[Gletkin]

We all know that during the notorious Molotov-Ribbentrop era, the "official" Communist parties the world over dropped their explicit opposition to the Axis and terminated the "Popular Front" policy. The sole exception for whatever reason was China (a pretty big exception too, given China's size).

But apparently, China was not alone. When Italy attacked Greece that country's Communist Party urged a national front against the Axis invaders..in 1940.
No way would this have happened without Stalin's approval (at least tacitly). I wonder what made Stalin decide that China and Greece should be exempted from the MRP? Too geostrategically important?

[Smilin' Dave]

I could be wrong but in the early 1940s neither the Greek nor Chinese Communist party had strong connections with the Soviets. In the case of China the Soviets had generally backed the KMT over the CCP given the option and from memory the Greek Communist party was considered to be more pro-Trotsky. So it's possible that Stalin 'allowed' this because he didn't have any say/pull in the matter.

[Potemkin]

I could be wrong but in the early 1940s neither the Greek nor Chinese Communist party had strong connections with the Soviets. In the case of China the Soviets had generally backed the KMT over the CCP given the option and from memory the Greek Communist party was considered to be more pro-Trotsky. So it's possible that Stalin 'allowed' this because he didn't have any say/pull in the matter.

I think that's right. After the debacle of 1927, the Chinese Communists basically stopped listening to the Soviets, and the Greek Communists launched their Civil War against the direct wishes of Stalin, which is why Stalin offered them no real support and allowed them to be crushed.

[Anothroskon]

The Greco-Italian war lasted from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. From 6 April 1941 Nazi Germany also invaded Greece. Germany invaded the USSR sometime later than that, June 1941 I think.

Zachariadis wrote two more open letters one in 26 November 1940 and one in 1 January 1941. In the second he calls on Greeks to abstain from taking part in the wider conflict and seek the mediation of the USSR to sign a peace treaty with the Italians. In the third the reiterates this call and crucially calls the Greco-Italian war a fascist war and a war of conquest on the part of Greece (which had pushed Italian forces deep within the Italian protectorate of Albania). For some reason the Metaxas regime chose not to give the same publicity to these last two letters.

The third letter in particular is more directed against the wing of the KKE that wanted to support the Metaxas government in its war. So there was a deep schism with some Communists propounding a more patriotic viewpoint, which Zachariadis calls “socialpatriotic” and the USSR-devoted hardliners. Today the KKE is a bastion of such “socialpatriotism” which it somehow manages to combine with hardline devotion to Stalin and the USSR.

Letters in Greek
2nd letter
3rd letter

[Efstratios]

These communist political parties in Greece, like SYRIZA, KKE (the main, big one) etc. In the past, they were one, but in the civil war, they had no connection with the Soviets whatsoever. These Greek Communist parties allied with out modern-day enemies, the Vardaskans (Skops). Basically the Greek communists weren't with Stalin, they were with Tito.

Greece remained neutral during the conflict, but Mussolinni wanted to attack Greece, but Adolf Hitler wanted an Alliance with the Greeks, being inspired by Ancient Greece himself, though without Hitler knowing, Mussolinni made plans to attack Greece but failed to due..well..he didn't really have a strategy...soldiers were poorly trained, no battle tactics etc.

Eventually Hitler had to aid Mussolinni as it pretty much was an EPIC FAIL moment and I bet Hitler was pretty pissed of at the wanna be Nazi Italian.

If Ioannis Metaxas, never said "Ohi" (Greek word for "no") then Greece would have been invaded by the Italians and Soviet Union would have been destroyed, because this little war had delayed the invasion of the Soviet Union by up to 6 weeks, giving them enough time to prepare. If Greece didn't fight, Soviet Union would have fell to Nazi Germany. And they would pretty much be owning the world right now

[pugsville]

"little war had delayed the invasion of the Soviet Union by up to 6 weeks, giving them enough time to prepare"

the important factor was good weather time, I'm not up with the weather in russia/poland/urkriane in the 6 weeks before june 22, I'd check that out before saying just coz yugo/greece took 6 weeks it delayed the invasion 6weeks (it might have been 2 or 4 weeks or nothing as june 22 might have been the optimal time to go). But the soviet unprepardness was a matter of doctrine, posture and stalins pig headedness, I seriously doubt the 6 extra weeks were used in any meaningful way.

[Smilin' Dave]

I bet Hitler was pretty pissed of at the wanna be Nazi Italian.

Actually Mussolini's fascism pre-dated Hitler's Nazism. Hitler recognised this, which probably explains his benign attitude to Mussolini's bungling (Greece, North Africa and finally when Mussolini got thrown out).

because this little war had delayed the invasion of the Soviet Union by up to 6 weeks, giving them enough time to prepare.

- The delay for the Germans was actually caused by late seasonal rains and some logistical difficulties.
- The diverted German troops were not decisive. They all belonged to Army Group South, which didn't have a decisive role in the resolution of the battles of 1941. That falls to North and Centre. You could even argue the the southern troops benefited from the combat experience.
- Mussolini justified his war claiming that British ships and planes were using Greece as a staging point. This might actually be accurate, in which case an attack on Greece might have been inevitable.
- I can't imagine those six weeks were significant to Soviet preparations since most of the Soviet units were destroyed on the border early in the conflict. Never mind the build up started in 1940.

[Gletkin]

I could be wrong but in the early 1940s neither the Greek nor Chinese Communist party had strong connections with the Soviets. In the case of China the Soviets had generally backed the KMT over the CCP given the option and from memory the Greek Communist party was considered to be more pro-Trotsky. So it's possible that Stalin 'allowed' this because he didn't have any say/pull in the matter.

I think that's right. After the debacle of 1927, the Chinese Communists basically stopped listening to the Soviets, and the Greek Communists launched their Civil War against the direct wishes of Stalin, which is why Stalin offered them no real support and allowed them to be crushed.

Forgot all about this thread!
Anyway, but the author of the document was Nikos Zachariadis, who definately was Stalin's man in the KKE.
If Zachariadis really was as independent as claimed here, he would've been purged along with what's-his-name...Markos Vafiadis.

[Smilin' Dave]

If Zachariadis really was as independent as claimed here, he would've been purged along with what's-his-name...Markos Vafiadis.

I'm not familiar with the author, but perhaps he did this without Soviet prior approval, probably falsely believing it would be approved of later, and that he might be rewarded for his initiative. Thus he annoys Stalin and his non-Stalinist associates. So perhaps the author's allegiance doesn't necessarily disprove the theory.

[Gletkin]

Acting without prior approval?
People had been purged for less!