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Vote on our website!
You have the chance to express your opinion on our website
on an important question in the news. The results will be published in our printed edition next week along with the question
for that week.
The question this week is: Will you still buy Diaspora bonds
to help Greece?
o Yes
o No
o Maybe
The results for last week’s question: Should the Archdiocese
fund Greek schools?
58% voted "Yes"
38% voted "No"
4% voted "Maybe"
Please vote at: www.thenationalherald.com
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JULY 30 - AUGUST 5, 2011
COMMUNITY
3
Sophocles Waits Funding to Stand in Athens Square Park in New York
Continued from page 1
statue of Athena, goddess of wisdom and protectress of Athens,
fashioned by Stavros Georgopoulos and Spiro Goggakis.
The city of Chalkidiki donated a
statue of the head and upper
body of the philosopher Aristotle
to accompany them in 2008.
The original statue of Sophocles, cast in bronze, was sculpted
by local artist Chris Vilardi, and
includes a two-foot base of granite stone. Vilardi’s previous
works include 2 ½-times lifesized renditions of St. Ignatius
of Loyola, on display at both
Fordham University and Lincoln
Center. The sculptor spoke to
The Queens Gazette about his
latest work, saying, “By researching a historical figure I am
better able to portray them in a
compelling way. The many tales
of Sophocles’ physical prowess
were an influence on my sculpture. True to my style, I have
added movement to what would
most likely be a static subject.
Creating a classical sculpture
with a modern stylistic approach
pays homage to the past while
anchoring it in the present. In
researching garments of the period that Sophocles lived, I was
inspired by the more ornate attire that I imagine a man of his
station would wear. The tragedy
mask, a prop in Greek theater,
helps to cue the viewer as to
who this figure was. I worked
hard to have this sculpture be
truly in the round and be visually compelling from all angles.”
Vilardi went on to state that
Sophocles is considered by most
modern scholars to be the greatest of the Greek tragedians.
The implementation of the
statue of Sophocles will reinforce Athens Square Park’s
Greek roots in an increasingly
diversified neighborhood. Stamatiadis commented, “(The
Park) has evolved into a multicultural center. We have all sorts
of ethnic groups that perform
here.” As frequently as every
week, there will be nights de-
The statues on display in the Park will soon have a new hellenic neighbor.
voted to different ethnic groups,
such as Latin, Italian, and Irish.
Stamatiadis also mentioned that
the Park has become a popular
spot for tourists over the past
few years, and is especially attractive as a wedding backdrop.
Apart from the fundraising
campaign, all steps towards the
statue project’s implementation
are complete. Stamatiadis stated
that the Committee has already
elected to place the statue of
Sophocles opposite that of Aristotle’s and facing the figure of
Socrates, so that it appears the
philosophers are immersed in dialogue. The only remaining hurdle is acquiring the necessary financial support to transfer the
bronze-cast figure to its final
destination in Athens Square
Park, a move that the Committee
hopes will be facilitated by the
advertising campaign aimed at
Greek Americans nationwide.
“Non-Hellenes have donated to
the Park many times in years
past,” Stamatiadis said. “It’s time
for the Greeks to step up now.”
Andonios Takes Allegations Seriously, Says Recachinas Shouldn’t Be Judged
Continued from page 1
allegations. Please know that we
take any allegation most seriously and will exercise appropriate action based on the results
of our investigation.”
Recachinas, in a June 10 telephone interview with The National Herald would not explain
why other than to say, “I am on
a leave of absence for reasons of
health and for personal reasons.”
He repeatedly refused to discuss
what either problem was, other
than to say his health problem
was, “serious enough, but finally,
thank God, I will overcome it.”
He said only his problems “are
personal issues and I would not
want to go into.” He said
whether he serves in another
parish “depends on the Archdiocese when the time comes, now
I am on a leave of absence. When
the time comes the Archdiocese
will discuss the issue with me
and it will be taken care of properly as the Archdiocese sees it.”
On June 16, TNH reported
that, “The priest of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church here
who resigned abruptly after 29
years of service for ‘personal and
health reasons’ was caught by
many of his parishioners soliciting truck drivers for sex at rest
areas of an interstate highway,
they have alleged.” Father
Demetrios Recachinas announced his departure in March
but refused to provide details,
nor did the Archdiocese or Parish
Council President George Mourizakis.
The
parishioners
who
charged Recachinas with what
they called inappropriate conduct unbecoming a priest told
TNH that many of them had seen
him in the rest stop areas of Interstate highway Route I-95
seeking truck drivers and other
men for sexual purposes. They
did not want their names (TNH
has their names on file) used,
but one said, “I have seen him in
the car doing the act with men…
” and another said the priest unwittingly tried to solicit him before realizing who he was. They
said they hired a lawyer, Harold
Pickerstein, who employed private investigators to follow Recachinas and that they had confirmed he was cruising the area
for sex contacts. Pickerstein sent
a letter to Fr. Recachinas on Feb-
ruary 22 stating that: “Not only
have our clients observed these
activities, but investigators, retained by this office, have independently verified your activities.” The lawyer gave him one
week to resign. On March 6, Fr.
Recachinas, at the end of the
Liturgy, suddenly announced his
resignation for “reasons of
health.” He is considered one of
the most prominent and successful priests of the Archdiocese.
TNH is in a position to know
that shortly after the newspaper
broke the story that Andonios
called into a meeting at the Archdioceses some of the parishioners
who had spoken to the newspaper on the record about the actions of their priest. Andonios allegedly attempted to blame the
parishioners, saying that, “You
stultified your parish with your
statements to TNH.” The parishioners told Andonios that, “The
parish has been ridiculed by the
actions of the priest and your attempts who are trying to cover
it up.” Antonios reportedly told
the group of the parishioners
who made the revelations that
Recachinas was sent “for evaluation,” and if he (Andonios)
thinks that he is okay, he might
reassign him back to the same
parish.
Telephone messages to Andonios and Recachinas went unanswered. TNH was unable to communicate with the parishioners
who met with Bishop Andonios
because they had left on vacation. Shortly after breaking the
story, TNH received a serious
threatening message by e-mail,
which was reported to the police.
SEEKING HELP
In his letter, Andonios also
wrote that, “Please know that in
response to our directive, Father
willingly consented to see a professional for evaluation so that
we can determine if there are
any issues which have arisen at
this point in his life and what
needs to be done to address
them. Know that he is deeply
pained by whatever has transpired and especially that the life
of the community he served has
been gravely affected. I ask that
you keep him, Presbytera and
their beloved children in your
prayers, for as you can well appreciate, this is most painful and
difficult time for the family. We
fervently pray that the Good
Lord will bestow upon all of
them His healing grace and
love.” He added: “We are all especially pained by, and are very
concerned over the divisions
which have been created within
the community as a result of
what has transpired. We fervently ask that peace and harmony be restored. While there
may never be agreement within
the parish about what actually
transpired and /or how the issue
should have been addressed by
those within the community, we
strongly implore and ask that for
the “good of the community”,
everyone focus their attention
and their energies on working
together to rebuild the unity
which has been shaken, so that
you may be perfectly joined together.”
In another part of his letter,
he added: “As members of a
Christian Community, we cannot
set our minds on earthly things
and seek to satisfy personal
agendas and selfish egos. We
must always strive, to the best
of our ability, to rise above and
ever cognizant that we reveal
our true spiritual state by our re-
lationship with our fellow communicants. Inappropriate and
unacceptable behavior manifested in a desire to ostracize
certain groups of people from
the parish, to seek revenge
against individuals whether they
be in leadership positions or regular parishioners, to boycott
events so as to undermine the
parish’s financial stability, and to
pass judgment on others can
only result in worsening the animosities which threaten the
unity of the parish.”
Andonios went on to state in
his letter that “continuing this
state of affairs would give great
delight to the Evil One whose
missions it is to sow dissension
and division within the Body of
Christ. His desire is to distance
people from God and their Faith
and certainly to undermine the
work of the Church. Therefore,
as people filled with the empowered by the Spirit of God, let us
rise above the controversy and
let us all work towards restoring
the loving, spiritual community
which existed before this controversy “lest Satan should take
advantage of us, for we are not
ignorant of his devices.”
COMMUNITY
4
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JULY 30 - AUGUST 5, 2011
Gentleman James Poll – Restaurateur, Raconteur, Family Man
Continued from page 1
James’s father Angelos hailed
from Adrianople in Thrace and
came to New York when he was
21. His mother’s Makris family
roots are not too far away, in
Agathoupolis on the Black Sea
coast, near Constantinople.
Katherine came to New York in
1912, after the Bulgarians took
over her hometown in the
Balkan wars. When the Greeks
beat the Bulgarians to the war’s
real prize, the great city of Thessaloniki, the Bulgarians were furious and drove Greeks from
their lands. Her family and thousands of refugees fled to Thessaloniki, where they had to stand
on line for an hour to get a loaf
of bread. Her brothers were already in New York and brought
her over. They were among the
Greek families who lived on 37th
Street in Midtown, between the
long-gone elevated trains that
brought noise, and mid-day
darkness along with rapid transit
convenience to Manhattan’s
Sixth and Ninth avenues.
Angelos worked in Constantinople for a few years, where he
learned to speak French and
earned enough money to come
to New York. Among the first to
write the Greek American suc-
cess story, he worked hard for
seven years and then bought a
deli on 10th Avenue and 42nd
street. The the area between 8th
and 10th avenues was becoming
New York’s Greek Town. James
recalled that in the 1930’s it was
filled with coffee houses, one after another, with names like
Cafenio Nea Demokratia and
Cafenio Mytilene.
It is no surprise that a conversation with James Poll is filled
with interesting histories and
places. Geography and history
are his passions, probably triggered by a unique boat ride
when he was eight years old. In
1928 the Order of AHEPA held
its first excursion to Greece. The
members and their families traveled on big ocean liner, the S.S.
Sinaia, and James remembers
the AHEPAN’s practicing marching on the ship, drilled by WW I
veterans in preparation for their
ceremonial March from Omonia
Square to the Greek Parliament.
That convention was a great moment in the history of the Greek
American community, as it was
one of the first times that the
Government of Greece recognized and honored its intrepid
sons and daughters who became
successful and influential in the
New World.
Angelos Poll was one of those
men, and he was ready to leap
higher than most, with the help,
as usual, of good luck and timing, hard work, and people who
believed in him. After running
the deli a few years he was told
one was for sale on the east side,
but wasn’t interested. The friend
insisted, saying the seller wanted
someone special to take it over
and that he was ideal. Poll went
reluctantly, “But when he saw it
he went out of his mind. He had
to have it, beg, borrow or steal.
It was a gourmet shop and in
1922 its patrons included many
famous leaders of industry such
as the Vanderbilts and Morgans.
It was on Lexington Avenue
and 81st Street. And although it
was an era marked by the invention of the automobile, Poll remembers they often made deliveries with a horse and wagon.
Poll’s father had to put himself
deep into debt, and it became
necessary to go into the catering
business as well just to stay
afloat. He said there were only
three caterers in Manhattan in
those days: Robert Day, George
Coker and his father. Since Prohibition was implemented, people didn’t have weddings in hotels anymore because there was
no drinking, so the receptions
Photo courtesy oF Poll FAmily
could within a year to buy the
land also. He couldn’t match an
offer later though.
CLUBBING NIGHTS
When the owners of the famous Greek nightclub Dionysos
on 54th Street and Second Avenue - Takis Stambolis from
Alexandria, Egypt and the notorious Paul Sapounakis - decided
to open a Russian night club,
they asked Poll to join them. Being an owner of Casino Russe at
125 East 54th Street in Manhattan turned out to be a fantastic
combination of extremely hard
work and alot of fun. Movie stars
and notables of all kinds came
in, including Henry Kissinger.
The celebrities wanted to meet
the owner, which wasn’t the case
in the restaurant business. He
told TNH he had a great crush
on actress Joan Fontaine for
years. One day a beautiful
woman came in when she was
checking her coat he said to her
excitedly, “My God you look like
Joan Fontaine,” and she replied,
“I am.”
“I wouldn’t do it again, but it
was a great experience,” James
said of running a night club. The
down side was coming home at
all hours of the morning, not being able to spend time with his
family. The first month in the
business he lost 30 pounds, running around all the time, consuming mainly Coca Cola. The
club was luxurious with tall ceilings in one big room. It was built
to be Sardi’s East, to complement
the great Theater District eatery.
James said the story holds an important lesson: “Never take advice from your customers. They
begged him to open a place on
the East Side, but they never
came.”
The live music was terrific he
said, including top singers from
Europe. Aristotle Onassis came
twice. On Halloween, around
1973, James’ wife was all smiles
because she planned to come
dressed like a witch. He told her
not to because among the important customers he expected
that night was the Emir of
Kuwait. He later relented and
told her that although he didn’t
think it was a good idea, she
could do what she thought was
right. He then learned Onassis
had a reservation for 12 people.
James saw that 10 had arrived,
and then Onassis came alone.
“He had a monster claw and
would frighten people by growling at them. I was impressed he
knew about Halloween.”
James said there were few incidents. There was one man, a
cultured Arab, who always came
in with a beautiful woman. At
one point, he became angry and
slapped her across the face.
When Poll found out he said, “I
can’t have that.” Poll told him
to never come again. He would
call and beg, but Poll stood firm.
One night the man called and
said he absolutely had to come
that night. He needed to impress
a very important client. James at
first said “I don’t care,” but when
the man continued to beg, he relented.
When the party arrived the
client turned out to be a big hotelier from Las Vegas – the owner
of the Sands, but they were casually dressed and the Club required a jacket and tie. Poll told
him he was sorry but he was not
dressed for the club. The guest
apologized, saying, “If I had
known I would have bought a
suit.” Because he was a gentleman about it, Poll said he would
make an exception for him, even
though he just sent away another
man for improper dress. The
man appreciated it very much
and said “this man” – the person
Poll had previously banned – “is
going to build us a fabulous hotel. He may be a nut but he
builds great hotels. He’s one of
the greatest architects in the
world.” The most frustrating moments involved customers who
tried to steal his candles or the
fine sterling silver sugar bowls
Sardi had left.
The biggest headache was a
singer from Paris. He hated New
York and everything about the
club. “Every night there was a
problem. He was a tall Polish fellow but he sang the Russian
songs better than the Russians, ”
James said. He had to leave at
the end of the year to sing at the
Follies Bergere in Paris. The
problems left with him, but so
did many customers.
After that he bought a ship
and ran it for a year, but import
quotas made it impossible to
make a good profit, so he went
back into the restaurant business
with a three store operation in
the Time-Life Building in Rockefeller Center that he ran until that
lease expired 10 years later. Little
by little he retired and his sons
got into the business and ran
their own restaurants. Today the
family holdings include Bryant &
Cooper Steakhouse, Toku and
Cippolini in Long Island, which
are owned by Gillis and George.
Dean owns the Riverbay Seafood
Bar & Grill in Williston Park, NY,
and, yes, he did win the concession for the beautiful Boathouse
in Central Park.
The Poll brothers: (L-R) Dean, George and Gillis, who operate restaurants in Manhattan and
Long Island. They learned from their dad how to keep their cool in a hectic business.
[email protected]
Photo courtesy oF Poll FAmily
Above: Angelos Poll (R) in his Manhattan delicatessen. The
well-stocked store with its attractive displays was a neighborhgood mainstay and a source of family pride. Below Left: Katherine and Angelos Poll pose on the deck of the S.S. Sinaia, which
were held in people’s homes on
Park and Fifth Avenues and at
their estates in Long Island.
