Papers by Polymeris Voglis
Cultural and Social History, 2011
ABSTRACT This article addresses the question of political violence and focuses on opposition grou... more ABSTRACT This article addresses the question of political violence and focuses on opposition groups during the military dictatorship in Greece (1967–74). It examines the diverse ideas about the use of violence among the opposition circles in Greece and abroad in order to place the political violence in its specific historical context and highlight their differences from their Western European counterparts. Also, using interviews of activists from several opposition groups, the article discusses how they frame their experience from the 1960s and lend legitimacy to their past actions.
Seeking Peace in the Wake of War, 2016
As the Second World War drew to a close, it was evident that Greece would have to rely on foreign... more As the Second World War drew to a close, it was evident that Greece would have to rely on foreign aid for its survival. Already during the Nazi occupation, the city dwellers were dependent on International Red Cross food imports. After a disastrous famine in the winter of 1941-1942 that claimed the lives of 45,000 people in Athens and Piraeus, the Allies lifted the naval blockade and, from September 1942 until the liberation of the country, 15,000 tons of grain and 3,000 tons of other foodstuffs were unloaded in Greek ports every month. In November 1943, the governor of the Bank of Greece, Kyriakos Varvaressos, prepared a memorandum on behalf of the Greek government in exile for the newly established United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), in which he outlined the structural economic problems of Greece and the havoc that Nazi occupation had wrought. He foresaw that 'a large section of the Greek population would have to rely entirely on imports for the satisfaction of its needs'. 1 This is what exactly happened with UNRRA aid in the immediate postwar years. In fact, it was not only the population that was dependent on foreign relief aid, but also the state that was dependent on foreign economic assistance. Greece was among the major recipients of foreign aid after the end of the Second World War. In 1952, Varvaressos submitted another report to the Greek government, in which he estimated that postwar economic aid to Greece had reached $2 billion. Despite this enormous amount, he concluded that Greece 'is and will remain a poor country with limited economic potentialities' and singled out the economic dependence of Greece on US economic aid as a major source of concern. 2 In this chapter, I will examine the economic and social problems that Greece faced after the end of the war in order to address two questions. The first concerns the relation between relief aid and the reconstitution of government authority, i.e. to what extent did the distribution of relief
Local Dimensions of the Second World War in Southeastern Europe, 2019
Journal of Contemporary History, 2005
Cirugía Plástica Ibero-Latinoamericana, 2018
Introducción y Objetivo. Las grandes deformidades abdominales o las secuelas abdominales quirúrgi... more Introducción y Objetivo. Las grandes deformidades abdominales o las secuelas abdominales quirúrgicas desafían la maestría y la técnica del cirujano. Las dificultades que se abordan en estos pacientes están causadas principalmente por déficit de tejido cutáneo en la región abdominal debido a múltiples cicatrices, adherencias, retracciones, lesiones traumáticas e iatrogénicas. Este trabajo muestra diferentes enfoques para clasificar y gestionar con éxito algunos de estos casos difíciles manteniendo un componente estético. Material y Método. Revisamos las deformidades abdominales complejas presentando 3 casos seguidos durante toda su evolución, que ayudan a ejemplificar su abordaje práctico y su tratamiento. Resultados. La cirugía estética abdominal necesita un enfoque global en relación al contorno corporal. La clasificación de la deformidad de pared de las abdominoplastias complejas comprende una categorización anatómica, dividiendo el abdomen en inferior, medio y superior, con o sin exceso de piel, y facilita el tratamiento quirúrgico subsiguiente. Las técnicas quirúrgicas tienen diferentes enfoques para tratar toda la zona toracoabdominal logrando la reconstrucción de la pared abdominal con un mejor resultado del contorno corporal del paciente. Estos procedimientos incluyen técnicas de expansión tisular, reposicionamiento umbilical, abdominoplastias secundarias, abdominoplastias medianas y abdominoplastias reversas. Conclusiones. Nuestro planteamiento permite tratar abdómenes complejos a través de un manejo diferente, modificando las estrategias de abordaje y conservando los conceptos básicos para alcanzar el resultado armónico y estético deseado. Proponemos que los cirujanos deben separarse de los enfoques quirúrgicos establecidos, para incorporar otras alternativas.
