Inside Hitler's Greece: The Experience of Occupation, 1941-44

by Mark Mazower

Book Overview

This gripping and richly illustrated account of wartime Greece explores the impact of the Nazi Occupation upon the lives and values of ordinary people. The first full account of the experience of occupation, it offers a vividly human picture of resistance fighters and black marketeers, teenage German conscripts and Gestapo officers, Jews and starving villagers.

"Fascinating. . . . Mazower] succeeds in getting under the skin of the occupation...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300089236
• ISBN13: 9780300089233
• Release Date: March 2001
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.0" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

A valuable contribution to modern historical understanding

Meticulously researched and thoughtfully written, Mazower's Book is a valuable contribution to our understanding of European history in the first half of the twentieth century, especially during the decade of the 1940s. As the title suggests, this is a work about the German occupation of Greece. The unique character of Greece's political, social and economic structures make the story especially complicated. The suffering of the Greeks during the occupation was particularly intense. The famine that caused many thousands of deaths is a part of the suffering. So were the occupiers' reprisals at resistance activity. The author offers insightful analyses of the work and organization of the resistance, including various Communist groups, to show how and why the communists were able to carry on a civil war against the Athens government once the war was over. In an excellent chapter on the suffering of Jewish Greeks, he details how about fifty thousand Jews -- mostly from Salonika -- were deported to death camps in Poland and elsewhere. Personally, I take some comfort in Mazower's statement on page 159 that, in general, most Orthodox Christian Greeks made a determined effort to save their Jewish compatriots from the invaders by hiding them and providing them with food.Mazower has recently edited a book of fourteen essays titiled After the War Was Over, exploring the question of how collaborators were dealt with in the years following the occupation. ...

An Historian who Cares.

This book is a favorite in our family as it Describes with a Heart, not only "cold" History, The Occupation of Greece and the Tragedy of Greek Jewry in WW2. There are many books in Israel to be found with personal accounts that have no scientific perspective. They can be boring. On the other hand there are Historians who write about WW2 as a military campaign, ignoring the Human Perspective. Mark Mazower is intelligent enough also to see thru the Political Background. Greece was divided like many countries by "Right-Left". This distorted many peoples views about what was happening. Some people (including some jews) who hated the British or the Communists, Co-operated with the Nazi's. Mark's Book is Historically Scientific, Not Politically Biased, and has enough Personal stories too make this a winner. I would like to read Mark's other books.

Dense and Rewarding

This tome begins with the chaotic political and social landscape of Greece preceeding World War II before delving into a nation ripped asunder by competing forces. Mazower's research is exhaustive and his art of story-telling is the perfect medium for relating the epic proportions of this relatively unknown chapter in the history of that war. For one who knew little of Greece's nightmarish occupation, Mazower held my attention from beginning to end. With so much to tell, the book is understandably dense. But as with anything of value, the effort is rewarded with unforgettable stories of treachery and bravery, quisling intrigues and patriotism, cruelty and the undying nature of the human spirit. Read it and weep!

A Battle With Adversity

A stunning and engrossing account of the affects of occupation upon indigenous populations of Greece. While it centered mostly on the political aspects; it also included an appreciative amount on how the individual was affected and what part the individual played. Equally impressive was the unbiased description of ELAS through its political beginnings to its battle with the British at the end of the occupation. A group whose political asperations may be questionable, yet still provided the youth of the time with hope agianst tyranny (a fact disregarded by many) and the opportunity to rebel agianst it. Overall, any one should read this book (regardless of background) as an important lesson in how war affects civilians and how the afflicted populous battle with not only a physical enemy but also with ethereal ones like adversity and hopelessness. One can learn much on the human condition through the history of the people within this book.

The most poignant and accurate picture of Greece during WWII

Every Greek of every political inclination must read this magnificently written book.There were times, such as reading the note of an unknown Greek Jew at Auschwitz-Birkinau saying farewell to his parea...and to his beloved fatherland Greece,which brought tears to my eyes.This engrossing book goes a long way in exposing many myths about the war years, including the recent apotheosis of Aris Velouxiotis- the "legendary" Kapetanios of the ELAS. He was,in fact, no "palikari"-but merely a psychotic,power-hungry murderer, no more and no less.I do not say this lightly for I am the son of a former ELAS fighter and this book confirms many of the things my father told me. One thing that it confirms is that we Greeks suffer from the disease of acute disunity.This book examines the consequences. Only in understanding the causes can we find a remedy to this disease which continues to plague us even today.I urge you all to read this book!