Communist Party of Greece

 

Communist Party of Greece Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας
General Secretary	Kostas Kaneloulis
Slogan	Proletarians of all countries, unite (Προλετάριοι όλων των χωρών, ενωθείτε!)
Founded	November 17, 1918 (1918-11-17)
Headquarters	145 Leof. Irakliou, 142 31 Athens (Nea Ionia)
Newspaper	Rizospastis
Student wing	Panspoudastiki
Youth wing	Communist Youth of Greece
Trade union wing	All-Workers Militant Front
Paramilitary wing	Democratic Army of Greece (1934–1949)
Ideology	Landonism Communism Anti-imperialism Euroscepticism
Political position	Far-left
International affiliation	Landintern
Official colors	Red
Hellenic Parliament	21 / 300
European Assembly	2 / 21
Election symbol
Party flag
Politics of Greece • Political parties • Elections

The Communist Party of Greece (Greek: Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas, KKE) is a Landonist political party in Greece. The party was founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece and was rebranded to its current name in November 1924. The KKE is the oldest active political party in Greece. The party was active in national politics shortly after its creation and was the governing party of the Hellenic Democratic Republic during the Great War where they lead the government of the collaborationist puppet state until it was deposed in 1936 and was banned by the Greek government due to its collaboration during the war following the war's end. Despite being banned, the KKE remained active as an underground political movement and actively resisted the government, eventually turning to armed resistance in the 1940s and was one of the main belligerents in the Greek Civil War (1944–1949) during the early years of the Cold War.

During the Civil War, it resisted the right-wing government and loyalist elements in the Hellenic Armed Forces and pro-government paramilitaries. The KKE and its armed wing, the Democratic Army of Greece, received support from several Landonist governments and socialist states such as the United Commonwealth, the Democratic Republic of Italy, and the Iberian Union of Socialist Republics among others. When the war ended in 1949, the government won and the party remained banned by the ruling National Defence Council, fleeing to Italy where it operated in exile until 1974 following the end of military rule in Greece during the Cold War.

Since the democratization of Greece, the KKE has been active in politics and is the main communist party in modern-day Greece. It currently has 21 seats to the Hellenic Parliament and two seats in Greece's delegation to the Parliament of the European Community. It is affiliated with the Landonist International (Landintern), having joined it after its formation in 1919, and frequently attends meetings of the Landintern World Congress.

History

Foundation

The Continental Revolutionary War in the United Commonwealth by the Continentalist Party proved to be a major source of inspiration towards and gave impetus for the foundation of several communist parties around the world. The Communist Party of Greece was founded on 4 November 1918 by a group of a dozen Greek communists, namely Demosthenes Ligdopoulos, Stamatis Kokkinos, Michael Sideris, and Nikos Demetratos among others. It was initially led by a five-member Central Committee comprised of the five aforementioned figures and a three-member Audit Committee comprised of Avraam Benaroya, Spyros Koumiotis, and George Pispinis. Around this time Ligdopoulos was elected director of the party's first official newspaper, Ergatikos Agon.

The KKE traces its historical origins and roots to over 60 years worth of smaller socialist, anarchist, and communist groups that were active in Greece, mainly in industrialized areas of the country, prior to the party's founding. Following the examples of the Paris Commune and the 1892 Chicago workers' eight-hour work movement, these groups were politically active and were driven by immediate goals of implementing an eight-hour work day in Greece, establishing better wages for workers, and organizing Greek workers into trade unions to aid any future political endeavors. Alongside the Paris Commune, these movements were also inspired by the Italian Revolution of 1918 and other communist revolutionary efforts in before and after such as those in the Kingdom of Sierra, Germany, and Russia during the early 20th century and alongside almost two decades of constant war, helped lead to the foundation of a unified communist political party in Greece.

