The Civil War in Greece and Relations with Albania According to the Communist Press During 1948 – 1949

The Albanian State after the phase of liberation from the Nazi-fascist invaders, by the end of 1944, finds itself completely ruled by the communist regime. For a period of 15 years, up to the beginning of the 1960s, the communist ideology, seen from the today perspective, would be somewhere between a rigid communist doctrine and naivety. The first phase of the World War II, found the Balkans in a severe instability. This was due to an impact that the collision of the two doctrines caused, in this very important geopolitical zone.

On one side, it is Yugoslavia, which after World War II started its life under the satellite soviet doctrine, but within 5 years, moved its eyes upon the democratic west. On the other side, it is Greece, which was trying at any cost, with all its forces and with the help of the western democratic states not to fall into the clutches of the soviet communism.

Meanwhile, Albania, which had a week diplomacy, presented itself as calm and as having no doubts within the radical soviet doctrine, the Stalinist one.

The Civil War in Greece, through national Greek forces and the communist ones, had an impact upon both the above mentioned states. The biggest impact was on Albania. The war on its start, had a small impact on the Albanian territory. However, since 1948, we started positioning ourselves on the side of the Greek Democratic Army, the communist group inside Greece. The press of the time, was one of the best ways to spread propaganda. The newspapers and magazines of the time played an important law in the widespread of propaganda all over the place. Even though the number of the newspapers and magazines was not significant, it played its role till the end.

In some cases it is presented as very important the description on detail of all the declarations and winning of the Greek Democratic Army, against the national one. Several big successes were declared from the GDA, for its increase in number, and that it already numbered thousands attacks.¹ In addition to this, there are several other articles where it is stated that the communists in Greece seek to set peace, and their hearts hurt when innocent Greeks are killed.²

Such articles are contrary to each other. This due to the fact that, first they talk about the success that the GDA has achieved through its attacks, and on the other side they were hurt from the death of the Greeks. If this was true, and they were really touched from the deaths of innocent Greeks, then there would not be any attacks from them and no pride, as the communist army had increased to 20 000 solders. Such declarations were published to show to the people that communism was compassionate, that communism was for the people, but the capitalist attacks made it lose itself.

The worst of all came from the collaboration that existed with the western imperials, Athens.³ Actually, this ideology and propaganda was with the purpose of frightening the common people, that part of the society that did not understand anything about the foreign policy, by presenting the West in its most terrifying form. The appreciation for the communist group reach such a peak as to state that their fight was for independence.⁴ However, the Albanian press, strictly controlled from the politics of the time, never had the purpose or courage to tell the Albanian people that when a grouping of a country fights against another grouping of the same country is called a civil war. The interference of Albania in such a war was not acceptable.

However, the press of the time acted the other way round. It published articles about a certain support that was given from different groups around the world to the Greek communism. Such articles were written from student groups in London who protested in the Greek Embassy there,⁵ up to the American Council of the Greek War, which sent to the UNO a petition, to stop the supply with weaponry the National Greek Army.⁶ Such propaganda articles had a special impact on our country, supporting communism in Greece, for the fact that the ones to blame for this war were the USA and Great Britain. This meant that people, common people, just like the terminology of the time, was pro communism, that is why we were on the right track to support it, as the whole world was doing so.⁷ Belarus,⁸ as part of the democratic popular camp, had even demanded the termination of attacks on the Greek communists, a fact that enforced the idea that the entire communist camp was with the Greek communism.

Greek communism was seen as victorious against the Americans, who were suppling with weaponry the monarch-fascist army, known as the Greek National Army. They were even opposed from the American people. At the same time, they were suffering losses from the Greek Democratic Army, which not rarely shot the airplanes,⁹ that is why the Americans had a difficult time in dealing with the Greek communism.¹⁰ However, despite the sporadic success of the Greek communism, at the start of 1949, it couldn’t compare with the Americans, as there was a big difference in the strategic zones that each held. If communists held under control lot of villages but poor villages, the American army in collaboration with the Greek national army, they possessed the most important cities, including Athens.¹¹