THANK YOU DR. POLL
His first job was for a Dr. Poll
who lived on Park Avenue. To be
a caterer, he had to supply liquor,
so bootlegging was unavoidable.
When his father charged him for
the drinks, Dr. Poll refused to pay
saying “It’s illegal to buy liquor,”
Not in the business of giving gifts
to rich strangers, he got even as
only a Greek could. He had already thought Papadopoulos was
too long for the fancy window
of the store, and he didn’t want
to be just another Poulos or Pappas in New York – in one of many
ironies in his son’s life, he didn’t
know James would one day own
the Pappas restaurant in Brooklyn’s Sheepshead Bay. Angelos
had to be different, so he took
the name that sounded a bit like
Poulos and put the doctor’s name
on the window. the store, now
on 75th and Lexington still has
the name, though it’s William
Poll, for Angelos’ brother who
eventually took it over. When the
East Side opportunity turned up,
so did Angelos’ future wife. At
that time there were very few
single Greek women in the U.S.
– the men had to go back to
Greece to find brides. The family
of James’ mother Katherine
moved to 65th Street near Central Park, in another concentration of Greeks. His mother was
beautiful and all the Greeks
knew her.
Katherine’s brother eventually
came to work for James’ father
at the deli. When he met and fell
in love with Katherine, he
arranged for his existing partner
to leave the business and made
his future brother-in-law the
partner. Angelos and Katherine
soon were married in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, in it’s old
building on 72nd Street. They
had three children: James, his
widowed sister Kristalia, who
lives in Dearborn, Michigan and
George, a retired chiropractor in
New York who was four months
old when their father was killed
when his car was hit by an oncoming Long Island Rail Road
train in the days before there
were proper safely devices.
James grew up for a few years
on Manhattan’s Upper East Side,
but there were few children to
play with. He was often hailed
as an alumnus of a rich boy’s
school. His father eventually
moved the store to Lexington
and 75th Street and the family
to Queens, where they became
stalwarts of the church of the
Transfiguration in Corona. He
went to Greek school five days a
week. The Greek children
watched their friends go out to
play after school while they went
home, partook of milk and crackers, and went marching off to
learn Greek. Asked about the experience he said “Xilo! – beatings
- from the teacher, and after his
father was told: “more xilo!” His
education continued at P.S. 69
in Elmhurst then P.S. 19 in
Corona, and at his father’s store
on Saturdays.
When he arrived there, now
in the blue truck that replaced
the horse and wagon, the store
was already opened by his father’s brother, whom he brought
over from Greece. In 1925 Angelos paid to smuggle in Vasillios, soon to be William Poll,
when he was 17. The $500 they
paid was a lot of money, but it
was a grueling journey. He went
from Greece to Havana where
he waited for a steamer that operated between that city and
New York. He slept on the boilers
and at 4 or 5 in the morning he
would be awakened up, taken to
relieve himself and given some
food and water. When they got
to New York they told him to,
“Walk off the boat and follow
us.” A taxi took him to the store,
where he recognized his benefactor, the brother he had not
seen since he was two.
The store flourished despite
the Depression which took the
businesses of many of the first
generation Greek entrepreneurs.
Many were helped by groups
such as the AHEPA and the Masons. One night, his father took
a different turn when driving
home after closing the deli and
James wondered where they
were going. The car turned into
Central Park and he found himself in the Boathouse restaurant.
His father said to him, “We are
going to meet a very nice man so
carried members of the then-new Order of AHEPA, flush with
their success in America, to Greece in 1928. Below: The S. S.
Ramapo, an oil tanker, is one of serveral ships James Poll has
owned, and he was also a championship sailor.
behave yourself.” They went into
the office of Pantelis Pappas, a
giant of a man from Patras who
ran it from 1915 to 1965. He noticed James was fascinated by the
boats and asked him if he could
row. “Yes,” he said, although he’d
never rowed, but there he was,
in a boat on the lake at 10 o’clock
at night, looking up at the stars,
blissfully unaware that years later
his middle son Dean would have
a chance to become its operator.
When Dean told his father he
made a bid for it, James said,
“You’re gonna get it. That’s our
Dean, it’s your destiny. You are
going to get it.”
But when James was in his
teens, such dreams were alien to
him. He enjoyed attending the
High School of Commerce where
he studied history and bookkeeping and he was studying at NYU
prior to the outbreak of WW II.
There were many Greeks there,
members of the Delphi Society.
One day he recognized someone
from Greek events. “Ellinas esi
ise vre – Hey, you’re Greek?” he
asked Poll, and they became
good friends. When he began to
work for a friend at a clothing
store he switched to night
classes. The Greek ship owners
used to go there to buy suits and
he got to know them all. Pearl
Harbor interrupted his studies.
He wanted to join the Navy, but
his brother-in-law told him about
the Coast Guard. His widowed
mother was frightened she
would now lose her son, but a
woman came and told her she
had a dream that James would
not leave New York. After boot
camp, he was assigned to
Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn
where the Coast Guard trained
recruits. That’s where he first encountered the famous Pappas
Restaurant, never imagining the
role it would later play in his life.
“Pappas’s was very successful, “
he told TNH, “packed on the
weekends, 250 seats.”
SHIPPING DAYS
After the war his shipping
friendships netted James not just
a job but owner status. He was a
partner in a Greek-owned Liberty
Ship, and owned and an American oil tanker when he worked
for the Kulukundis family, where
he eventually became CEO. And
it was time to start a family. Poll
had an acquaintance through
AHEPA who knew he was looking for a bride, so he was invited
to visit his family at Christmas.
James rang the bell and when
his future wife opened the door
he said, “Wow. Who are you?”
and she said, “I’m Alexandra.”
They were married in 1950. First
Gillis (Angelos) was born, then
Dean five years later, and five
years after that George was born.
By the early 1960’s, the shipping
industry was in trouble and
James began to look for a new
career. With his experience in the
family deli business, it made
sense to look at restaurants, but
it was tough going. “I got to
know every crook in New York.
They will sell you something but
it’s not they said they were selling,” he told TNH.
Back in Brooklyn, the Pappas
family sold their restaurant to investors after WW II, who ran it
for 15 years, but by 1960 it was
headed for bankruptcy. A friend
informed James it was available,
but he passed. Six months later
he was visiting the wholesale
butcher Jason Chios, who advised him, “Buy the Pappas
restaurant,” but when he inquired once more with Pappas,
who had taken it over again, he
was told it was not for sale. Poll
told him Chios encouraged him,
and when Pappas called the mutual friend he was told “give it
to the kid. He’s an AHEPAN, a
Mason, kalo pedi,” etc. Pappas
sold him the restaurant but advised him to do whatever he
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JULY 30 - AUGUST 5, 2011
COMMUNITY
5
Grossomanides New AHEPA Leader, Will Continue Youth Movement
Continued from page 1
audience completing his second
term as its leader, and credited
all with whom he worked closely
during his two terms.
Grossomanides is a senior
clinical pharmacist at Advanced
Pharmacy Concepts, North
Kingstown, R.I., and a member
of AHEPA’s Rose of New England
Chapter 110, in Norwich, Connecticut. He said, “It is truly an
honor to be elected Supreme
President of AHEPA,” in a time
of great challenges for Hellenism,
including the Greek crisis, the
Cyprus re-unification talks, and
the plight of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, but he added that “the
need for community service is
more in demand than ever.” He
told TNH that these are exciting
times for AHEPA after the Karacostas tenure. He said AHEPA
had been successful in attracting
young people, especially through
its athletic programs and Internet
endevors. The Sons of Pericles
tripled their membership and
chartered about 10 new chapters. He continued, “I look forward to working with our new
Supreme Lodge and our membership to overcome these challenges, address new ones that
will emerge, and keep AHEPA on
the steady path set forth by my
predecessors in a spirit true to
our mission.”
Greek American Comedian
Basile served as Master of Ceremonies, and the Keynote Address was offered by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios,
who conveyed the blessing of
His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew with whom
he had just visited. Daughters of
Penelope Grand President Christine Constantine, Sons of Peri-
After John Grossomanides Jr. was sworn in, his father John
Sr. presented him with the Supreme President’s Jewel as members of the AHEPA family applauded.
cles Supreme President Spiro Nicolopoulos, and Maids of Athena
Grand President Kiki Amanatidis
recapped their years and provided emotional farewells. The
2011-12 Supreme Lodge is comprised of: Supreme Vice President Anthony Kouzounis, Houston; Canadian President George
Vassilas, Montreal; Supreme
Secretary Phillip T. Frangos, East
Lansing, Mich.; Supreme Treasurer Andrew C. Zachariades,
Brick, N.J.; Supreme Counselor
George Loucas, Brecksville,
Ohio; and Supreme Athletic Director Spiro Siaggas, Atlanta.
The Order also elected eight new
regional Supreme Governors
and a new Board of Trustees.
The Grand banquet was the
occasion for bestowing honors
on numerous outstanding Hellenes. Congressman Gus M. Bilirakis, of Florida, received the
AHEPA Pericles Award. Vassilis
Kaskarelis, Ambassador of
Greece to the U.S. and Pavlos
Anastasiades, Ambassador of the
Cyprus to the U.S. received the
AHEPA Aristotle Award and
Philip Christopher, President of
PSEKA, received the AHEPA
Freedom Award. Harry Lake of
Dayton, Ohio received the
AHEPA Lifetime Achievement
and Nick Aroutzidis, the President of AHEPA Canada, received
the AHEPA Meritorious Service
Award. In accepting the Aristotle
Award, Ambassador Vassilis
Kaskarelis said, “I will treasure
it.” He pointed out that closeknit families, much like the
AHEPA family, are the reason for
the endurance of Hellenic culture. Cypriot Ambassador Pavlos
Anastasiades thanked AHEPA for
its demonstration of longstanding solidarity and support the
organization has extended to
Cyprus over the years. He dedicated the award to the memory
of the 13 individuals who lost
their lives in the tragic munitions
explosion in early July.
REACHING OUT
An emotional Gus Bilirakis
accepted the Pericles Award, saying it was a “privilege” to represent the Greek American community in Washington and
emphasized the importance of
preserving our Hellenic heritage.
“It means everything to you and
me,” said Bilirakis, who is an
AHEPAN.
Grossomanides told TNH the
convention was one of the most
successful and that rooms had
to be booked in a second and
then a third hotel to accommodate all the guests. In addition
to the organizational planning
and work performed by the
members and officers of all the
organization of the AHEPA family, members and their families
enjoyed a number of fun-filled
and enlightening events, including the AHEPA Family Beach
Glendi with its spirited volley
ball competition and other activities. One of the great convention traditions is the Athletics
Luncheon, where members were
so proud the young Greek Americans excelling in athletics and
in the classroom who were presented with National Athletic
Award and National ScholarAthlete Awards and scholarships. Several accomplished
Greek Americans were also inducted into the AHEPA Athletic
Hall of Fame. The Educational
Foundation sponsored several
symposia on interesting topics,
including: Behind the Lens by
Pete Yalnis that focused on the
Parthenon Marbles; Future of
Hellenism by Professor George
A. Kourvetris, and The Greek
Language in the 21st Century,
by John Papaloizos.
AHEPA’s Executive Director
Basil Mossaidis, a WW II history
enthusiast, said he was “especially enthralled by the book pre-
sentation offered by George Blytas. His book, First Victory, superbly details the account of the
Battle of Crete and Greece's contributions to the war effort.”
Among the beneficiaries of
AHEPA’s philanthropic activities
is the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Archdiocese’s Leadership 100, whose Executive Director Paulette Poulos
received the Order’s final pledge
installment. Nicky Stamoulis of
Seminole, Fla. was elected
the Monte Carlo, but the next
year will be dominated by the
Order’s 90th anniversary celebration which will culminate
with the special AHEPA Family
Weekend in Atlanta.
Grossomanides said to TNH
that he and the rest of the
Supreme Lodge have hit the
ground running to prepare for
the Order’s 90th anniversary and
he has already planned a West
Coast trip. AHEPA was established in Atlanta in 1922 by
Supreme President Nicholas Karacostas administers the Oath
of office to his successor, Dr. John Grossomanides, who stands
next to his fiancée Anna-Helene Panagakos.
Daughters of Penelope Grand
President, Manolis Sfinarolakis
of Woodbury, Conn. is the new
Sons of Pericles Supreme President and Marianthe Kolokithas
of Charleston, S.C., is the Maids
of Athena Grand President.
The Installation Ceremony of
newly-elected officers officially
concluded the 89th AHEPA
Supreme Convention, which began July 18..
The 2012
Supreme Convention will convene in Las Vegas, Nevada, at
eight visionary Greek Americans
to protect individuals from bigotry, discrimination, and prejudice. It has grown to become
the largest membership-based
association for Greek Americans
and Philhellenes in the world.
For more information about
AHEPA, or how to join, please
contact AHEPA Headquarters,
202-232-6300,
or
visit
www.ahepa.org.
[email protected]
ALL HISTORY
George Contas: The Legendary Knockout Brown Packed A Big Punch
Continued from page 1
not seem to matter to Contas as
he would frequently concede 10
to even 20 pounds, if the other
fighter agreed to an increase in
the number of rounds. As various newspaper accounts report,
the young Greek felt that he
could physically outlast his opponent, if the other proved to
be a better boxer. As one sports
writer noted: “Brown is not considered scientific; he is a rugged
fighter, who can take a lacing.
His forte is body punching.”
What Contas was counting in
these long matches was outscoring the other man since the majority of boxing matches were
not won by clear cut knockouts
but by how many points as determined by ring-side judges
one fighter had scored over the
other. In the early 1900’s, given
the conflicted nature of professional boxing in American society, laws on professional boxing
varied not only from state to
state but county to county. Some
boxing bouts were huge events
while others were held in local
theaters, music halls, and parks.
As a case in point, in 1912, Contas fought Eddies McGoorty before “A crowd of 3,500 boxing
fans sat under a sweltering sun
in the House of David baseball
park, which has been used for
professional games all year,”
The Chicago Tribune reported
on July 5 that year. The individual fighters, managers, or other
backers would often offer cash
up-front just to secure a fight
with the winner taking all.
Fighters also typically received
a percentage of the overall ticket
sales, simply called “the receipts” in news accounts. Side
gambling, which was completely and at all times illegal,
also took place quite openly.
EARNING HIS NAME
In the Feb. 25, 1912 edition
of the Chicago Tribune, Contas,
stated that he was “the original
‘Knockout Brown.’” He says that
Knockout Brown showed absolute fury as a fighter determined to back down to no one.
he was in the game, fighting under that name before New York
Knockout Brown, the lightweight, even started.” Much of
the confusion and contradiction
found in the historical record today comes directly from the fact
that many professional boxers
claimed to be KO Brown, Kid
Knockout Brown, George KO
Brown,’ and so on. This overall
issue of names and ethnic identity did not escape the general
American public. But as we hear
in the Feb. 25, 1911 edition of
the Muskogee Times-Democrat,
even the most racist of White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WAS)
journalists had a particular admiration for Contas since his
openness and insistence on his
Greek (and especially Spartan)
identity was not typical in the
professional world of American
boxing in the early years of the
1900’s. “The visit of Knockout
Brown to Muskogee brings to
mind a queer turn of the cards
in the fighting game. Few laymen
know how many Greeks there
are fighting under ring names
which scream loudly of the Irish,
or just plain American. However,
when a man is as honest about
his dealings as George Contas,
otherwise Chicago K.O. Brown,
we have nothing to criticize in
the matter,” it was reported.