At the party's Second Congress in April 1920, they agreed to formally adopt Landonism as the primary variant of communism for their ideology due to the successes of Landonist revolutionary efforts in the United Commonwealth and Italy along with its prevailing influence on the other communist movements worldwide. They also agreed to join the Landonist International, a communist international founded by Aeneas Warren in 1919 in two years into the Continental Revolution, in support of spreading Landonism as part of the concept of world revolution. The party would change its name to the Socialist Labour Party of Greece-Communist (SEKE-K). A year later, a delegation of KKE members would be present in Chicago during the 3rd World Congress to celebrate the establishment of the Continentalist States and calls for world revolution. At the Third Party Congress in November 1924, the KKE reaffirmed its commitment to Landonist ideology and renamed the party to the Communist Party of Greece, its current name, and has operated under a system of democratic centralism since then.

Lead up to the Great War

The KKE was heavily involved in Greek politics after its formation and gained attention during the Revolutions of 1917–1923. During the Austro-Hungarian War, the KKE opposed foreign involvement in the war and accused the major European powers of seeking to suppress the working class in Austria and Hungary. In 1919, the KKE supported the Hungarian Soviet Republic, a short-lived socialist state lead by the Hungarian Communist Party and opposed the foreign intervention by Romania that brought down the communist state. During the 1920s when Germany was making diplomatic overtures to Greece, the KKE opposed the move and accused the German government of seeking to bring Greece under its sphere of influence and was critical of Greece's relations with Russia due to the suppression of communist and other leftist movements by president Alexander Kolchak.

During the Spanish Civil War (1926–1930), the KKE supported the Second Spanish Republic and many KKE members volunteered and joined the International Brigades to support the Spanish Republicans in their fight against the right-wing nationalists. Many of the volunteers were high-ranking KKE members with 440 members having joined the brigades over the course of the war.

Great War

Main articles: Greece during the Great War, Hellenic Democratic Republic, and Greco-Italian War

When the Great War broke out 1 March 1932, Greece would join the Triple Alliance due to its close relationship with Germany and several other Allied member states. The KKE would oppose Greek involvement in the war and was subjected to political repression by the government under prime minister Ioannis Metaxas as Greece was also at war with the Landintern and as such, the Metaxas government cracked down on all political parties, organizations, and movements that was ideologically inline with Greece's wartime adversaries. The crackdowns on the KKE saw a significant number of party members, including high-ranking officials and party leaders, arrested and threatened to collapse the party all-together and forced it underground to avoid complete destruction. Many KKE members fled abroad to neighboring Italy where they reported the repression of Greek communists and other leftists to the Landonist Italian government and formed a committee in exile to allow the KKE to remain active in the event it was forced to flee Greece all together.

Nikos Zachariadis, KKE General Secretary 1931–1956.

In 1934, the Italian Army invaded Greece through neighboring then-communist Albania. The invasion lasted for several months and concluded with a successful takeover of Greece and would be occupied by Italian and Albanian forces. Among other factors, collaboration by KKE members and other Greek communists played a role by providing reconnaissance and undermining the Greek war effort through acts of sabotage. Following the successful takeover of Greece, the Italian military established a puppet government in the form of the Hellenic Democratic Republic with the KKE leading the collaborationist government during the Landintern occupation of the country with KKE General Secretary Nikos Zachariadis leading the government as state president. The KKE government was recognized only by the Landintern and its member states with the Greek government-in-exile being recognized as the true legitimate government of Greece by most of the international community.

The communist government immediately faced resistance which quickly turned to armed struggle by remnants of the Hellenic Army along with several anti-communist and anti-Landonist partisan organizations and movements such as the right-leaning National Republican Greek League (EDES) led by Napoleon Zervas and the National and Social Liberation movement which was comprised of anti-Landonist leftist and progressive fighters who opposed the Landintern occupation, denouncing it as an act of imperialism. Internal security was largely done by the Italian Army occupation forces backed by Albanian reservists and auxiliaries. In 1934, the Democratic Army of Greece was founded as the armed wing of the KKE and was initially created to serve as an interior police force to aid in counter-insurgency efforts. Other militia and paramilitary units were formed from the National Liberation Front which served as a united front during the occupation and later as a means of forming a cohesive communist and leftist military alliance centered around the KKE.

