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- Title
Deutsch-griechischer Protest: Öffentliches Engagement gegen Griechenlands Diktatur in der Bundesrepublik (1967-1974).
- Authors
Bösch, Frank
- Abstract
The establishment of a dictatorship in Greece in 1967 triggered massive protests in the Federal Republic of Germany and widespread support for those persecuted under that rule. The article depicts how Greek migrants instigated this engagement. It shows how they joined forces with parts of the new left, investigative journalists, Amnesty International, trade unions, and social democrats to protest more forcefully than ever before against an anti-communist dictatorship. This ambition helped to overcome the logic of the Cold War, to promote human rights discourse and link it to concrete relief efforts. The reference to Nazism provided a legitimacy to demand intervention in Greece's sovereignty. To the Left in particular, Greece appeared a symbol of a threat to West German democracy and of a seemingly looming new fascism in Europe. The German government, and especially the German Foreign Office, tried in many ways to suppress the civil society protests and critical media reports so as not to jeopardize economic relations with Greece. Nevertheless, the protests had a strong impact on politics. They contributed to the suspension of state visits, the eventual limitation of EEC aid and military assistance, and the beginning of specific support for the Greek opposition.
- Subjects
GREECE; MILITARY assistance; VISITS of state; COLD War, 1945-1991; CIVIL society; SOVEREIGNTY; HUMAN rights; PUBLIC demonstrations
- Publication
Zeitschrift für Politik, 2022, Vol 69, Issue 3, p336
- ISSN
0044-3360
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.5771/0044-3360-2022-3-336