By January 1911, Nate Lewis,
a nationally recognized fight
promoter, was identified as Contas’ manager. “Manager Lewis
thinks he has the greatest thing
that ever happened in the fighting game in Brown, and came
out last night with a statement
that ‘Knockout’ would meet any
man in the world at 145 pounds.
If he cannot get bouts at this
weight, Lewis said his protégé
would give away ten pounds if
necessary,” the Chicago Tribune
reported. With so many contradictory or undocumented
claims, we are forced to return
to the basic source material for
all researchers: the reports
found on the sports pages of the
American national press. Well
known sports writer Ray C. Pearson in his Feb. 25, 1912 syndicated column spoke to the nation on Contas’ career up to that
point. “They surely paid some
attention when he scored thirteen knockouts in a row. It was
this string of victories that gave
him the ‘Knockout’ handle to his
name. He has fought everything
in the way of fighting stock that
could be sent against him, and
he is willing to bet that a Spartan
will be the middleweight champion of the world before long.”
This means that Contas, who began fighting professionally at the
age of 16, had made this kind of
reputation for himself, within a
period of just five years, by the
age of 21.
MAN OF STEEL
Contas was a bright star in
riding the cusp of 1911 on to
1912. Here is the opening of the
report of Contas’ non-title New
York City match against Ad Wolgast that took place on March 3,
1911: “Knockout Brown climbed
down the stairs from the ring at
the National Sporting club last
night waving his hand to the
thousands who cheered him for
the great work he had just done
against Wolgast, the light-weight
champion of the world. For the
second time in a limited bout he
had routed the bear-cat and left
the ring without a mark.” By August of 1911 Contas was claiming by virtue of his record both
the American national welterweight and middleweight titles.
But while the young Spartan had
certainly beaten the title holders,
it was in non-title matches. In an
era before both radio and television, if you didn’t see the fight
in person you had to read about
it on the sports page. But we
must recall this was the golden
age of train travel. The nation
was not only linked by trains for
commercial reasons but for individual travel as well. As numerous newspaper accounts attest
towns such as Kenosha, Wisconsin, Peoria, Illinois, Oakland California, Hammond, Indiana,
Syracuse, New York, Benton Harbor Michigan and elsewhere
could regularly expect an influx
of all manner of sports fans arriving by train should the athletic
contest be popular enough. Although public gambling was illegal the news reports are very
open about bets being placed by
Brown’s “fellow countrymen” on
him during one fight or another.
In his heyday, Brown was an
incredible fighter. His knockouts
were often all too real. On more
than one occasion Brown
knocked his opponent out in the
first round. In Sydney, Australia
in 1915 Brown entered the ring
against Sid Francis “and his first
punch, a right to the ribs, put
poor Sid out of action for several
months; the blow having shifted
the cartilage from his ribs,” the
New Zealand Truth reported.
Other such injuries to other
fighters Contas met in the ring
could be noted.
The obvious respect Contas
earned had as much to do with
the way he lost as much as the
way he won a fight: “Brown has
long been reputed to be a glutton for punishment. He proved
last night that he deserves whatever honor may accrue from
such a reputation. Willie Beecher
hooked, swung, jabbed, and uppercut him until Brown reeled,
but try as he might, Beecher was
unable to land the final punch.
As it was, a worse beaten man,
barring a complete knock-out,
never left the ring at the end of
a ten-round fight than Brown
last night,” it was reported.
But here we run into the continual problem with judging the
true nature of professional Greek
athletes in North America…
winning isn’t everything. By
their own accounts, Greek immigrant athletes of the 18801920 wave of migration to North
America were definitely more
concerned by how much money
they made. Even the hardboiled
sports writers of the early 1900’s
knew that rough as Brown might
be, he had earned his place as a
professional boxer. As this brief
account in the June 30, 1917
edition of the New Zealand
Tablet attests: “Chicago Knockout Brown loves to appear at his
favorite haunts in the latest and
most fashionable attire. K.O.
strolled into Chicago assisted
them in their task. “See these
shoes?” he remarked holding up
one foot. “Well they set me back
15 dollars. That hat—ten
plunks. The suit, seventy-five.
The overcoat—fifty-five.” K.O.
Brown passed over a tough and
toilsome journey before he finally reached the point where
he can make some coin. During
his early days he was a wrestler,
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and was handled roughly by
some of his opponents. Those
days and during his early career
as a boxer, money didn’t stream
in fast, and he couldn’t afford
many of the things he can easily
have to-day. As a contrast to
those days kindly witness the
fact he returned from Australia
with a neat automobile and several bills of a large denomination
in his inside pocket.”
Much was made in the newspapers that Contas volunteered
for World War I. His claims of
wanting to personally fight and
knockout the Kaiser made headlines. Still, after the war, while
Contas continued in the professional fight game, it is clear his
headlining days with a steady
stream of bouts was all but over.
Sometime in the late 1920’s,
Contas stopped fighting. Curiously, he never became a promoter or trainer of younger boxers, as many other Greek
immigrants of his generation
were prone to do.
After his retirement Contas
owned and operated a series of
gambling parlors. After this, little else is publicly available on
him. American references on the
history of American professional
boxers always includes Contas’
career. But as I was to learn by
going back to the original newspaper accounts, much of his career statistics are missing from
these public sources. Unfortunately, since ‘Contas’ was a
shortened form of his legal
name, we have no idea when he
died by searching public
records. As with all the fine professional Hellenic athletes in
North America, Contas’ full-life
story needs to be rescued from
the pages of history.
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OBITUARIES CLASSIFIEDS
6
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JULY 30 - AUGUST 5, 2011
Michael Cacoyannis, Famed Director of Zorba the Greek and Stella, Dies at 89
ATHENS, Greece — Michael Cacoyannis, the Cypriot born-filmmaker and screenwriter who directed the 1964 film classic
Zorba the Greek, starring Anthony Quinn, died at an Athens
hospital, reported to be Evangelismos. He was 89. Officials said
Cacoyannis died early July 25 of
complications from a heart attack and chronic respiratory
problems. Cacoyannis won multiple awards and worked with
such well-known actors as
Melina Mercouri, Irene Papas,
Katharine Hepburn, Vanessa
Redgrave, and Candice Bergen.
But he was best known internationally for the Academy Awardwinning Zorba the Greek - the
1964 adaptation of Nikos
Kazantzakis’ novel - joining up
with composer Mikis Theodorakis, whose score for the movie
remains an enduring Greek anthem.
In the black-and-white movie,
a scholarly Englishman played by
Alan Bates, travels to the Greek
island of Crete to visit a coal mine
he inherited. Alexis Zorbas,
played by Anthony Quinn, is his
grizzled and larger-than-life cook
and fixer. The movie won two
technical awards at the 1965 Oscars, while Lila Kedrova won for
best supporting actress. But Cacoyannis and Quinn both lost out
to My Fair Lady, which was voted
best picture that year.
Cacoyannis was born in 1921
in the Cypriot port of Limassol,
when the Mediterranean island
was still a British colony. He studied law in London, but soon followed his interest in the arts,
working for the BBC’s Greek service, studying drama, and eventually getting acting parts in the
theater. After moving to Athens,
Cacoyannis made his debut as a
director with Windfall in Athens
in 1954. Two years later, he won
a Golden Globe for best foreign
language film for Stella, starring
Mercouri.
“His movies received awards
at the most important film festivals in the world,” Culture Minister Pavlos Geroulanos said. “His
work became the vehicle that
took Greek culture to every corner of the earth, and served as a
source of inspiration for Greek
and foreign artists.” Cacoyannis
had no children and is survived
by his sister Giannoula. Funeral
arrangements were not immedi-
AP Photo/eurokinissi
Cyprus-born Michael Cacoyannis, one off the great Hellenicfilmmakers, is seen during an event in Athens, March 9, 2010.
ately known.
He was nominated for an
Academy Award 5 times. He received Best Director, Best
Adapted Screenplay and Best
Film Nominations for Zorba the
Greek, and two nominations in
the Foreign Language Film category for Electra and Iphigenia.
Cacoyannis lived in London as
a young man but he made his
first film, Kyriakatiko xypnima
(Windfall in Athens), in the
Greek capital in 1954. He followed this up the following year
with Stella, a seminal movie for
Greek cinema. Cacoyannis wrote
it with Iakovos Kambanellis, who
died earlier this year, and it
starred the then-undiscovered
Melina Mercouri.
In recent years, Cacoyannis directed a number of theater productions. His foundation inaugurated new premises on Pireos
Street in Tavros, southern Athens,
in 2010. The foundation’s
premises span four floors and include an amphitheater with a capacity of 330 seats, a cinema with
120 seats, a black box hall for a
variety of uses that seats 68, an
exhibition hall, two cafe-bars, an
outdoor and an indoor restaurant
CLASSIFIEDS
DEATHS
in Fayetteville, N.Y. Delores was
baptized and raised in the Greek
Orthodox Church. Dolores’ many
accomplishments included winning a scholarship to Juilliard,
singing Greek opera coast-tocoast on the Wheeling Steel radio
program and recording an album.
Even with such high vocal accolades, she always considered her
greatest accomplishment her
beautiful family. She loved listening to Greek music, cooking delicious Greek food, and spending
time and sharing stories with her
beloved family. Delores was predeceased by her husband, Harry
Kaplan, who she married on April
8, 1956; and her sister, Angela.
Surviving family members include a daughter and son-in-law,
Alexis and George Hatzis of Part
Richey, Fla.; three sons and
daughters-in-law, Harry and Carolyn Kaplan of Oneida, N.Y., Mark
and Teresa Kaplan of Glenmont,
Greg and Sarah Kaplan of Waynesboro, Va.; two sisters, Mary
Lou (Vince) Putrino and Athena
Tsilimidos, both of California; six
nieces and nephews, Ricky,
Methodie and Naomi Angel,
Marie Tsilimidos, and Dino and
Dana Putrino; 10 grandchildren,
and six great-grandchildren.
n GAGE, MARIA ZICA
CORRY, PA. – The Erie TimesNews reported that Maria Zica
Strobl Gage, 94, passed away on
July 19. Mrs. Gage, the daughter
of Georgios and Kalliopi Revithi
Zica, was born on the island of
Patmos, Greece, on Oct. 13,
1915. She was raised on the island and was one of the very few
girls educated at the School of
St. John the Revelator there. After her marriage to Albin Strobl
of Austria, she moved to her husband's homeland, where their
children Kathleen and George
were born. Mr. Strobl fell in Russia during World War II. In 1947,
Maria came to the USA with her
two children to marry Wendell
E. Gage of Corry. Their son, John
W. Gage, was born the following
year. Mrs. Gage's entire life was
based on her unwavering trust in
God. Her faith sustained her
throughout the years. Maria's
Greek Orthodox upbringing was
undeniable, a fact which enhanced her understanding and
appreciation of the mission of her
beloved church community, the
First United Methodist Church of
Corry. Mrs. Gage is survived by
her daughter Kathleen Neubauer
and her husband Herbert of
Lienz, Austria; her son John W.
Gage and his wife Gayle of Corry;
her daughter-in-law Terrie Gage
of Corry, as well as her grandchildren Marlo Gage with her son
Kiall of Chino, California, John
N. Gage of Phoenix, Arizona,
Martin Neubauer of Vienna, Austria and Matthias Neubauer with
his wife Astrid and son Henrik,
also of Vienna, Austria.
n NICHOLAS, MILDRED E.
LOWELL, Mass. – The Lowell Sun
reported that Mildred E. “Millie”
(Wieczholek) Nicholas, 81, a
longtime Lowell resident, passed
away July 19, 2011, at Lowell
General Hospital surrounded by
her loving family, following a
courageous battle with diabetes.
She was the beloved wife of the
late Charles G. Nicholas who
passed away in April of 1979.
Millie was born in Manchester,
NH, a daughter of the late Stanley Wieczholek and Mabel (Jervah) (Wieczholek) Marcouillier,
and was also the step daughter
of the late Ernest Marcouillier.
She attended Manchester schools
and was a graduate of Manchester Central High School. Millie
worked in the mills in her
younger years, as a synthetic
yarner. She married Charles and
devoted her career to raising her
three sons and her daughter. She
was later employed by the DeMoulas Sign Shop in Lowell as
their sign maker where she silkscreened all the chains banners
and various store signage. She
also worked at Wang Laboratories in Lowell as an electrical assembler up until her retirement.
She was a longtime member of
the Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church in Lowell. Her survivors include three sons, Charles
Nicholas Jr., Thaddeus “Ted”
Nicholas and his wife, Martha
Sullivan, and Timothy Nicholas,
all of Lowell; one daughter, Valerie Nicholas and her companion, Dennis Jewett of Lowell; four
grandchildren, Kathryn Nicholas,
Timothy Nicholas Jr., Jeremy
Nicholas, and Derek Nicholas;
two great-grandchildren, Demetria Nicholas and Athena
Nicholas; two sisters, Shirley
Berube of Lowell, and Mabel
Chamberlain and her husband,
Skip of Ashby, Mass.; a brotherin-law, Lee Turnbull; and a sister-in-law, Dot Wieczholek, and
many nieces and nephews.
n KAPLAN, DELORES
GLENMONT, N.Y. – The Albany
Times Union reported that Dolores (Pappas) Kaplan, 86, passed
away June 13 at Albany Medical
Center, Albany, N.Y. She was born
Jan. 25, 1925 in Wheeling, W.
Va., daughter of the late Jon L.
Pappas and Alexandria Pappas
(Semergo-lou.) Delores resided
in Syracuse, N.Y., for most of her
life, until moving to Glenmont in
2001. Prior to retirement, Delores
dedicated 31 years of her life as
the medical assistant/office manager for the highly respected
physician’s offices of Dr. Erlebacher and the late Dr. Hayman
n PALLES, APHRODITE
FLORENCE, S.C. – The Sun News
reported that Aphrodite Chris
Palles, 89, passed away July 13,
2011, at home after an illness.
She was surrounded by her family. She was born in Florence on
Jan. 25, 1922, a daughter of the
late Chris Mitchell Palles and
Constantina Vasilakos. She had
been employed by Agricultural
AAA, the Beacon Drive-In, Dr. Inverson Graham, the Gangplank
Seafood Restaurant, Francis Marion College and with Dr. Joe
Neely and the late Dr. Gary Hanson with Psychology Associates.
Aphrodite was very faithful to her
church and her family. She was a
founding member of the Transfiguration of Our Savior Greek
Orthodox Church, board member, choir director for 28 years,
Sunday School Superintendent,
Sunday School teacher, and a
charter member of the Greek
Ladies Philoptochos Society. She
received the Archangel Michael
Honor Award in 2000. She also
was involved in the Florence Little Theatre, a founding member
of the Quill Club, South Carolina
Bicentennial Committee, Florence Choral Society and the
Chopin Music Club. Surviving her
are her sister, Pauline Palles
Costas; nephews, John Pete
Costas (Marti), Chris Mitchell
Palles (Donna), of Mt. Pleasant;
nieces, Maria Costas (Hobart
Robbins), Tina Palles, Vicki C.