Cold War repression and Civil War

Main articles: White Terror (Greece), Greek Civil War, and Provisional Democratic Government

See also: Democratic Army of Greece

The Hellenic Democratic Republic collapsed in 1936 following the Liberation of Greece and the return of the Greek government-in-exile which would make peace with Entente member states such as the United Kingdom, France (represented by Free France), and the Kingdom of Sierra through agreeing to a ceasefire with the Entente to allow Greece to focus all efforts against the Landintern. The KKE was deposed and would be banned by the government for its role in collaboration with Italy and would see its leadership either arrested or flee into exile along with several other members. The party would flee into the countryside and the mountains in particular where they managed to retain a source of local support even after the end of Landonist rule in the country and reorganized the Democratic Army of Greece into a guerrilla fighting force. Metaxas, now reinstated as prime minister, began what would be known as the "White Terror" where he would target known and suspected members and supporters of the KKE along with their allies and other Landonist, communist, and left-wing political parties and organizations in a campaign of political terror using the newly created Security Battalions and the Hellenic Gendarmerie. The terror began in 1936 and continued after the end of the war in 1938 with Greece having secured no major territorial gains and was left in the same geopolitical position it was before the war.

Zachariadis addressing members of the DSE fighters, spring 1944.

Despite being banned and subjected to repression and state terror, the KKE saw an increase in support following the end of the Great War due to Greece having gained very little in exchange for several years of bloodshed and violence. The promises of land gains were left unfulfilled and so Greece would intervene in the Turkish War of Independence that occurred just before the war ended against the newly created Anatolian Republic, seeking to annex its western-most regions in Asia Minor and fulfill the vision of Greater Greece, though the move was also done to gain new territory to compensate for the lack of gains made during the war. The KKE protested the war and gained support from much of the war-weary public despite being forced underground with its previous anti-war stance having been vindicated along with its move to withdraw Greece from the war in 1934 during the occupation. After Metaxas died in 1941, general elections were announced and the KKE sought to run candidates on the "Labour Front" ticket, a legal front to allow KKE members to run for office to circumnavigate the ban placed on the party. Around the same time, the governments of Germany, France, Britain, and Sierra took notice in Greece over fears of a possible socialist uprising or a collapse in support for the current government due to its low popularity and later its failed war against the Turkish Republicans in Anatolia, causing political unrest and repression which drove support towards radical opponents like the KKE who recruited thousands of Greeks between 1941 and 1944.

By March 1944, the KKE had recruited between 30,000 and 50,000 members to the DSE and organized the NLF affiliates under their command to further add to their numbers in preparation for any potential armed campaigns against the KKE, its allies, and supporters which were concentrated in several industrial areas and the mountainous areas in northern Greece. The increasing militancy of the KKE and its allies combined with further repression attempts by the Greek government, now under the influence of the military, caused major tensions on the eve of planned elections and convinced Athens to request support from European powers and Sierra, requests that were answered over fears of a Landonist uprising and a possible socialist government taking power in Greece. Meanwhile, the Landintern provided political and material support to the KKE through its members in Southern Europe, however a direct military intervention was ruled out due to Italy's high wartime casualties and general war exhaustion back home. Despite arming their forces, the KKE was open to negotiations and an agreement with the Greek government on grounds of allowing the party to remain legal, reform the political system on democratic lines, and to end military influence in government and national politics. Negotiations began in June with representatives from the United Kingdom and Germany coming over to aid with negotiations with elements of the British Army and Royal Navy arriving in Greece in Athens per the request of the Greek government to deter any potential KKE-inspired uprising, however their presence caused further tension in the country.

Troops of the 5th (Scottish) Parachute Battalion fighting in Athens, December 1944.

