Hellenic State (1941–44)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Hellenic State (1941–1944))
Jump to: navigation, search
Not to be confused with the Hellenic Republic.
Hellenic State
Ελληνική Πολιτεία
Elliniki Politeia
Puppet government of Germany and Italy

Flag Coat of arms
"Eleftheria i Thanatos"
Ελευθερία ή θάνατος
"Freedom or Death"
Ýmnos is tin Eleftherían
Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν
"Hymn to Freedom"
Hellenic state during Axis occupation 1942
Capital Athens
Languages Greek
Religion Greek Orthodox
Political structure Caretaker government
 -  1941–1943 Günther Altenburg
 -  1943–1944 Hermann Neubacher
Prime Minister
 -  1941–1942 Georgios Tsolakoglou
 -  1942–1943 Konstantinos Logothetopoulos
 -  1943–1944 Ioannis Rallis
Historical era World War II
 -  Battle of Greece 6 April 1941
 -  Battle of Crete 20 May 1941
 -  German withdrawal 12 October 1944
Currency Greek drachma (₯)
Part of a series on the
History of Greece
Greece portal

The Hellenic State (Greek: Ελληνική Πολιτεία, Elliniki Politeia, also translated as Greek State[1]) was the collaborationist government of Greece during the country's occupation by the Axis powers in the Second World War.




The collaborationist Greek government ceased to exist after the withdrawal of German forces and the liberation of the country in October 1944. Tsolakoglou, Logothetopoulos (in Germany, where he had escaped to) and Rallis were all arrested, along with hundreds of collaborationists. The restored government set up the so-called Trials of Collaborationists (I Diki ton Dosilogon) to judge collaborators,[3] but it made not the major efforts it had announced to punish collaborators: this contributed to the escalation of political enmities in Greece, which in turn played a part in the outbreak of the Greek civil war.[4]

Government and politics[edit]

The regime was first led by Georgios Tsolakoglou, the general who signed the unconditional surrender of the Hellenic Army to the Germans. However, he was sacked a year later and replaced by Konstantinos Logothetopoulos, who himself was sacked in 1943. The last prime minister of the Hellenic State was Ioannis Rallis, who led the collaborationist regime until it's dissolution in 1944. The Hellenic State was widely viewed as a puppet government and was unpopular with the Greek people.


Main article: Security Battalions

The collaborationist regime under Rallis set up Security Battalions, units of soldiers that took part in aiding the Germany Army in fighting the resistance. However, they are known for committing atrocities against the civilian population.

Administrative divisions[edit]


  1. ^ Yves Durand, Le Nouvel ordre européen nazi, Complexe, Paris, 1990, p. 44)
  2. ^ a b Bernhard R. Kroener, Germany and the Second World War Volume V/II, Oxford University Press, 2003, p. 44
  4. ^ Charles R. Schrader, The withered vine: logistics and the communist insurgency in Greece, 1945-1949, Greenwood Press, 1999, p. 38

External links[edit]