Underwood (Al) of North Myrtle
Beach, and Jo Ann Nance (Clyde,
III). The funeral was held at the
Transfiguration of Our Savior
Greek Orthodox Church.
n SOFRONAS, ANDREW
SAUGUS, Mass. – The Saugus Advertiser reported that Andrew
Sofronas, 72, of Saugus, died
July 10 at Massachusetts General
Hospital, where he was taken after suffering an accident at his
home. He was the husband of
Crysoula(Georgakopoulos)
Sofronas, his wife of 44 years.
Born and raised in Kalamata
Greece, he was the son of the late
Sotirios and Angeliki Sofronas.
He came to Lynn at the age of 15
and had lived in Saugus since
1977. Mr. Sofronas was the
owner of several businesses in
Lynn and Saugus. He was a member of St. George Greek Orthodox
Church, Lynn. In addition to his
wife, he is survived by two sons,
Sotiris Steve Sofronas and his
wife Kelly and Konstantinos
Charlie Sofronas and his wife Angela, all of Wakefield, four grandchildren Andreas, Nikolas, Andreas, and Crysoula, two sisters
Anna Mikedis and her husband
George, of Saugus, and Georgia
Sklikas and her husband Panagiotis, of Kalamata, Greece, his
mother-in-law Evdokia Georgakopoulos, a brother-in-law
Dimitrios Georga-kopoulos and
his wife Dina, and his sisters-inlaw Sofia Kokkinos and her husband Panagiotis, Effie Zorbas,
Vetta Manikas and her husband
Dimitrios, all of Athens, Greece,
four nieces and many nieces and
nephews in Greece. The funeral
was held at St. George Greek Orthodox, Lynn.
n VARTELAS, JEREMIAH
DERBY, Conn. – The New Haven
Register reported that Jeremiah
“Jerry” Vartelas, 87 of Stratford,
beloved husband of Helen
Stavros Vartelas for 56 years,
passed away on June 21 at Grif-
fin Hospital of Derby, following
a long illness. He was born at
the same hospital on Jan. 8,
1924. His parents, Paraskevi and
John Vartelas were Greek immigrants who settled in Ansonia
and raised a large active family
living on Franklin St. for many
years. His father started the Family Food Grocery Store on Maple
Street until it was lost in the
Great Flood of 1955. Thanks to
Jerry’s efforts the site, now
known as Vartelas Park displays
a historical marker commemorating the flood and the heroics
of valley residents during the
tragedy. An excellent athlete,
Jerry played basketball for Ansonia & Norwoods Athletic Club
teams as well as the collegiate
level at Davis & Elkins and the
University of Connecticut, where
he graduated in 1951. Prior to
college Jerry served in the United
States Army during World War
II, from 1943 to 1946, attaining
the rank of Sergeant. While
briefly stationed in Alabama, he
met his future wife Helen and
were married in 1955. After college he embarked on a career in
insurance, joining The Mutual of
Omaha Companies. Jerry held
various marketing positions in
Omaha, Bloomington, Indiana,
Terre Haute, Indiana and Marblehead, Mass., before returning
to the new Haven area in 1970.
He retired in 1988 as Regional
Vice President of marketing. During his retirement, Jerry & Helen
traveled several times to Europe
with special stops to Greece
where Jerry was able to trace the
roots of his ancestry. Jerry was
very active in local Valley community activities. He served several years as the president of the
Derby Historical Society and
Council President of the Holy
Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
in Ansonia, playing a leading role
in its transition and merger with
St. Barbara Greek Orthodox
Church in Orange. Of all his pursuits Jerry most loved spending
time with his family. In addition
to his wife Helen, he leaves two
sons John (Helene) Vartelas and
Allan Vartelas and grandchildren
Katherine and Geoffrey Vartelas,
all of Cromwell, brothers
Theodore (Ted) Vartelas of
Woodbridge and James Vartelas
of Ansonia.
this is a service
to the community.
Announcements of deaths
may be telephoned to the
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(718) 784-5255,
monday through Friday,
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. est
or e-mailed to:
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n COSCORE, MYRA
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Republican reported that Myra
Coscore, 88, passed away on
June 23 at the Baystate Medical
Center. She was born on July 27,
1922 in Greenfield, Mass., a
daughter of the late Peter A. and
Theone (Papulis) Fotopulos. She
belonged to the Sts. Constantine
and Helen Greek Orthodox
Church in Chicopee. She was the
past treasurer and also a member
of the Greek Ladies Philoptohos
Society. She graduated from
Greenfield High School, Class of
1940. Later she worked for the
former Greenfield Tap and Die
Company and also as a clerk for
Mass Mutual in Springfield for
several years before she retired.
She was predeceased by her husband William Coscore, a former
educator and Superintendent of
Chicopee schools, who died in
2002 and to whom she was married for 54 years. They married
on Dec. 21, 1947 February 15,
2002. She leaves four sons,
Charles W. Coscore and his wife
Connie of Wilbraham; Peter W.
Coscore of Chicopee, Philip W.
Coscore and his wife Linda of
Windsor Locks, Conn. and
Michael W. Coscore of Chicopee;
a brother Michael Fotopulos of
Greenfield; four grandchildren,
Wyatt W. Coscore, Alexandria
Coscore, Lilah Coscore and
William Coscore; several nieces
and nephews, grand nieces,
grand nephews and cousins. The
funeral was held in the Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Chicopee.
as well as a shop. Many of his
films played in Cannes competition.
Other films included 1956’s A
Girl In Black, 1987’s Sweet Country and 1971’s The Trojan
Women; his last film was 1999’s
The Cherry Orchard. Cacoyannis
was also a theater veteran (he
worked on the 1983 Broadway
revival of the musical based on
Zorba.) Cacoyannis was awarded
the Order of the Golden Phoenix
(Greece), the Commandeur des
Arts et des Lettres (France), the
Grand Cross / Order of Makarios
3rd (Cyprus) and the Special
Grand Prix of the Americas
(Montreal). He has been honoured by the Greek Academy
with its highest award for national services and with Lifetime
Achievement Award by the Salonica, Jerusalem and Cairo Film
Festivals, as well as the American
Hellenic Institute in Washington.
He has been declared an Honorary Citizen of Limassol, Montpellier and Dallas, and has received Honory Doctorates from
Columbia College (Chicago),
Athens University, Cyprus University, and the Aristotelio University
of Salonica.
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THE NATIONAL HERALD, JULY 30 - AUGUST 5, 2011
GREECE CYPRUS
7
Papandreou Praises His Government, Blasts His Opponent Samaras
ATHENS – Prime Minister
George Papandreou, fresh off approval for a second bailout for
his debt-drowned country, a
$157 billion package, said his
Administration’s
leadership
sealed the deal with international investors and took a shot
at his major rival, Conservative
New Democracy leader Antonis
Samaras, his former college
roommate in Massachusetts. Papandreou, whose Socialist PASOK party is trying to weather
social unrest over deep cuts in
workers pay and tax hikes and
slashed pension benefits as a
condition of getting the second
bailout – and lower interest rates
and an extension to 15 years on
repaying the first rescue package
of $155 billion from the Troika
of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European
Central Bank, told a meeting of
his cabinet: “We have confirmed
our participation at the core of
the European Union,” a reference to the Brussels deal.
Greece was seen by many analysts as gaining some breathing
space following a decision for a
second rescue package. Leaders
of the Eurozone, the 17 countries
using the euro as a currency,
AP Photo/Petros GiAnnAkouris
Protesting taxi drivers wave a Greek flag and chant slogans
outside the Greek Parliament in central Athens on Tuesday,
July 26. Their demands got PM George Papandreou involved.
agreed to the easier lending
terms and private investors will
swap Greek bonds for longer maturities at lower interest rates,
but will take a 21% percent loss,
which ratings agency warned
they would declare a selective
default. That didn’t deter Papan-
dreou’s optimism, although he
had said repeatedly the country
would never restructure nor default but did both at the same
time. “Armed with the tough decisions that we made and the
conviction that we shall see them
through, we accomplished every-
thing that the opposition accused
us of failing to negotiate, and in
fact more than that,” Papandreou
said in an attack on New Democracy which has repeatedly criticized the bailout strategy. The
conservative party is leading PASOK in the polls. The conservative opposition, doggedly resisting calls for wider political
consensus and pressing for tax
relief to help the economy
emerge from a deep recession,
was quick to dismiss Papandreou’s triumphant return from
Brussels, Reuters reported. “People are tired of Papandreou’s
ramblings. After leading the
country to the brink of collapse,
he is lying to save himself,” the
New
Democracy
party’s
spokesman said in a statement.
Papandreou told his ministers
it’s time to introduce all the major reforms that have been put
on hold over the previous
decades. He said the main goal
was to create primary surpluses
in order to stop the “deficit hemorrhage,” the Athens newspaper Kathimerini reported.
Papandreou also said that the
cheap rescue loans to Greece are
equivalent to Euro bonds – a
mechanism opposed by Ger-
many, the EU’s biggest lender to
Greece – while urging his ministers to speed up reforms demanded by the Troika, including
privatization and selling or leasing of state-run entities and
properties to raise $70 billion.
The Finance Minister was tasked
with a quick reform of the tax
system as a top priority to fight
tax evasion and boost lagging
state revenues. Tax evaders are
costing the country nearly $40
billion a year and, like the rich,
have largely escaped sacrifices.
Papandreou, who has long
pushed the launch of euro bonds
to deal with the debt crisis troubling countries in the Eurozone’s
periphery, said elements of the
rescue package had brought the
bloc nearer to the idea.
“The decision of our European partners to lend us at 3.5
percent, an interest rate just
above the one at which Germany
itself is borrowing, is in essence
tantamount to introducing a European bond,” Papandreou told
party lawmakers. The Eurozone
deal for Greece includes a bond
exchange by banks, insurers and
other holders of its debt, to cover
funding needs until mid-2014
and avoid default. The agree-
ment helps protect Greece from
having to borrow in the open
market at prohibitive rates and
gives the country time to right
itself economically and Papandreou said Europe had been slow
to take decisions but was becoming more united. “The decisions
we took at the EU Council … are
historic for Europe itself. They
prove that even with delays and
disagreements, it can behave as
a big economic and political
power, protect the credibility of
its member states and foremost
the credibility of the common
currency,” he said.
Moody’s cut Greece’s credit
rating by three notches to Ca,
just one notch above default, to
reflect the expected loss implied
by the proposed debt exchange.
Standard & Poor’s and Fitch currently rate Greece CCC, broadly
in line with Moody’s rating. Both
have said Greece will likely be
in temporary default as a result
of the bond swap. A new and
bigger restructuring of Greek
debt is likely within the next two
years, an official from credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s
said, adding a further downgrade of Greece’s sovereign debt
rating was “pretty certain.”
Frenemies: Greek Rivals, Once Roommates, Hold Nation’s Fate in Balance
Continued from page 1
ter the expected default, provided the country can achieve
even more painful fiscal austerity. That, however, depends on
political stability in Athens - and
on the outcome of the contest
between Messrs. Papandreou
and Samaras. If Mr. Papandreou’s slim hold on Parliament
fails, the whole bailout plan
could fall apart.
June’s unorthodox effort by
Messrs. Papandreou and Samaras to heal Greece’s divisions almost led to a deal between the
two men. In their June 15
phone calls, Mr. Papandreou
reasoned that a bipartisan pact
could create a firmer footing for
the painful austerity policies
needed to keep the international
rescue loans flowing.
Mr. Samaras demanded that
Mr. Papandreou resign. The two
men nearly agreed, but their
talks broke down, roiling markets all over again by demonstrating the potential for political instability at the epicenter
of the euro crisis. This account
of the relationship between the
two men is based on interviews
with more than a dozen of their
closest collaborators and longtime friends. Mr. Samaras was
interviewed by The Wall Street
Journal; Mr. Papandreou declined.
Mild-mannered Mr. Papandreou, whose outlook was influenced by the American counterculture of his youth, once told
his brother Nick that if he could
take time off from Greek politics, he’d like to broker peace in
an international crisis spot - or
go hitchhiking with a guitar on
his back. Instead, he finds himself telling Greeks they must accept toil, sweat and tears in the
form of tax increases and spending cuts to avoid national bankruptcy. That message has helped
spawn violent street protests.
Mr. Samaras, an extroverted
conservative with a history of
nationalist rhetoric, insists the
international bailout plan is ruining Greece. He says radical tax
cuts will spur growth. His proposal is “unrealistic,” say the European Union and the Interna-
tional Monetary Fund.
The showdown between the
two men could take place as
early as this fall if Mr. Samaras
gets his way and new elections
are called. A political fight could
thwart the EU and IMF and put
Greece’s austerity policies in
doubt. For more than a year, Mr.
Papandreou has been a pillar of
Europe’s strategy of funding
Greece while it closes its vast
deficit with higher taxes and
spending cuts. But pain is
spreading deep into Greek society. Unemployment has reached
16%, double the pre-crisis level.
Businesses are dying. Angry middle-class citizens are joining the
previously union-led protests in
the streets of Athens. The mood
of despair is boosting support for
Mr. Samaras’s promise of a lessbitter medicine.
The two men are temperamental opposites yet close
friends. An aide to Mr. Samaras
described witnessing a chance
encounter between the two men
outside a movie theater. They
didn’t greet each other, but simply began talking as if already
in mid-conversation, the aide recalls. Mr. Papandreou, 59 years
old, and Mr. Samaras, 60, have
known each other since childhood at Athens College, a private school known for training
Greece’s elite. Mr. Samaras
comes from a family with a patriotic local history. At the heart
of family lore: his great-grandmother Penelope Delta, a famous writer who committed suicide in 1941 on the day the
invading Germans raised the
Nazi swastika over the Acropolis.
THE OLD COLLEGE TRY
Mr. Papandreou, born in
Minnesota to an American
mother, came from an illustrious
political dynasty. His grandfather, also called George Papandreou, was a moderate statesman. His father, Andreas, a
prominent economist, became
the firebrand left-wing tribune
of Greece’s poor. In 1967, Greek
army officers launched a coup
to preempt an expected election
victory by the Papandreous’
party. The family went into exile
in Sweden and North America.
Mr. Papandreou became a
liberal arts student at Amherst
in the early 1970’s, where he
formed close friendships with a
small group of Greek students,
including Mr. Samaras. The
highly-politicized environment
that shaped them was characterized by “hippies, the Vietnam
war, revolution, Nixon, Watergate, books that called for
change in every way,” Mr. Samaras said in a Journal interview.
Mr. Samaras, conservativeminded and a staunch antiCommunist, was an outgoing
student who regularly organized
trips to parties with students
from women’s colleges, says
Stephen Manuelidis, a fellow
Greek who also roomed with
Mr. Samaras.
Mr. Papandreou, who leaned
left like his father, was a quiet
student who strummed protest
songs on his guitar, friends from
those days say. One of his favorites was English rocker Alvin
Lee’s anthem to the dreams and
confusion of the era: “I’d love
to change the world/But I don’t
know what to do...” Years later,
as Greek opposition leader, Mr.
Papandreou had the song as his
iPhone ringtone, says a close acquaintance.
Messrs. Samaras and Papandreou already had their minds
set on Greek politics. “We will
rule Greece together,” they proclaimed one day in their
Amherst dorms, Mr. Manuelidis
remembers. The boast was “between serious and a joke,” given
that Greece was ruled by a military junta, Mr. Manuelidis says.