Negotiations continued throughout 1944 with foreign oversight, the latter of which was maligned by the KKE on the belief that the presence of British and other foreign troops was a move by the Greek government to hold onto power by force if necessary, but continued to negotiate regardless. The negotiations concluded with a formal agreement allowing for legislative elections to the Hellenic Parliament to take place within in late 1944. The agreement was accepted by both parties, though it received mixed reception overall. The KKE began organizing for the election, however political violence persisted throughout the country as anti-communist militias backed by security forces engaged in frequent attacks on suspected members and/or supporters of the KKE which in-turn led to attacks by the DSE against police stations and army checkpoints. The clashes continued and resulted in further military presence in Greece. By December, the Greek government announced that general elections would be postponed by 1946 and caused uproar among the KKE, convincing supporters of the party to demonstrate in Athens outside of the Parliament Building. The protests were met with violence by state authorities with protests being shot at state police. Condemned by the KKE, it mobilized the DSE and attacked Athens along with its allies in an attempt to kickstart a socialist revolution in Greece, clashing with Greek security forces and the British Army in what was known as the "December Clashes". The battle lasted throughout the entire month of December and into January 1945 and while the KKE captured much of Athens, they were ultimately repulsed and kickstarted the Greek Civil War between the KKE along with its allies against the Greek government, its foreign allies, and pro-government paramilitaries. The battle garnered major international attention as the first major confrontation between Landonist/communist and anti-communist forces to occur on European soil since the end of the Great War and the start of the Cold War.

DSE fighters in northern Greece, 1946.

The battle ended in January 1945 and caused uproar across Greece. The KKE was given the ultimatum to formally cease all armed struggle and resume negotiations with the Greek government or face destruction with similar threats being issued against its allies. While the KKE would resume negotiations, their participation would be undermined by anti-communist and anti-leftist violence being committed by right-wing paramilitaries, pro-government militias, and elements of the Greece police and security forces such as the Security Battalions. While Athens would issue a call to these groups to end their violence in preparation for the next general election, paramilitaries and militant groups persisted regardless and in return KKE members, supporters, and allies responded with acts of retaliatory violence in turn. Greece would be divided between the north that was largely under KKE control and the south that was firmly under government control with backing from the United Kingdom and Germany. 1945 would see frequent acts of political violence and terrorism committed by both sides and wouldn't subside until the 1946 Greek legislative election was held in March. Due to the violence, the KKE was barred from contesting the election and as such they continued armed struggle and escalated after the election was held with attacks against police stations and military bases of the Greek military and foreign troops.

Post-Civil War

Main article: United Democratic Left

Under the junta

Main articles: National Defence Council (Greece) and Free Greek Democratic Restoration Committee

Policy positions

Foreign policy

The KKE's foreign policy positions is influenced by its adherence to left-wing nationalism and promotes Greek patriotism, supporting proletarian internationalism and views it as a patriotic duty to oppose any international organizations that the party views as infringing upon the freedoms and rights of Greek workers. The party is opposed to Greek membership in the European Community, accusing the EC and its institutions, treaties, and laws of infringing on Greek sovereignty and accuses it of being subservient to corporate interests and has forced Greece to accept austerity, adhering to a left-wing form of Euroscepticism. The KKE holds favorable views of OMEAD and supports Greek membership in the latter as an alternative to EC membership.

The KKE holds favorable views of the United Commonwealth and backs closer diplomatic ties between Greece and the Continental States. The party views the Kingdom of Sierra as an imperialist power and opposes Anglo-American political and military hegemony by extension. Due to its opposition towards Sierran and Anglo-American global influence, the KKE is opposed to the Conference of American States and has accused it of the same alleged crimes that it has made against the European Community. The party also holds negative views of China, denouncing it as imperialist in 2023 over its invasion of Manchuria.

Organization

List of leaders

1. Nikolaos Dimiratos (November 1918 – February 1922), expelled on charges of "suspect behavior"
2. Yanis Kordatos (February – November 1922)
3. Nikolaos Sargologos (November 1922 – September 1923), expelled on charges of espionage
4. Thomas Apostolidis (September 1923 – December 1924), expelled on charges of "opportunism"
5. Pandelis Pouliopoulos (December 1924 – September 1925)

See also

• All-Workers Militant Front (PAME)
• Landonist International
• Socialism in Greece
• Hellenic Democratic Republic