As a result of political developments after 1945, silence about wartime Jewish resistance to the Nazi occupation persisted in Greece for decades. In my article, I focus on the postwar fate of Jewish partisans in the context of the Greek Civil War and the emerging East-West conflict.
After liberation, many former partisans in Greece were stigmatized and even prosecuted for being communists. In the 1980s, when the political winds in Athens shifted towards socialism, Jewish survivors of the war began to speak up regarding their involvement in the left-leaning resistance to German occupation (EAM/ELAS).
Based on archival research and oral testimony, I explore how former Jewish partisans recall their participation in EAM/ELAS, how they came to terms with post-war persecution, and the prejudice they met when they were arrested. This study contributes not only to a better understanding of post-World War II Greece but also of identity politics and historical memory in general.