When democracy returned to
Greece, the two men entered
parliament. Mr. Papandreou
lived in the shadow of his ebullient father, Andreas, who dominated Greek politics until he
died in 1996. Andreas greatly
expanded Greece’s welfare state,
bringing public services to the
many rural poor for the first
time. Greece became more
equal, but more indebted. The
party founded by Andreas, the
Panhellenic Socialist Movement,
or PASOK, dominated government, while the conservative
New Democracy was its main rival. Both parties built their political bases by handing out
AlexAnDer tsiArAs
They don’t look the same these days, of course, but that’s current
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou at bottom left and
New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras, rear right, during their
college days in 1973 at Amherst in 1973, the Vietnam War era.
costly favors - including a vast
number of government jobs - to
win votes. A fiscal time bomb
began taking shape. In the early
1990’s, Mr. Samaras built his nationalist reputation when, as a
youthful foreign minister, he
took an uncompromising position with a neighbor: The newly
independent, ex-Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Mr. Samaras’s fiery denunciations of the
new country’s name - ”Macedonia” has deep historical associations within Greece itself - fueled
vast street demonstrations in
Greece in support of his stance.
“His method was confrontational. Europe remembers this,”
says George Kyrtsos, a longtime
acquaintance and Athenian
newspaper publisher. Fired as
foreign minister, he led a rebellion that brought down his own
government. A decade in the political wilderness followed. “I
spent 11 years staring at the
walls of my house,” he says.
Mr. Papandreou became Foreign Minister himself and set a
different tone with the neighbors. Taking office in 1999, he
sought to bury the hatchet with
Greece’s archenemy, Turkey, first
by sending a Greek team to rescue people buried in a devastating 1999 earthquake there. He
wooed Turkish opinion with idealistic speeches, and notably
once danced a Zorba-the-Greekstyle dance with Turkey’s Foreign Minister.
NO LOYAL OPPOSITION
Still, Messrs. Papandreou and
Samaras remained close. As PASOK leader in 2004, Mr. Papandreou tried to bring free-market
thinkers into his party and,
through an intermediary, enquired whether Mr. Samaras
would like to join. Mr. Samaras
said he could never be a Socialist. Mr. Papandreou campaigned
in 2009’s elections as a modernizer and was swept to power.
The incumbent New Democracy
government had gotten mired
in corruption scandals. He inherited a fiasco. The budget
deficit for 2009 turned out to
be 15.5% of Gross Domestic
Product, far worse than the previous government had disclosed. In spring 2010, Greece
sought an international rescue.
Mr. Papandreou’s government
In Washington, Venizelos Says Greece Is Coming Back
Continued from page 1
a panel discussion after the Finance Minister’s speech. He
talked with Lagarde and other
IMF officials about the raft of
reforms Greece has been ordered implement by its
medium-term austerity plan,
which includes sweeping reductions in public sector spending,
streamlining the civil service
and an ambitious liberalization
program. “The important point
is the positive and constructive
position of the staff, and first of
all, of Madame Lagarde,”
Venizelos said following his
meeting.
After his meeting with the
IMF’s new Managing Director,
Venizelos said: “I have had a
very interesting and lengthy
meeting with Mrs Lagarde and
her staff. We discussed all issues.
The IMF’s attitude toward us is
very positive, but everything depends on us and our ability to
implement the program and
register specific results. If we do
that, then the IMF and the international community will continue to support Greece until it
regains its fiscal sovereignty and
independence, until it conquers
the position that reflects its history and the abilities of the
Greek nation. In this respect, the
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, (L) struggling to
prevent a default over a budget impasse in Washington, met
with Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos to talk about
Greece's staggering economy and plans to rebound.
meeting was full of optimism
and support (for Greece.)”
KUDOS FOR THE DIASPORA
Rating agency Moody’s
downgraded Greece’s debt rating to just one notch above default, though Venizelos down-
played the rating, saying, “We
have this problem with the rating agencies, but for the first
time in two years, we have a
positive signal from the part of
the international financial community.” Ending his speech on
a positive note, Venizelos rallied
the support of the Greek Diaspora and praised the people of
Greece. “Together we will succeed in rebuilding our country,
restoring its fiscal independence
and achieving the competitive
position Greece deserves in the
international market,” he said,
adding, “This is the challenge
for the Greek people, a proud
people with many assets and
skills.”
But Venizelos also said
Greece needs a “less expensive
state” and its privatization program is “very ambitious,” referring to Troika orders the country
sell or lease its properties and
state-run entities to raise more
than $70 billion in cash. Before
heading to Washington, he said
Europe’s new bailout agreement
for the nation, which includes
20 billion euros ($28.7 billion)
to recapitalize banks, will safeguard lenders’ solvency.
“The Greek banking system
is perhaps now the most guaranteed system in Europe, if not
wider,” Venizelos said at a press
conference in Athens. “There is
a very big umbrella of protections.” The $229 billion second
bail-out, which includes including contributions from bondholders, also includes $157 billion from the Troika and $60.7
billion to back new Greek government bonds issued as part of
the private-sector involvement
in the program, Venizelos said.
“Our goal is not to nationalize
the bank system, but for its capital to be strong,” Venizelos said.
Fitch Ratings said privatesector involvement in the new
Greek package “constitutes an
event of ‘Restricted Default’” because banks are being required
to contribute $72.3 billion after
agreeing to a series of bond exchanges and buybacks.
“An exchange that offers new
securities with terms that are
worse than the original contractual terms of the existing debt
and where the sovereign is subject to financial distress constitutes a default event,” Fitch
said. Greece’s insurance funds
will also participate in the package, exchanging holdings of
government bonds for new ones
with 30-year maturities guaranteed by the euro-area rescue
fund, the European Financial
Stability Facility, Venizelos said.
These bonds would have the
same face value as the original
holdings, he said.
“Pension funds don’t come
under the same accounting rules
as the banking system, and don’t
face a write down in the value
of their holdings,” he said.
slashed pensions and public-sector pay, and increased taxes.
Unions went on strike. Anarchists hurled Molotov cocktails.
Mr. Samaras was now opposition leader. He supported
spending cuts but demanded tax
cuts instead of increases.
Higher tax rates are hammering the economy, Mr. Samaras
says. In addition, he says, high
rates backfire in Greek culture,
where tax evasion is deeply ingrained thanks in part to a suspicion of authority that dates
back to centuries under Turkish
rule. He favors a flat-rate tax of
15% on business, arguing that
it “would change people’s mentality, because it would give you
no honor to evade taxes.”
The simple appeal of Mr.
Samaras’s argument started to
worry Greece’s international
creditors this spring, when the
current government’s strategy
hit trouble. Austerity was deepening the recession. The deficit
wasn’t shrinking enough. The
EU urged deeper budget cuts
and Mr. Papandreou - reliant on
EU-IMF aid - agreed. Street
protests escalated. His own
party, PASOK, verged on revolt.
On the afternoon of June 15,
according to Mr. Samaras and
several close advisers to both
leaders, Mr. Papandreou phoned
his friend and offered him a national unity government. The
premier, alone in his elegant
neoclassical office, hadn’t consulted his cabinet. Mr. Samaras
asked his friend to step down as
Prime Minister. “I don’t want to
hurt your feelings, but you cannot be Prime Minister of such a
government,” Mr. Samaras said,
stating that the premier had lost
the trust of the markets and the
nation. “If you really think I am
the problem, I could go,” said
Mr. Papandreou. If a successor
could carry on his agenda of reforming Greece, he said: “I’m
not stuck to my seat.”
Mr. Samaras asked for time
to reflect, then called Mr. Papandreou back. The pair agreed
they would appoint a nonpartisan Prime Minister, who would
cut the budget deficit but also
negotiate easier bailout terms
with Europe and the IMF. After
that, they agreed, their coalition
would give way to new elections.
Mr. Papandreou asked for
time to consult his people. PASOK however, was in an uproar.
A television station reported
news of the conversation, citing
a high-level source inside Mr.
Samaras’s party. Financial markets gyrated. Greece wondered
whether it had a government at
all. The Prime M inister’s horrified advisers pressed him to
scrap his scheme.
Mr. Papandreou was upset
that his friend, or somebody
close to him, had leaked the
news of their phone call, apparently to score partisan points by
making the premier look weak.
That evening, he phoned Mr.
Samaras to call the whole thing
off. “This leak should not have
happened,” Mr. Papandreou
said, describing the adverse reaction within his party. “Are you
telling me that a decision of
such national importance is
nipped in the bud because of
gossip?” Mr. Samaras said. Mr.
Samaras is under huge pressure
from European leaders to support the austerity program and
forget about tax cuts. He says
he’s right, and Europe is wrong,
and complains that Mr. Papandreou shouldn’t have ignored
him earlier in the crisis. “When
the problem wasn’t so big, he
didn’t consult us,” he says. “Now
he calls me up.”
Alkman Granitsas contributed
to this article.
EDITORIALS LETTERS
8
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The National Herald
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to the Greek American community of the United States of America.
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The decisions of August
August is a great month. It’s the month many of us get our vacation, a wonderful time even if it lasts just a few days. The plan is
to be able to relax, to enjoy our families, to read a book long
sitting on the night table, and not think about business at all. As
with most plans, it doesn’t turn out as we imagined. The respite
usually lasts only for a few days. Then as we are sitting on the
beach we start thinking or talking about the things we left behind:
the unfinished work, whatever that might be. We start planning
again.
In many ways, August is really the end of the year, a year we
were so lucky to have navigated through in good health, and the
beginning of a new one in the sense that rejuvenated, with fresh
ideas, with enthusiasm, we return home with renewed determination, ready tο take on the world again.
What worries us is that while we go through this process in our
individual lives, when it comes to the business of the community,
not many people are doing this kind of thinking and planning.
And God knows how badly we need people to do that and come
back in September with ideas ready for implementation. Let’s hope
somebody is actually doing that this summer. Let’s hope so. The
can has been kicked as far down the road as is possible.
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JULY 30 - AUGUST 5, 2011
Too Much Separation of
Church and State?
To the Editor:
The article written by Mr.
Theodore Kalmoukos "Three Hierarchs School Shuts Down"
printed on July 21, 2011 should
come as no surprise. The attrition of Greek Orthodox families
in parochial schools is a result
of the disconnect between what
Greeks in America expect from
a private Greek school education and what the Archdiocese
is delivering. The current
changes to be implemented at
the Cathedral School of Manhattan demonstrate this schism.
As of next year under the leadership of Principal Mrs. Sonia
Celestin and the School Board
there will be separation of religion classes for Greek Orthodox
vs. non-Greek Orthodox students. The following is taken
verbatim from Cathedral School
website regarding the Religion
and Ethics Curriculum and is
publicly available for review.
S
e
e
:
http://www.edline.net/pages/C
athedral_School/Programs/Curriculum/Lower_School_Overvie
w
"Religion and Ethics is a twotrack program where all the
children of the school, irrespective of their religious background explore the meaning of
religion and ethics. The two
tracks are described below, and
our students and their families
have the choice of opting for
one or the other of the approaches that comprise the program. As is the case for the
Greek Program described above,
The Cathedral School’s Religion
and Ethics Program evolved
from the school’s particular history and identity. On the one
hand, students and their families have the option of receiving
instruction in the rich history
and principles of the Greek Orthodox Church, and its relevance to their own lives. We
welcome students of all faiths
in this track. We have also developed a second track in which
students of all faiths are provided with the moral and ethical
foundation that we feel is part
of our educational mission. The
approach of this second track is
necessarily less focused on the
history and principles of a particular religion. The meaning
and history of religion are studied with a focus on their ethical
and spiritual components. Our
student body is remarkably diverse and we seek to learn together and from each other
about our different cultural traditions because we feel that this
is an essential component of a
forward-looking education and
essential for effective citizenship
in a diverse country and a globalized world."
My questions are the following: What is globalized religion
and ethics encompassing diversity and who is defining this
amorphous curriculum for the
Non-Greek Orthodox students?
Is there a precedent for globalized religion instruction in the
private parochial school setting
and is dichotomization done in
any other Archdiocesan, Jewish
or Catholic parochial School?
Who will safeguard that globalized religion properly represents
the ethics and spirituality of the
families of other faiths or nonfaiths? Will the children also be
given an option to attend or not
attend Feast Days? What is the
implication of this classroom divide for our children in the development of character and
pride in their identity and faith?
What is the position of the
Church Board who oversees and
controls the financial and legal
management of the School? Finally, is the Archdiocese and
Archbishop Dimitrios aware and
have they approved this radical
change or is the Principal and
School Board flying solo?
In America we are blessed
with the right to practice, teach
and pass on our faith and language to our children in private
schools. As Greeks have we lost
our pride in our faith to the
point that we are not able to defend our heritage even in a
school headed by the Archdiocese and Archbishop Dimitrios?
How can we as parents allow a
supermarket mentality school
mission which caters to all and
openly disrespects the doctrine
and hierarchy of our faith? The
School Board and Principal
should not be allowed to exploit
the name and tradition of the
Cathedral school and run an
free for all International School
emphasizing the undefined values of "diversity and globalization" in Private Greek Orthodox
Church Property under Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese leadership. Unless Archdiocesan
schools focus on quality education in math, science and literature, the Greek language and
the Greek Orthodox religion,
there will be continued attrition,
lack of support from families
and the community and closure
of more schools.
Stella Lymberis, MD
New York, N.Y.
fotograffiti
AP Photo/Geert winJGAert
The Greek Panther Strikes Again
French President Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters in Brussels
after Greece got another bailout: “If Pap-ann-dray-ou asks
for anozza neek-el, I will perzonally strangle him! He’s
more annoying than that idiot Inspector Clouseau!”
COMMENTARY
Ouzo instead of champagne
Should Have Gone Hungary to Stop Greek Bankrupcty
We don’t wish to rain on the parade of the Greeks in Greece but
it’s necessary to put things into perspective given the panegyrics
taking place in Athens these days. Panegyrics, which if they are allowed to lead to an easing of their efforts might spoil this new
chance - perhaps the last one - for the country to shape up. First
the good news: Germany decided that it was in her interest to
safeguard the integrity of the euro. In order to do that she had to
spend a bit of extra money. A slippery road, in most situations. In
any event, the agreement reached in Brussels a week and a half
ago was not about saving Greece. It was about saving Spain and
Italy, the third and fourth largest economies of the Eurozone. But
it came down to giving Greece another chance to put her house in
order. It’s called a breathing room, a bit more time. The rest is up
to the Greeks themselves.
However, up to this point it’s still not clear what is really required
of Greece, other than implementing the plan the Troika has put together, and the one that the Greek Parliament has recently passed.
What has leaked out is that the representatives of the Netherlands
and Finland wanted guarantees for the loans: land, enterprises,
and buildings - was the Parthenon among them? “We are a sovereign country, we are not a business,” replied a member of the
Greek delegation according to the New York Times. Prime Minister
George Papandreou said that if he were to accept what they were
asking him to the government would be toppled.
In short, the main problem with the second bailout of Greece is
that the savings on her debt is too small, just about 26 billion dollars
out of a total debt of close to a half a trillion dollars. In addition, of
the 157 billion dollars that was decided to be given to Greece, only
34 billion will reach Greece as a loan. The rest will go to the holders
of the debt, basically the banks, in one way or the other.
Had the Eurozone been more concerned about saving Greece
by making her debt load sustainable and placing her on a path to
growth path, they would have brought down the debt to about
50% of the outstanding total. That would have made all the difference. As things stand now, the more details about the agreement
come out, the less impressed are the markets. Nonetheless one
thing is certain: the country needs to act decisively and fast. This
is no time to open the champagne bottle. Ouzo will do – but not
too much.