Journal of Contemporary History, 2017
'concerns that unrestrained universal humanity might imperil British interests' (p. 97). This bal... more 'concerns that unrestrained universal humanity might imperil British interests' (p. 97). This balancing act between British strategic interests and lofty ideals of universal humanitarian principles is a key theme running through the book, and becomes particularly critically important in Chapter 5, which examines the ICRC approach to the British policy of blockade, in regard to Germany and also Axis-occupied areas such as Greece. The British became gradually more receptive to ICRC's wishes to provide humanitarian relief to civilians caught up in blockaded regions, although the government was always concerned that the ICRC was operating beyond its own capabilities (and, often, that the ICRC was a threat to British military strategy itself). This came to a head both with the 1942-3 'Shackling Crisis' and the 1943 Katyn Affair, when the British government believed that the ICRC was biased towards Germany-or, at least, unduly harsh in its critique of the Allied powers. The final chapter in the book explores the end of the war and the way in which the ICRC was sidelined in official relief efforts in favour of the newly-created UNRRA (known colloquially within ICRC circles as 'You Never Really Relieved Anybody' (p. 184))-the ICRC was excluded 'from both the postwar relief effort and. .. attempts to build a new, more stable and peaceful world order' (p. 195). However, as Crossland makes clear in the conclusion, the ICRC still managed to expand 'in both ambition and operational purview' during the Second World War (p. 196). This book is a valuable text both for its detailed analysis of the ICRC and its connections with the British government during the Second World War, and for its broader approach, which focuses on logistics and coordination as well as the ethical dilemmas and dominant personalities of the ICRC during this time. Humanitarian history can, at times, get caught up in stories of individuals 'doing good' overseas; histories like this, which prioritize the practicalities, the policies and the finances of humanitarian intervention help to provide important ballast.
Südosteuropa, 2017
This article is a presentation and assessment of Greek historiography and public memory regarding... more This article is a presentation and assessment of Greek historiography and public memory regarding the period of occupation, resistance, and civil war during the 1940s. It examines historical production and culture from the first postwar years until 1989 and explains the relation between the changing visions of the past and political developments in Greece. In addition, the article evaluates works published after 2000, in order to discuss new questions that were raised and the ensuing debates. The article concludes by addressing themes that can revitalize the study of the 1940s, regarding the analytical framework, the territorial and social dimension, the notion of state and governmentality, and the issue of memory and public history.
After the War Was Over, 2001
Defence date: 28 May 1999Examining Board: Prof. Antonis Liakos, University of Athens ; Prof. Mark... more Defence date: 28 May 1999Examining Board: Prof. Antonis Liakos, University of Athens ; Prof. Mark Mazower, Princeton University ; Prof. Luisa Passerini, EUI (supervisor) ; Prof. Bo Stråth, EUIPDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digitised archive of EUI PhD theses completed between 2013 and 2017Voglis examines the relationship between the specific subject of political prisoners, and certain practices of punishment in the context of a polarization that led to civil war in Greece from 1946 to 1949. He asks what impact an exceptional situation, such as a civil war, has on practices of punishment; how the category of political prisoners is constructed; how a social and political subject is made; and how political prisoners experienced their internment
Historein, 2015
Book review of Kostis Kornetis, Children of the Dictatorship: Student Resistance, Cultural Politi... more Book review of Kostis Kornetis, Children of the Dictatorship: Student Resistance, Cultural Politics and the 'Long 1960s' in Greece, New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2013. 373 pp.
The essays of this volume were presented at a workshop held at the European University significan... more The essays of this volume were presented at a workshop held at the European University significance. At the discussion on that occasion, the role of gender had emerged as a central component in the production of historical work and the need was felt to continue the discussion. Therefore this workshop was organized.
This book aims to fill a gap in the social scientific literature on the current European economic... more This book aims to fill a gap in the social scientific literature on the current European economic and social ‘crisis’ by offering a pluridisciplinary critical perspective and an in-depth analysis (historical, sociological, political etc.) of the Greek depression and its implications for the rest of the European Union. The starting assumption which guides the various contributions by many young and innovative Greek scholars that were gathered for this volume is that Greece became the laboratory of a time compressed experiment in social change and state transformation that, to varying degrees, has been applied to all of the so called European periphery. Examining the transformation at transnational, international and national levels, it shows how the country’s specific historic trajectory, notably its late insertion in the capitalist economy, its shallow democratic roots and a history of authoritarian state formation made the country particularly vulnerable to asymmetric governance in...
HISTOREIN, 2013
The article examines and discusses the literature on social revolutions since the 1960s
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Papers by Polymeris Voglis