This war was seen as very important in Albania, especially during these two years. Strikes were frequently held from social groupings in different places, supporting Greek communism. Such rallies organized from women,¹² or the youth, were more like a propaganda as to connect our country with this war. This due to the fact that such rallies, in such a small place like our Albania, and not part of the UNO, had an almost zero impact. This support, that actually was not just a moral but for real, was causing problems with Greece. These problems tend to aggravate to such a point as causing delays in predicting the end of the war, during 1948-1949. Accusations that the Albanians were helping the Greek Democratic Army, tend to increase,¹³ a fact that led to the prolongation of the war. It was frequently revealed the fact that rebel groups, known as GDA in West, entered the Albanian territory, got remobilized and started the war again.¹⁴ Albanian was presented as very interested in supporting the establishment of the Greek communism,¹⁵ and this was used for two reasons. Firstly, to have an open path to communism, especially after 1949, a time when the separation from Yugoslavia was finalized. Secondly, to eliminate a part of the political opponents, who could no longer be called filo-Yugoslavian but were now called filo-Greek.¹⁶

Because of the fact that we were inside the civil war, and at the same time the communist doctrine considered war as an important means to achieve victory, a special importance was also given to the propaganda supporting the Greek Democratic Army. The thing you can easily notice is the idea that this army is invincible, which was seen under the eye of victory and never defeat. The important thing for us was to tell about it, its anniversaries,¹⁷ as well as its six months balance sheets, and present them as successes.¹⁸ Such achievements which were presented from the surveys of the local civil activities, that actually damages Greece, up to the killing of 50 000 Greeks, for us were complete successes. In fact, this was a way to justify ourselves within our country, in front of all the accusations from the world during these two years. Since mid-1948, The Department of the American State, accused Albania as being the supplier with weaponry of the GDA.¹⁹ This had started to change the plans of the Americans for the war in Greece, up to the point that they had started to plan a small intervention, but without putting at risk the Albanian zone of Prespa.²⁰ The same thing continued even in the following year, when the supply was intensified and it was assumed that 11 000 Greeks were helped from Albania and Bulgaria, where the biggest part was covered from Albania.²¹ Hence, the presentation of GDA as victorious in the Albanian press, was an excuse in front of the Albanian headquarters as well as a part of the people who were aware of it.

Everything was done based on the framework of the communist ideology, a hybrid ideology in between naivety and Stalinism. Enver Hoxha, head of the Albanian Communist Party, during a meeting of reconciliation between the Greek communists and the Albanian ones, in 1950, accused the Greek communist leadership that had sabotaged the communist doctrine, creating in this way a truce with the monarch-fascist.²² Such act was also supported from Stalin. This tells us a lot about the differences between the two forms of communism, the Greek and the Albanian one, where the former under the pressure of the outsiders and not willing to destroy its country, was retreated, whereas the latter one, for the sake of the ideology, “advised” the destruction of its country.

A much used form in the Albanian press, to spread propaganda on the humane side of the Greek communism, was the presentation of crimes and injustices that were committed against it. In many articles during these two years, was presented the great concern that the Greek communists had, because the so-called monarch-fascists, that meant Athens government and army, were destroying the country. However, the people accepted anything, except deprivation of freedom.²³ Likewise, massacres were huge in number, like in Peloponnese where 5000 people were imprisoned,²⁴ or the turning of the agricultural lands into deserts as in Karadievi.²⁵

During these war, there occurred huge destructions in lands, buildings, and people, and this was noticed worldwide. With the consent of the Americans, Napalm was used from the Greek National Army, in Gramoz, during the fighting.²⁶ Still, what you can notice is that you cannot be that subjective, besides in cases of a damaging propaganda. It was never mentioned the number of the massacres committed from the Greek communists, the number of the casualties or destructions. However, these were not left unsaid, but they were seen from another point of view. Each destruction and murder from the communists, was a victory to communisms, as I mentioned above.

Another element that was seen as unfair from the Athens activities, were the trials and imprisonments against the syndicalist and communists. The inclusion of both these categories into one, meant indirectly that syndicalism in Greece had been turned into a communist tool. However, our propaganda talked about cruel sentences, medieval treatments to the prisoners as well as in trials.²⁷ Such actions, is needed to be emphasized, were condemned from the entire world.²⁸ Nevertheless, it was never mentioned which states were they, as the world was divided into two separate blocks from the ideological fence, and all the states of that time were separated and supported the two camps mentioned above. But a part of the accusations from our propaganda, were true, for the fact that Greece while trying to avoid the spread of communism, exercised terror against the accused by trying to make an example out of them, an example of fear in the part that was not involved in the Greek communism. This action was not humane, but considering that communists were Machiavellian, this action was the same side of the coin, but on the opponents wing.