By Louis Woodhill
Meanwhile...
The Minister of Finance of Greece, Evaggelos Venizelos, flew to
Washington DC. last Sunday for meetings with Secretary of the
Treasury Tim Geithner, the leadership of the IMF and other officials.
He must have sensed a lack of trust in the government regarding
the implementation of the bailout plan because he made it the
central theme in a speech he delivered at the prestigious Peter G.
Peterson Institute for Internation Economics on Monday. Meanwhile, back in Athens, the demonstrations of the taxi owners had
reached an all-time high pitch. But that should be expected. What
should not expected was the fury of the attacks on the Minister of
Transportation, Yiannis Raggousis. And not from the opposition,
but by politicians of his own party.
You might wonder what his crime was. It was his decision to
implement the law, that is, to open up the taxi industry to competition. That law was passed by the Parliament four months earlier,
before Raggousis became Minister of Transportation. But his implementing the law created such an uproar that it turned a chunk
of the government’s members of Parliament against him. In the
end, the Prime Minister backed him by saying that the law would
be implemented. Otherwise the credibility of Greece would have
taken another big blow.
Celebrating Democracy
Ever since 1974, the Greek elite gathers at the Presidential Palace
to celebrate the fall of the junta of the Colonels. Last week they did
it again. What were they thinking? Have they lost all touch with reality not to see that it would be an affront to the people to see them
in the elegant rooms of the palace, in their fancy clothes, when so
many citizens are suffering? Did they not sense that they were
setting themselves even further away from the people?
Of course, we would still celebrate the momentous occasion of
the return of Democracy to Greece, but in a different way this year:
We would have held a symposium in Athens, a soul searching into
what went wrong in the years since the restoration, and we would
invite speakers from abroad, including Greek Americans. The only
way to truly celebrate Democracy is with action, every day, in the
context of a system of laws that is respected, where all citizens are
equal before the law, where there is political integrity so the ruled
can trust the rulers and the country can move forward. That is the
only way to celebrate Democracy. Gathering at the former Palace of
the King in the middle of this crisis does not come close to it.
Forbes
What do you do when your
economy is in a power dive and
the ground is rushing up to meet
you? If you’re Greece, you turn
on your austerity afterburners so
that you can blast out a bigger
impact crater when you crash.
As this was written, the Greek
Parliament was doing another
austerity rain dance, seeking to
appease the bailout gods and obtain a few billion more euros to
shovel into the unionized money
incinerator that is the Greek public sector. No matter. The Greek
economy is contracting so fast
that EU/IMF bailouts have a
shorter half-life than Iodine 125.
In modern economies, the effects
of government policies show up
first and fastest in employment.
Greece reports its monthly employment numbers two months
slower than the U.S., but the pattern is clear. The Greek economic
situation is deteriorating so fast
that reporters are writing silly
things like the following, which
was published on June 8: March
jobless rate hits 16.2%, new
record. The European Union expects it to average out at 14.6%
this year and hit 14.8% in 2012.
Does no one think it odd that
the E.U. expects Greek unemployment to average 14.6% for
all of 2011 when it registered
15.1% in January, 15.9% in February, and 16.2% in March? As
of March 2011, total employment in Greece was down by
9.3% from its October 2008
peak, and was still falling. In contrast, in the case of the U.S. recession, total employment fell by
5.9% from its November 2007
peak to its December 2009
trough, and then rebounded
1.5% by March 2011. Given that
not one worker in Greece’s
bloated public sector has yet lost
his job to “austerity,” the employment numbers imply that the
Greek private sector is melting
faster than the Wicked Witch of
the West in a hot tub. Because
the Greek private sector has to
both support the huge Greek
public sector and to service the
Greek government’s debt, this is
probably not a good thing.
Here is a quote from another
news story published on June 8:
The May 2010 agreement between the IMF/EC/ECB and the
Greek government projected a
GDP drop of 4% in 2010, followed by a contraction of 2.6%
in 2011. In reality, GDP dropped
by 4.5% (in 2010), leading to a
revised forecast for 2011 at -3%.
So far, in Q1 2011, GDP has
dropped by 4.8% year-on-year,
which makes the revised 3% contraction for 2011 seem optimistic. Seem optimistic?
Greeks rioted in the streets as
Prime Minister Papandreou struggled to push through yet another
“austerity plan”, this one calling
for an additional 3.8 billion euros
in spending cuts. However, at the
rate that the Greek economy appears to be contracting, this
would offset falling revenues for
less than a year. Then what? No
one seems to have noticed that
the tax increases included in previous austerity programs have
pitched the Greek economy into
a violent contraction. The plan
being debated now includes even
more tax hikes. Despite all of this,
the EU’s financial projections assume that Greek GDP will shrink
by only 3% in 2011, and then
will grow by 1.1% in 2012. If, instead, the Greek economy were
to continue to contract at a 4.8%
rate, in 2012 real GDP would be
7.6% smaller than the EU is ex-
pecting, and 11.5% less than it
was in 2009.
Social order in Greece will
break down before GDP shrinks
to 88.5% of its 2009 level. Ordinary people won’t accept self-inflicted economic wounds of this
scale. Before the Greeks find
themselves going hungry, they
might try “going Hungary.” In
mid-2010, both Greece and Hungary were in financial trouble
and were being pressured to
adopt “austerity” measures in return for bailout loans. While
Greece chose to drink the
IMF/EU tax-hike hemlock, Hungary declined the pact proffered
by the IMF devil.
No one seems to have
noticed that the tax
increases... have pitched
the Greek economy into
a violent contraction
Greece raised taxes in the
name of “austerity”, while Hungary embarked on a radical tax
reform program that included a
16% flat income tax and a 10%
corporate income tax for small
and medium-sized companies.
Let’s see which approach produced better results. In 2010,
Hungary’s GDP rose by 1.2%,
while Greece’s GDP fell by 4.5%.
While Greece’s economy is expected (by the EU) to contract
by 3.0% in 2011, Hungary’s is
forecasted (by the IMF) to grow
by 2.8%. From January 2011 to
March 2011, Greece’s unemployment rate increased from 15.1%
to 16.2%, while joblessness in
Hungary fell from 12.1% to
11.6%.
The whole point of austerity
is to improve a country’s ability
to pay its debts. However, all that
a year of austerity did for Greece
was to raise the market interest
rate on its 10-year bonds from
10.5% to 16.8%. In contrast, the
interest rate on Hungary’s 10year bonds fell from 7.7% to
7.4% over the same time period.
Some economists say that the
key to getting the Greek economy growing again would be to
replace the euro with a “new
drachma,” which could then be
devalued in order to improve
Greek “competitiveness.” In this
light, it is interesting to note that
over the past year, Hungary’s currency, the forint, has actually
risen by almost 6% against the
euro. Accordingly, Hungary’s
economic progress was not produced by devaluing its currency.
Of course, in mid-2010, Hungary
was in an economic/financial position where it could refuse
bailout loans without defaulting
on its debt. For Greece to truly
recover, it must do now whatever
it takes to get its economy growing now. However, whatever else
it does, Greece must stick with
the euro. Without a credible currency, an urbanized nation can
quickly descend into chaos -and
even starvation. Broadly speaking, Greece needs to do the same
things that the U.S. needs to do.
It must enforce the rule of law,
expand economic freedom,
maintain a stable currency, reduce and simplify taxes, cut government spending, open up
trade, and reform burdensome
regulations. This path would not
be (politically) easy for the U.S.,
and it may or may not even be
possible for Greece. We shall see.
(http://blogs.forbes.com)
Louis Woodhill is a mechanical
engineer, a software entrepreneur and on the Leadership
Council of the Club for Growth.
ANTILOGOS
Leave the Church Alone But Press MP’s
The National Herald’s website readers checked in with support for the Greek Church,
which is under pressure in
Greece to come up with some
more revenues to help during
the economic crisis, and saved
their heat for Greek Members of
Parliament who came under attack.
DEBT CRISIS TAXES COZY
GREEK CHURCH-STATE TIES
• Intersting article. Much of
what is stated here is mistated.
Since 1952, all revuenue from
every congregation has been depostited in accounts in the National Bank of Greece from
which the Government "pays"
the congregation's priest's salary.
So the salaries od the priests are
paid for by each congregation,
not the government. In addition,
the 1952 law permits the Greek
state to borrow any sum from
these accounts automatically
without permission from each
congregation. As a result, the
government has borrowed every
drachma and euro since 1952
and not paid any of it back. This
amount adds up to untold billions of Euros over the almost
60 years this has been going on.
Meanwhile, almost every government, military, aviation, maritime building or installation is
on church land granted to the
state free of rental income to the
church. The National Bank of
Greece itself was started with
money given by the Church.
Most of the social programs in
the country are established and
paid for by the church. So on
top of all this, they want the
church to pay taxes!? How much
money can they take from the
church and still allow it to function properly? They've already
taken almost everything. I guess
if they cripple the church economically, then the politicians
can have a freer reign in stealing
from the Greek people and making big deposits in Switzerland.
- Dionysios Markopoulos
• Well put Dionysi. The Government should keep their
hands off the Church! The Orthodox church is the only thing
functioning properly in Greece.
The church preserved the Greek
language and culture during the
Turkish occupation when it
could've been extinct. The
priests blessed the soldiers and
the guns during the revolution
and inspired people to fight for
Greece. The priests of Greece
are very patriotic people, although some just do it because
its a steady income and i'm sure
theirs corruption as well.
- Niko Seretis
TARGET OF ANGER
• The Socialists deserve it
and I hope they start resigning
for safety fears as they get attacked. Actually all politicians
in Greece need to feel the wrath
and anger of the people for
what they've done to such a
beautifull country. They really
need to go after that creep wrote on Tzochazopoulos!
- Niko Seretis
• They'll never resign, Niko.
They got a great thing going and
they
know
it.
10,000
EUROS/month for DOING
NOTHING! I mean, what does
a Greek Legislator DO when
they have no taxpayer money to
spend??? This is the best paid
job in Europe when you consider they're doing absolutely
nothing at the current time. And
they get EXTRA PAY for attending committee meetings, can
hire family members as staff,
travel allowance. Pretty good
gig if you can get it.
- Philip Vorgias
VIEWPOINTS
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JULY 30 - AUGUST 5, 2011
LETTER FROM ATHENS
The Ugly Sport of Greek
Soccer: Nil-Nil
grants, soccer fans
Europeans call
can burn down a stasoccer – which they
dium and nothing
term football –
happens to anyone.
beautiful
“The
Greek soccer is even
game,” supposedly
more boring than
because of the
NASCAR because the
graceful flow of
players don’t care a
long kicks and runwhit about anything
ning men artfully
except being paid.
using their feet inDozens of people, instead of their
cluding
referees,
hands in a game of
owners and players
near perpetual-moby ANDY
have been charged
tion, kind of like ice
DABILIS
with wrongdoing,
hockey on grass.
but that has caused
They never talk
Special to
The National Herald
little more than a
about the ugly
yawn among fans
side: a ruling body
even more corrupt than the who don’t have enough grey matGreek government, match-fixing ter to understand what’s wrong
so prevalent it makes past college with their game, and wouldn’t
basketball fixing scandals in the care if they did.
Olympiakos owner and StuU.S. look like someone tried to
rig a Little League game, the por League President Vangelis
Greek Super League run by own- Marinakis was accused of colluders who’ve been arrested and ing with a criminal gang and takcharged with using the game as ing part in bribery to fix the outa personal ATM, and hooliganism come of matches. That’s the
just this side of the English insane President of your league so you
version: hopped-up, unem- can bet, no pun intended, nothployed, uneducated loser young ing’s going to happen to anyone
men who couldn’t spell soccer, else who’s been fixing matches,
never mind play it, trying to kill although it’s hard to tell when
each other because their team soccer players take dives on the
lost a fixed match. Greek soccer field because when they’re faking
is as phony as professional injuries they go down faster than
wrestling, but without the enter- Paris Hilton or the French army
tainment because this game is as faced with a single angry Gerexciting as watching grass grow. man. We’re not talking about a
It makes you wonder why game or two being fixed, but acGreeks, who pride themselves on cording to police, at least 41.
being clever, accept this sham, That’s just in Greece, not includuntil you realize that, apart from ing the rest of Europe where soca handful of knowledgeable peo- cer’s ruling body, UEFA, which is
ple who love sports for what it is as incompetent as soccer’s ruling
world group FIFA is corrupt, likes
to make sure the big money
“There is the will on both teams win. UEFA President
Michel Platini said he’s going to
sides to put a stop to the
send teams of investigators to
corruption and violence
Athens to help Greece reform its
in Greek football”
corruption-soaked sport and stop
fan violence, which is as unlikely
and not who plays it, shout them- as the Faroe Islands winning the
selves hoarse and throw every- World Cup, unless they paid off
thing short of hand grenades on enough people.
To make it seem like they
the field when their club falls becare, Platini met with Prime Minhind.
Greece’s Super League is an ister George Papandreou, who’s
odd name for a collection of near- got a few other things on his
amateur teams in a league where mind, like the survival of Greece,
the two teams with the biggest and Culture Minister Pavlos Gerrevenue base, Panathiniakos and oulanos, who’s in charge of
Olympiakos - a kind of sporting sports, allegedly. Geroulanos said
Hatfield and McCoy’s rivalry - outside investigators would protake turns winning the champi- vide advice on dealing with
onship because no one else has match-fixing, doping, violence
enough money to buy players and refereeing. That’s because no
who can kick and think at the one in Greece is capable of it, but
same time. They are as shameless at least it was good for a laugh
as Greek politicians and, after when he said, “There is the will
several were arrested in an in- on both sides to put a stop to the
vestigation into match-fixing and corruption and violence in Greek
other wrongdoing, were back football.” If there really were a
running the league the next day, will, somebody would be in jail
making as their only concession instead of being allowed to go
a reluctant decision to suspend back and run a team and the
play: during the off season when league. It’s so bad that the authere aren’t any games, rather thorities have deemed Greek soclike Major League Baseball saying cer a major crime organization.
That’s just another reason
it isn’t going to play from December-February as penance for al- why Americans can’t warm to
lowing steroids to render useless this game, along with how many
the game’s records. That’s a small results end in a tie, many of them
matter to the owners as long as 0-0, or what the Europeans call
they, like Greek soccer kings, Nil-Nil. Americans don’t like ties.
make money off the sport fans They like to win, in politics, busiidolize. For that, you are laughed ness, war, and especially sports,
at and considered suckers by the where they think a tie is “like
owners, and ridiculed by players kissing your sister,” legal in many
who’d change uniforms during European countries and Althe game and join the other side abama. A goal in soccer is usually
followed by the player who
if they’d get paid more.
