At the end of May 1941, one month had passed since the surrender of Athens to the Germans[/B], who were completing their operations in Greece with the capture of Crete. Manolis Glezos and Lakis Santas were two young students who wept, as did thousands of Athenians, when they saw the German swastika waving on the Acropolis. The Hitlerian symbol evoked Greek pride. So it had to come down...
The daring plan was born in their minds one spring dusk at Zappeion, as they faced the Acropolis and set to work to implement it. They went to the National Library and read everything related to the Holy Rock. In the Big Encyclopedia they discovered all the caves and holes of the Acropolis. They soon realized that the only route they had to take to avoid being seen by the German guards was via the Andros Panthros.
On the morning of 30 May 1941, Glazos and Sandas were informed by radio that Crete had fallen. The Germans with proclamations bragged about their achievement. The two young men decided to act that night. They had no weapons, only a lantern and a knife. The time had reached 9:30 in the evening. The small guard of the Acropolis was gathered at the entrance to the Propylaea, entertaining themselves with young Greek women, who were selling their lover, drinking beer and drinking methos.
Unaware of danger, they jumped the wires, crawled to the cave of the Andros Pantheon and began to climb up the scaffolding that the archaeologists had built for the excavations. When they reached within a few meters of the flagpole they did not notice any guards and with quick movements they pulled down the hated symbol of Nazism from the flagpole. It was a huge flag, measuring 4×2 m. It was now midnight. The two "commandos" folded and took the flag with them and, following the same route, left the Acropolis,
without again being noticed by the Germans, who continued their entertainment.
To their surprise, the German guards noticed early in the morning that the swastika was missing from the mast. The panicked German authorities ordered interrogations. It was not until 11 a.m. that a new flag was hoisted on the empty mast.
Glazos and Sandas were sentenced to death in absentia, the men of the garrison were executed, the Greek commanders of the police stations in the area were relieved of their duties, while no incriminating evidence was found for the guards of the Acropolis.
The suspension of the swastika from the Acropolis was essentially the first act of resistance in occupied Athens,[/B] an act of a symbolic nature, but one that had a tremendous impact on the morale of the beleaguered Greeks. In September of the same year, the two major resistance organizations EAM and EDES were founded.
During the Occupation, Manolis Glezos was arrested three times by the Germans, imprisoned and managed to escape, while Lakis Santas escaped from his persecutors and joined ELAS.
Source: SanSimera.gr
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