In addition to this, huge propaganda was published in the press of the time about the murder of Manolis Gleso, chief editor of the Rizospastis newspaper, a left newspaper in Greece. He had been involved, since the first years of the Italian invasion, in the communist groups,²⁹ and is held as a symbol of Greek communism in Greece from the Greek communists. Likewise, the sentence to death of the 38 syndicalist made big news in our press. There was also published a letter that was sent to Stalin from the relatives of the sentenced syndicalist, requesting to intervene in the UNO,³⁰ but they were still executed. In fact, the idea of publishing it was for a support that Stalin was assumed to give to Greek communism, but this never happened. This told a lot about the Greek communists, but above all about the Albanian ones, as the latter saw Stalin as the inspiration of the Balkans communism. However, the important thing was the distraction from the truth, and the accusation that the Greek courts were in the hands of the Americans, who ordered the death of the communists.³¹

The Albanian press propaganda was not just a support or protection of the Greek communism, as it often held the offensive position, mainly towards the Greek government. The Greek government was accused of not being able to create its own government,³² and in most of the cases this came as a result of not being able to divide the posts and profits from ministry posts.³³ All of this came as a result of the articles that were presented, from the collaboration it had with the foreigners. The ones who have blocked the Greeks from creating a government, were the Americans.³⁴ Based on this press, most English people were accusing USA as well as Britain itself for the massacres that were happening in Greece. The purpose of this propaganda was to show the country the need for an internal collaboration, especially with the communists, and not with foreign states, in particular if they were imperialists. Such a policy was to tell the Albanians how bad the American policy was, if they were searching for a collaboration with it. That kind of mentality would cause more problems to our country, which turned into an isolated one, rather than to Greece which had collaborated with the West before.

It is very noticeable the terminology used by the Albanian press of the time, in relation to the Athens government, which was supported from the Anglo-Americans. If for the West, this government and its army were known as the Greek National Army, for the communist press of our country, it was known as monarch-fascist. By using this style, they were aiming at creating two elements. First, the idea of monarchism in Greece, which as a concept, even though Communism was an absolute monarchy, it did not accept governance from one king. Whereas, the fascist idea, was an accusation towards the Greek government of the time. A lot of articles talk about collaboration, or freedom of a lot of fascist collaborators. Collaborators of fascism were freed,³⁵ at the same time, laws were passed to set free the quisling ministers during the German invasion³⁶, and during this time reporters who were pro communism were killed and the people tortured. However, the target of the Albanian communist state of the time, was also somewhere else. For as long as Greece accused us as collaborators of the Italians during the invasion of Greece, and had the aw of War with us, this exactly was our purpose, by accusing Greeks as fascists, we were creating a counterattack towards them, by telling them that they are the fascists. And secondly, by calling bad names to the Greek fascist phenomenon, was made clear the idea that the Albanian communism had nothing to do with fascism, it even hated it and was distanced.

We tried to present our ideas as being in the same linage with the articles of the foreign press, which saw the Athens politic as a threat to Balkans. But these were weak articles to be able to change the psychology of the Balkan people.

However, our press was not always offensive, as there were several times when it turned defensive. This mainly for the fact that Greece, in its press, accused Albania for defending and supporting communism. The interesting thing is that Albania never had the courage, not even indirectly, to admit that it was defending and helping Greek communism. On the contrary, in the official declarations of the Albanian Telegraphic Agency, it was declared that this was just defamation, that each and every element that entered our country was neutralized, sent to the collection areas, after being disarmed.³⁷

It was not only the Greek press that expressed itself in this way, but UNSCOB, the British Parliament, and the Foreign Affairs Department of USA, talked about the same thing. In the Albanian press, there were articles in the form of research, where declarations such as Greece had intended to attack Albania, as seeing them with the same political style for decades towards the Albanian State.³⁸ Such elements, cannot be taken as accurate, but the chosen way in between the influence and help of the communist side, did not mean that attacking was the right choice to defend yourself. First of all, because you didn’t show credibility, due to the facts, and second, attacks with the purpose to defend, were not necessary in that period of instability.