This year’s championship keeked the ball into the net doing
game, a rarity in that it didn’t in- handstands, back flips, running
volve
Panathinaikos
or around like someone put cayenne
Olympiakos, but AEK and the pepper in his jock, tearing off his
Washington Senators of Greek shirt, falling to the ground, raissoccer, Atromitos, ended prema- ing his arms into the sky and cryturely with AEK fans storming ing in joy. Jim Brown, the best
the field and attacking the other running back of all time in Amerteam’s players, fans and families. ican football, scored 106 touchAEK was leading at the time but, downs and laid the ball down
instead of defaulting, was softly in the end zone because,
awarded the victory, providing he said, “I like to act like I’ve been
more of an incentive for fans of there before.” Now, that’s a beauother teams to riot whenever tiful game.
they want because no one goes
to jail in Greece except immi- [email protected]
9
Can Greeks Become Germans? They’ll Have to Work
By Thomas L. Friedman
New York Times
ATHENS - Katerina Sokou, 37, a
Greek financial journalist at
Kathimerini, a daily newspaper,
told me this story: A group of
German members of the Bavarian Parliament came to Athens
shortly after the economic crisis
erupted here and met with some
Greek politicians, academics,
journalists and lawyers at a taverna to evaluate the Greek economy. Sokou said her impression
was that the Germans were trying to figure out whether they
should be lending money to
Greece for a bailout. It was like
one nation interviewing another
for a loan. “They were not here
as tourists; we were giving data
on how many hours we work,”
recalled Sokou. “It really felt like
we had to persuade them about
our values.” Sokou’s observation
reminded me of a point made to
me by Dov Seidman, the author
of the book “How” and the
C.E.O. of LRN, which helps companies build ethical business cultures. The globalization of markets and people has intensified
to a new degree in the last five
years, with the emergence of social networking, Skype, derivatives, fast wireless connectivity,
cheap smartphones and cloud
computing. “When the world is
bound together this tightly,” argued Seidman, “everyone’s values and behavior matter more
than ever, because they impact
so many more people than ever.
...We’ve gone from connected to
interconnected to ethically interdependent.”
As it becomes harder to shield
yourself from the other guy’s irresponsible behavior, added Seidman, both he and you had better behave more responsibly - or
you both will suffer the consequences, whether you did anything wrong or not. This is doubly true when two different
countries share the same currency but not the same government. That’s why this story is not
just about interest rates. It’s
about values. Germans are now
telling Greeks: “We’ll loan you
more money, provided that you
behave like Germans in how you
save, how many hours a week
you work, how long a vacation
you take, and how consistently
you pay your taxes.” Alas,
though, these two countries are
so culturally different. They remind you of a couple about
whom you ask after their divorce: “How did the two of them
ever think they could be married?”
Germany is the epitome of a
country that made itself rich by
making stuff. Greece, alas, after
it joined the European Union in
1981, actually became just another Middle East petro-state only instead of an oil well, it had
Brussels, which steadily pumped
out subsidies, aid and euros with
low interest rates to Athens. Natural resources create corruption,
as groups compete for who controls the tap. That is exactly what
happened in Greece when it got
access to huge Euro-loans and
subsidies. The natural entrepreneurship of Greeks was channeled in the wrong direction - in
a competition for government
funds and contracts. To be sure,
it wasn’t all squandered. Greece
had a real modernization spurt
in the 1990’s. But after 2002, it
put its feet up, thinking it had
arrived, and too much “Euro-oil”
from the European Union went
back to financing a corrupt, patrimonial system whereby politicians dispensed government jobs
and projects to localities in return for votes. This reinforced a
huge welfare state, where young
people dreamed of a cushy government job and everyone from
cabdrivers to truckers to pharmacists to lawyers was allowed
to erect barriers to entry that artificially inflated prices.
European Union membership
“was a big opportunity for development, and we wasted it,”
explained Dimitris Bourantas, a
Professor of Management at
Athens University. “We also did
not take advantage of the markets of the (formerly) Socialist
countries around Greece. And
we also did not take advantage
of the growth of the global economy. We lost them all because
the political system was focused
on growing public administration – not on (fostering) entrepreneurship, competition or in-
dustrial strategy or competitive
advantages. We created a state
with big inefficiencies, corruption and a very large bureaucracy. We were the last Soviet
country in Europe.” That is why,
he added, that Greeks, when
they move to the U.S., “unleash
their skills and entrepreneurship”
in ways that enable them to
thrive in commerce. But here in
Greece, the system encourages
just the opposite. Investors here
tell you that the red tape involved in starting a new business
is overwhelming. It’s crazy;
Greece is the only country in the
world where Greeks don’t behave like Greeks. Their welfare
state, financed by Euro-oil, has
bred it out of them. With the decline of Beirut and Dubai, Athens
should have become the service
center of the Eastern Mediterranean. Instead, Cyprus and Istanbul seized that role. Greece
must not waste this crisis. While
it has instituted some reforms in
the last year, Prime Minister
George Papandreou said to me,
“What is most frustrating is the
resistance in the system. How do
you produce a change in culture?” It will take a cultural revolution. And that can happen
only if Greece’s two major parties
come together, hold hands, and
collectively force through a radical change in the governing culture from the top down. Without
that, Greece will never be able
to pay back its loans.
The Rich Spread the Big Lie That You Are to Blame
By Steve Frangos
Blaming the victim has a long
tradition in our contemporary
Euro-American civilization. With
complete control over the mass
media, those in the highest strata
of the American economic elite
can have any message they
choose heard over and over and
over. Tim Shufelt’s recent article,
Denying Reality in Greece, A
Country That Can’t Be Fixed,
which originally appeared in the
Financial Post (and later here in
the pages of the National Herald), is a fine example of the triumph of power and privilege
over the Truth. The kernel propaganda point of Mr. Shufelt’s
rant is that Greece, and so all
Greeks, are financially irresponsible. This essentially “Crazy
Greek” argument has appeared
so frequently in the past I need
not trace its roots for you here,
only only offer some comment
on this specific manifestation of
hate speech. Shufelt has accepted his role as a cultural manager for the 1% wealthiest
Money Lords by battering away
at the “must restructure debt”
tune. Here in carefully framed
language the victims of financial
wrongdoing, in this instance the
Greeks, must, according to
Shufelt, “bear responsibility for
their own responsible finances
and debt accumulation, fed, in
part, by an oversized public service, exorbitant wage scale, early
retirement and an overly generous entitlement regime.” What
we can learn from this commissar’s conscious concealment of
the facts is how truths once understood by everyone fade into
individual memories. How
Shufelt is re-shaping history into
an instrument of power to be
used against the Greek people is
very instructive.
Let’s begin with a short review along with a citation of
sources. Who does not recall that
in or around 2008 and 2009 that
American businessmen on Wall
Street conspired to flood the
market with counterfeit stocks?
That was the occasion for the
housing market crash and the
demise of Bear Stearns, Lehman
Brothers and then a whole bunch
of banks. Remember? In 2009,
Reuters, that raving journal of
the elitist Left, ran an article: “45
percent of the World’s Wealth
Destroyed: Blackstone CEO,”
written by Megan Davies and
Walden Siew who interviewed
Blackstone
CEO
Stephen
Schwarzman who reported: “Between 40 and 45 percent of the
world’s wealth has been destroyed in little less than a year
and a half. This is absolutely unprecedented in our lifetimes.”
Toxic bank assets were to blame.
Not individuals mind you, but
those bad assets. Then, we had
a bailout of banks and other favored companies considered too
big to fail. The implication was
if these companies were allowed
to fail the United States would
face utter destruction!
Well as we know now, those
Too Big Banks (which were left
in the hands of the bankers who
ruined them in the first place)
are doing well but everyone’s
house or other property in the
United States is now worth so
much less they are under water.
This new phrase means that
property has been devalued so
people have lost equity and are
faced with paying so much more
on their mortgages they may
never break even let alone make
a profit. By profit let me just give
one example. Back in the 1980’s,
empty nesters (who makes up all
these phrases?) a married couple
whose children have grown up
and moved away, could sell their
home whose mortgage had been
paid off for some time. The middle-class pattern for many was
to sell their larger home and with
those funds buy a smaller place
and still have money left over to
put aside for their retirement.
Two articles by that nattering
nabob, right-wing investigative
reporter Matt Taibbi, addresses
this entangled complex of financially related issues in Wall
Street’s Naked Swindle on the
counterfeit stock fandango and
then Invasion of the Home
Snatchers with the subtitle: How
the Courts are Helping Bankers
Screw Over Homeowners and
Get Away with Fraud (Rolling
Stone Oct. 15, 2009 and Nov. 25,
2010). Taibbi does not accept the
position Wall Street businessmen
are the Good Guys and asserts
that, “The great American mortgage bubble of the 2000’s (is)
perhaps the most complex Ponzi
scheme in human history - an
epic mountain range of corporate fraud in which Wall Street
megabanks conspired first to collect huge numbers of sub-prime
mortgages, then to unload them
on unsuspecting third parties like
pensions, trade unions and insurance companies (and, ultimately, you and me, as taxpayers) in the guise of AAA-rated
investments.”
BANKERS DON’T GO TO JAIL
In the April 14, 2011, New
York Times feature story, In Financial Crisis, No Prosecutions
of Top Figures, by Gretchen Morgenson and Louise Story ask
(like Taibbi before them) “Why,
in the aftermath of a financial
mess that generated hundreds of
billions in losses, have no highprofile participants in the disaster been prosecuted?” How does
all of this relate to those “irresponsible Greeks?” Remember
those toxic assets? Well, the Too
Big to Fail American (and really
international) bankers have been
passing those around from country to country. Remember
Shufelt’s snarling remark that
Greek citizen’s must, “bear responsibility for their own responsible finances and debt accumulation?” What about the
American (and other) bankers
who caused this international crisis in the first place? Why were
they bailed out in the first place
and not receive jail sentences?
Given the trillions spent in the
bail out an entirely new system
of banks (with new bankers)
could have been put into place
to restore the old one.
According to Internal Revenue Service data, “The incomes
of the top 400 American households soared to a new record
high in dollars and as a share of
all income in 2007, while the income tax rates they paid fell to a
record low.” David Cay Johnston,
on his www.tax.com website
notes not only that but also that,
“Since 1992, the bottom 90 percent of Americans have seen
their incomes rise by 13 percent
in 2009 dollars, compared with
an increase of 399 percent for
the top 400.” If all this sounds
like old news, that’s the point.
Nothing is new in this story of
Wall Street dumping toxic assets.
I am also citing news stories because when the civil disobedience occurred in Wisconsin over
Governor Scott Walker’s attack
on organized labor, every GreekAmerican I spoke with was
adamant that, “The unions are
ruining the country!” I asked
how they knew this and they
never could cite a single media
source. Johnston, after reading
the labor agreements between
the state of Wisconsin and its
employees reported that, “Nothing has been more troubling than
the deeply flawed coverage of
the Wisconsin state employees’
fight over collective bargaining.”
In Johnson’s Feb. 24 2011 essay,
Really Bad Reporting in Wisconsin: Who “Contributes” to Public
Workers Pensions? he demonstrates that, “Out of every dollar
that funds Wisconsin’s pension
and health insurance plans for
state workers, 100 cents comes
from the state workers.” So, Governor Walker’s ongoing demand
that the state workers pay their
fair share was just another oft
repeated big lie. What is critical
to note is the common theme in
both Walker and Shufelt that the
poorest must bear the responsibility for the financial crimes of
the wealthiest. Also remember
what Shufelt said about unions
and pensions, that they contributed to the overall debt-woes
due to “an oversized public service, exorbitant wage scale, early
retirement and an overly generous entitlement regime.”
You have never voted for foreign policy. You have never voted
on how the United States government spends your tax dollars.
You have never voted on the
board of a Fortune 500 company.
So how, exactly are we collectively responsible for all this government mismanagement and
big business malfeasance? I do
not see either the Greek people
or the people of Wisconsin as
crazed irresponsible rioters. They
are citizens telling their servant
government in no uncertain
terms just how far it can go before they are ejected from office.
[email protected]
Greece is on the Crisis Escalator of Disaster Capitalism, and It’s Only Going Down
By Nikolaos A. Stavrou
The core point to be made
here is a sad one: Greece’s problems will be of long duration as
planned by non-Greeks a long
time ago. The future of the
country is being held hostage by
American and European financiers who are sitting on several trillion dollars stolen wealth
plotting for profitable pleasant
places to invest them. That goal
is ruthlessly pursued by a parallel state that has rendered the
actual state into its praetorian
guard. At the dawn of disaster
capitalism the only errors for
which the Greek leaders are culpable are naiveté and managerial malfeasance, sugarcoated in
corruption. During the weekend
of June 25 the Greek government succeeded in squeezing
through the parliament a series
of Draconian, foreign-dictated,
economic policies and worse implementation measures. In so
doing the PASOK government
opted to place Greece on an irreversible crisis escalator which
is leading to the transformation
of governmental functions and
the demolition of national sovereignty. If carried to their preconceived end, the Troika-imposed measures will certainly
reduce the Greek government
to the status of tax collector,
guarantor of the outflow of capital, real estate broker and, ultimately, provider of security for
the soon to appear buyers of
Greek islands, sandy beaches,
ports, airports, highways, utilities, and water systems.
In the aftermath of the ongoing unstudied privatization,
Greeks will enjoy bottled water
from Zagori and Koropi at double the price of milk. They will
also travel on highways and railways at a cost set by foreign financial corporations. They
should also get used to looking
at walled-off beach or island
communities, protected by private guards that will be show-
pieces of development. Moreover, as in times past hordes of
multinational Bavarians will be
flooding the country to assist
Balkan brutes in how manage
critical units of their economy.
In the meantime, the mom-andpop shops will be reduced to
boutiques in super shopping
centers and their owners will
pay rent to foreign conglomerates. Ermou and Stadium
Streets, with their boarded-up
shops, will be treated as relics
of an “under developed, noncompetitive economy.”
That picture may be called
extreme by some, but it’s realistic. Greece faces existential risks
greater than those in World War
II. Yet nothing has to be inevitable; Greece still retains unused leverage. Before risking an
opinion as to what that leverage
might be, two assumptions must
be stated: it is assumed the
Troika will not abandon its goal
of completely dismantling the
Greek economic system and,
along with it, the values system
upon which it was based. The
three institutions see the country as a vast piece of real estate,
available to the lowest bidder
and the Greeks as reliable consumers with a credit card.
Second, the drama of the
June 25 weekend is sure to be
repeated several times by “economic disciplinarians.” It will
not end unless the pain is deeply
felt by every Greek, and the likes
of George Soros and Goldman
Sachs, pronounce the economy
has bottomed out. That unenviable status will be reached when
the country looks like Russia of
the 1990’s. While then Russian
Prime Minister Boris Yeltsin was
in a vodka-induced stupor,
Western financial institutions
transferred 85% of the country’s
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
to seven oligarchs and no one
was supposed to ask: “How did
they carry out the heights?”
With such prospects on the horizon, Greece ought to undertake
critical steps to defend whatever
is left of national sovereignty.
• A Commission of specialists
consisting of non-partisan members must be created to prepare
for an orderly default in case
the restoration of currency sovereignty becomes unavoidable.
Besides Greek mismanagement,
with expert advice, the fact is
that Greece was chosen as a
wedge to dismantle the Euro
and pave the way for currency
speculators to return to the
good old days of speculating
with impunity. The error the financiers made was to assume
the Greek economy was too
small to spread beyond the borders. More than the Greek economy will default and let us see
whether the wizards of Wall
Street like those apples. As for
the Greeks, the worst thing to
happen will be a restoration of
dignity, eventual economic self
sufficiency, and once again, to
serve as an example for other
potential victims.
• A non-political Commission with expanded judicial authority and multinational composition must be created to
investigate who, among Greeks
and foreigners, are responsible
for the predicament of the country. The Greek people never
gave a license to anybody to
treat the national treasure as a
piggy bank for nepotism or hire
Goldman Sachs to advise them
how to bluff their way into the
Euro zone prematurely.
• Multi-national commissions must also be set up to investigate - hopefully with institutional legitimacy - the inner
workings of the three rating
firms. As a preparation for its
work, this commission must see
the Oscar-winning documentary
(about the 2008 financial collapse) Inside Job.
Dr. Nikolaos A. Stavrou is Professor of International Affairs,
Emeritus, at Howard University.
THE BACK PAGE
10
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JULY 30 - AUGUST 5, 2011
BIBLIA: A BOOK REVIEW COLUMN
The Lost Battle of Crete in WWII Started from the Skies
By Alexandros K. Kyrou
Special to The National Herald
CALLUM MACDONALD. The
Lost Battle: Crete 1941. London:
Pan Macmillan, 2002. Pp. 368.
$49.50 (hardcover).
(First of two parts) May and
June 2011 marked the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Crete,
one of the most extraordinary
operations of the Second World
War. The now legendary airborne assault against Crete completed the German campaign to
conquer Greece and Yugoslavia
in the spring of 1941, an invasion Hitler had not originally anticipated but was forced to
launch because of Mussolini’s
failure to defeat the Greeks in
the fall of 1940. When the Italians invaded Greece from positions in Albania at the close of
October 1940, world opinion
was justified in expecting that
Greece would be quickly vanquished and occupied. The modestly armed, antiquated Greek
army was greatly outnumbered.
Conversely, the modern and
well-equipped Italian military enjoyed comparatively limitless reserves of manpower and materiel. Yet, the Greeks overcame
these staggering disadvantages
by effective concentration of
force, tactical deftness, and extraordinary will. In short, with
stubborn determination the
Greeks outmaneuvered and outfought the Italians. Indeed, the
Greek army stopped the Italian
advance, counterattacked, and
drove the invaders back deep
into Albania. To Mussolini’s dismay, and the world’s surprise,
within a few weeks, Rome’s
Greek venture had turned into a
humiliating fiasco and the first
Axis military defeat in Europe.
In response to the Italian disaster, Hitler ordered the German
General Staff to prepare for an
invasion of Greece. Although
Hitler did not want to go to war
against Greece, he saw no means
of avoiding such action. Larger
strategic imperatives demanded
that Greece be neutralized. Hitler
concluded that the success of his
impending invasion of the Soviet
Union would be jeopardized if
the Axis Powers’ southern flank
in the Balkans was not secure.
He was especially determined to
deny the British possession of
bases in Greece, from which they
could menace the Ploesti oilfields
in Romania, an invaluable resource which was essential to the
Germans’ war effort. Greece’s
dictator, Ioannis Metaxas, had
been careful to coordinate
Greece’s defense with Britain
while adroitly resisting pressure
from London to accept a deployment of British troops and grant
the Royal Air Force (RAF) basing
concessions in northern Greece,
actions which Metaxas understood would openly provoke
Berlin. However, following the
death of Metaxas in January
1941, Greece’s new Prime Minister, Alexandros Koryzis, proved
to be less cautious than his predecessor in negotiating with the
British. For his part, British Prime
Minister Winston Churchill concluded it was necessary to make
some demonstration of support
for the only country outside the
British Commonwealth which
was resisting the Axis, and so he
ordered the dispatch of 60,000
troops to Greece. Most of the
combined British and Commonwealth forces were deployed in
north-central Greece, as a strategic hinge linking the bulk of the
Greek army, which was tied
down in the northwest fighting
the Italians in Albania, and the
Greek forces deployed along the
“Metaxas Line” of fortifications
in the northeast against a possible attack from Axis Bulgaria. Although the British Expeditionary
Force (BEF) was motorized, well
equipped, and backed with considerable armor, artillery, and air
power assets, it was inadequate
in size to resist the impending
German attack.
THE DOGS OF WAR
The Germans launched their
invasion of Greece, along with a
massive attack against Yugoslavia, on April 6, 1941. German armored formations, from
positions in Bulgaria, rapidly advanced across southern Yu-
goslavia then turned south into
Greece near Florina, and pushed
towards Kozani, a maneuver
which effectively outflanked the
BEF concentrated along the Aliakmon Line of defenses west of
Thessaloniki, while it simultaneously isolated the Greek army in
Albania. As the BEF fled from the
advancing Germans at breakneck
speed for ports and evacuation
in southern Greece, Greek forces
and rearguard Commonwealth
detachments offered stiff, albeit
hopeless, resistance in the face
of overwhelming German military might. Impressed by the
bravery and tenaciousness of the
Greeks, Hitler ordered his Balkan
front commander, Field Marshal
Wilhelm List, to release from
captivity all Greek soldiers taken
prisoner as soon as an armistice
should be signed. Neither Greek
bravery nor British arms could,
however, stop the German advance. Athens was occupied by
German troops on April 27.
excellent natural harbors expanded and modernized, air and
naval units operating from a
well-defended Crete could dominate the air over, and the sea
lanes throughout, the Eastern
Mediterranean. Thus Hitler re-
problems. The chaotic nature of
the BEF’s retreat and evacuation
from the Greek mainland had resulted in the loss of significant
amounts of equipment and had
produced disruptions of unit cohesion.
As a result, more than 10,000
of the Allied troops were without
weapons. Although several units
were intact and fit for combat,
much of the overall force was
made up of remnants from fractured formations, disorganized
and disheartened, hurriedly
thrown together into ad hoc
units. Most units lacked basic
supplies,
heavy
support
weapons, and adequate ammunition. Freyberg’s force lacked
transport vehicles and was
acutely handicapped by shortages of armor and artillery - the
Allied force had only six heavy
tanks, very limited artillery, and
merely 68 anti-aircraft guns,
which were clearly insufficient
to defend the 160-mile length of
renowned for swift flight,) was
planned by General Karl von Student, architect of the Luftwaffe’s
airborne forces. Since the British
enjoyed naval supremacy, Operation Merkur called for an airborne invasion. The Supreme
Commander of the Luftwaffe,
Herman Goering, saw in Student’s operational plan an opportunity to rehabilitate the reputation of the German air force
after its failure to defeat the RAF
in the Battle of Britain, and enthusiastically presented the proposal to Hitler on April 21. Once
Hitler approved Merkur on April
25, General Student, who would
remain the driving force of the
operation, quickly assembled his
invasion force in mainland
Greece. In all, 22,000 troops
made-up the assault force. The
brunt of the attack would be carried out by the Luftwaffe’s
10,000-man 7th Airborne Division, consisting of four regiments
(one assault and three parachute
Crete from east to west. Above
all, the RAF had virtually no
presence on Crete. On May 1,
the RAF had 35 operational aircraft on the island, half of which
were obsolete biplanes. Through
the first half of May, the RAF’s
force had been reduced to seven
planes, all of which were withdrawn to Egypt on May 19, leaving the Allied ground forces with
no air support whatsoever to face
the impending German assault.
The German attack on Crete,
codenamed Operation Merkur
(German for Mercury, the Latin
name for the Greek messenger
and trickster deity Hermes,
regiments.) The air assets assigned to Operation Merkur consisted of 600 troop transport
planes, 80 gliders, 280 medium
and heavy bombers, 150 Stuka
dive-bombers, and 200 fighter
planes.
Student’s plan was straightforward and daring. Three of the
7th Airborne Division’s four regiments would be dropped against
the three respective towns on the
north coast of Crete, from west
to east, Maleme, Rethymno, and
Heraklion, where airstrips were
located. Once captured, these
airfields would be used for landing heavy equipment and 5,000
Above: Captured German prisoners under British guard on
Crete. The Germans suffered big losses early in their invasion
by paratroopers. Top Right: German mountain troops getting
ready for transfer to Crete. Right: Alexander Löhr and Wolfram
von Richthofen (1942) below: British Lieutenant General Freyberg gazes over the parapet, waiting for the enemy to arrive.
Meanwhile, the evacuation of
the BEF from the Greek mainland had begun on April 24 and
continued for six days. Although
enormous amounts of heavy
weapons and vehicles had to be
abandoned during the British
withdrawal, the operation succeeded in evacuating more than
50,000 troops, most of which
were transported to Crete. On
April 25, Hitler ordered the invasion of Crete.
PREPARATIONS FOR BATTLE
In The Lost Battle: Crete
1941, the late British military
and diplomatic historian, Callum
MacDonald, presents one of the
most thorough, well-researched,
and perceptive accounts of the
battle for Crete. First published
in 1993, MacDonald’s book enjoys wide scholarly and popular
acceptance as the definitive
study of its subject. Although this
work is not entirely flawless, its
limited shortcomings are mitigated by the author’s sweeping
narrative, as well as his brilliant
analysis of the implications of the
battle for subsequent Allied and
Axis military doctrines and for
the overall importance of Crete
in the history of the Second
World War. In his extensive background to the Battle of Crete,
MacDonald makes it clear that
even before the outbreak of the
war, British and German military
planners had recognized the
strategic value of Crete. With the
onset of the Desert War in Egypt
and Libya the importance of
Crete was magnified. Crete’s
strategic potential was enormous, especially for the British.
If the island’s three airfields were
transformed into full-fledged air
bases and the port facilities of its
• The Battle of Crete was unprecedented in three respects: it was not only the first battle where the Fallschirmjäger (parachute rangers) were used on a massive scale,
but also the first mainly airborne invasion in military history;
the first time the Allies made significant use of intelligence from
the deciphered German Enigma code; and the first time invading
German troops encountered mass resistance from a civilian population. Because of the heavy casualties suffered by the paratroopers, Adolf Hitler forbade further large scale airborne operations. However, the Allies were impressed by the potential of
paratroopers and started to build their own airborne divisions.
• Greek troops were armed with the Mannlicher-Schönauer
6.5 mm mountain carbine or ex-Austrian 8 mm Steyr-Mannlicher
M1895 rifles, the latter part of post–World War I reparations.
About one thousand Greeks carried the antique Gras rifle. The
garrison had been stripped of its best crew-served weapons, which
were sent to the mainland. There were 12 obsolescent Saint Etienne light machine guns and 40 other light machine guns of various manufacture at the Greek troops' disposal. Many of the Greek
solved to deny the British control
of Crete.
On April 30, the British-born
New Zealand army general and
legendary hero of the First World
War, Bernard Freyberg, was appointed commander of all Allied
forces on Crete. Freyberg’s force
comprised roughly 15,000
British, 10,000 Greek, 8,000
New Zealand, and 7,000 Australian troops. Despite its not inconsiderable size, Freyberg’s
force was plagued by serious
What the Battle of Crete looked like on the kind of map used by planners in those days. It shows
the size and disbursement of forces on the island deemed critical by both sides during the early
days of the conflict, the 2-to-1 superiority of German forces, who faced fierce resistance.
Facts About the Battle of Crete
troops had less than thirty rounds of ammunition, and could not
be resupplied by the British, who had no stocks in the correct calibers. This affected their placement in the battle; those with insufficient ammunition were posted to the island's eastern sector,
where the Germans were not expected in force. The Greeks made
up for the lack of equipment with intensity of spirit and one historian reportedly described their fight as one of “…extreme
courage and tenacity.”
• The Luftwaffe also lost heavily in the battle; 220 aircraft
were destroyed outright and another 64 were written off due to
damage, for a total of 284 aircraft lost, with several hundred
more damaged to varying degrees. Some 311 Luftwaffe aircrew
were listed as killed or missing, and 127 more were wounded.
These losses were later to impact negatively German attempts to
defend Stalingrad.
mountain troops. The Airborne
Division’s fourth regiment would
be dropped in the area of Chania
and Suda in order to secure
those two towns’ harbors in
preparation for the arrival of
7,000 seaborne troops. The focal
point of the attack would be
Maleme, west of Chania, assigned to the division’s vaunted
1st Assault Regiment. Although
Student expected that his initial
strike force would be outnumbered by the defenders, he was
confident that the combination
of the element of surprise, the
high quality of his troops, and
the Luftwaffe’s total air superiority would produce victory.
ATTACK FROM THE SKY
Starting at 5:30 on the morning of Tuesday, May 20, a violent,
massive attack by German
bombers degraded the Allies’ already paltry air defenses and
struck troop concentrations
around the island’s airfields. At
8 a.m., the first wave of German
airborne troops began to descend
onto their targets. The German
losses in the first few hours of
the attack were appalling. At
Maleme, the 1st Assault Regiment parachuted and glided into
a sector defended by the Fifth
New Zealand Infantry Brigade,
the First Greek Provisional Regiment, and the 300 cadets of the
Greek Evelpidon Officers Academy. The New Zealand and
Greek troops laid waste the Germans whose casualties were so
heavy they were unable to make
any progress towards Maleme.
The assault regiment lost half its
men and achieved nothing. The
three parachute regiments directed against Chania-Suda,
Rethymno, and Herakleion also
suffered tremendous casualties
and failed to secure their objectives. No landing strips had been
captured,
Chania-Suda,
Rethymno, and Herakleion remained in Allied hands, and the
airborne troops in the Germans’
four drop zones remained isolated and were unable to establish contact with each other. By
mid-day, the key German attack
at Maleme had stalled and the
entire operation seemed to be on
the verge of collapse. However,
the New Zealand commanders
at Maleme failed to recognize the
extent of their troops’ success,
while General Freyberg at his
headquarters in Chania lacked a
clear picture of the situation
which would have enabled him
to react effectively as overall
commander. Because of poor assessments of the German forces’
strengths and dispositions, and
because of communication disruptions caused by the Luftwaffe’s unrelenting bombing and
strafing, Freyberg was unable to
prevent several of his subordinates from making a series of
tactical blunders that turned
near victory for the Allied forces
into disaster.
Everywhere on the island,
Cretan civilians – men, women,
children, priests, monks, and
even nuns, armed and otherwise
– joined the battle with whatever
weapons were at hand. In some
cases, ancient matchlock rifles
which had last been used against
the Turks were dug up from their
hiding places and pressed into
action. In other cases, civilians
went into action armed only with
what they could gather from
their kitchens or barns, and several German parachutists were
knifed or clubbed to death in the
olive groves that dotted the island. In one recorded case, an
elderly Cretan clubbed a parachutist to death with his walking
stick before the German could
disentangle himself from his
parachute lines. In another, a
priest and his son broke into the
village museum and took two rifles from the era of the Balkan
Wars. While the priest shot a
paratrooper with one, his son reloaded the other. The Cretans
soon
supplemented
their
makeshift weapons with captured German small arms taken
from the dead bodies of killed
paratroops and glider troops.
Dr. Kyrou is Associate Professor
of History at Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts,
where he teaches on the
Balkans, Byzantium, and the Ottoman Empire.
• The Allies lost 3,500 soldiers: 1,751 dead, with an
equal number wounded, as well as 12,254 Commonwealth
and 5,255 Greek captured. There were also 1,828 dead and
183 wounded among the Royal Navy. After the war, the Allied graves from the four burial grounds that had been established
by the German forces were moved to Suda Bay War Cemetery.
• A large number of civilians were killed in the crossfire or
died fighting as partisans. Many Cretans were shot by the Germans
in reprisals, both during the battle and in the occupation that followed. The Germans claimed widespread mutilation of corpses
by Cretan partisans, but it was suggested that his was down to
the breakdown of dead bodies in the very high temperatures as
well as carrion birds. One Cretan source puts the number of Cretans killed by German action during the war at 6,593 men, 1,113
women and 869 children. German records put the number of
Cretans executed by firing squad as 3,474, and at least a further
1,000 civilians were killed in massacres late in 1944.
(Source: Wikipedia)