On the other side, the Albanian communism knew that Athens didn’t want or better say, was not allowed to invade Albania. This gave much security to Enver Hoxha, and allowed him freedom of speech to spread propaganda, without being in turn attacked from Greeks. He admitted that the Greek attacks during August 1949, were with a tactic purpose. Such a tactic which was aiming at using the Albanian land, in Gramoz Mountain, and attacking the Greek communists from behind.³⁹ It is also admitted that the people who stopped this from happening were the Anglo-Americans. In a press where the censure control was very high, this declaration was very strong. By trying to show that the Greeks had intended to attack, in a naïve way, they admit that it was the Anglo-Americans who saved Albania from the Greek attacks.

A strong and constant accusation from Athens was the fact that Albania helped the Greek communism. This help had become a problem in 1948, in the British Parliament, as well as the American politics, in relation to the civil war in Greece. In Britain, Albania was directly accused as helping the Greek communist, together with Yugoslavia and Bulgaria.⁴⁰ This statement was also supported from the political reports of the Americans, that not only did the Greek communist guerrilla use the territory, but they also were helped in the material aspect.⁴¹ The British as well as the Americans were not speaking in vain, as since the settlement of UNSCOB in Greece, the first center, from the all five in the Greek territory, was in Epirus, with two zones in Kostur and Janine.⁴² This meant that the observations were fully based since 1948, for this zone, which was seen from the Guerrilla as a replenishment point of primary importance. In the American press frequently appeared articles that wrote about the free entrance of the Greek communist soldiers.⁴³ Likewise, the foreign affairs minister of the Athens government, Tsaldaris, had complained into the UNO via a telegram, by expressing among other things that Albania had reached an unprecedented level of helping the Greek communists.⁴⁴

But the press at the time, would never accept such an accusation, and would even loan articles from the Free Greek Radio, which declared that there had never been any help from the Albanian side, and that the victories were achieved without the Albanian help.⁴⁵ In another article was published the confutation of the idea that the Albanian state was not using Chams as it was being accused to throwing them into the Greek communist side.⁴⁶ However, facts from Albania Nowadays, show the contrary. Since 1947, General Markos, leader of the Greek Communists, had requested Enver Hoxha to send him the Chams that were staying as immigrants in Albania because of the Greek Civil War, to help him in attacks.⁴⁷ This was accepted from the regime of the time, as in 1948 the recruitment of the Chams started.⁴⁸ However, Chams disappointed from the Greeks, and I think as well as from the Albanian communism which was betraying them by forcing them into the Greek communism, were not willing to be part of the communist Greek Democratic Army.

The important thing to say is that the Greek communists used the Albanian border and the supply from there as a strategic point. It took great importance, especially when the support from Yugoslavia decreased.⁴⁹ It was often used to move within Albania, to supply with material, or as a rest zone, and there were several reports for this fact. The General Marko was thought to have his headquarters in Albania, and he had also declared the Free Greek Government by the end of 1947, close to the Albanian border.⁵⁰ The help that Albania was giving to Greece, surprised the Americans, and was presented as a problem in the discussions of Greek issues into the British Parliament.⁵¹ Meanwhile, since mid-August, general Van Fleet, who was the commander of Greek National Army, stated that from Prespa zone, nearly third of the army had fled through the Albanian territory.⁵² That is why any propaganda published in the Albanian press, was not based on facts. The bad thing was that sources for the contrary, that Albanian Communist State helped the Greek communists, were a lot and from several sources. Lately, they were even published in the history books of the Albanian historians.

During the middle of 1949, when the accusation to Albania helping communists had reached the highest peak, the Greeks seek from UNO, on 25 June,⁵³ through General Pangallos, so that they intervene in Albania. They were based on an article of the UN Organization Charter, where every state is allowed to be protected from a threatening state. At this time, Albania was accused of having broken UN organization rules, by shooting down a UN airplane, of UNSCOB mission, that was passing close to the Albanian territory. However, the Albanian state did not accept this, and called it severe defamation towards the Albanian state.⁵⁴ The article was published in all the newspapers that circulated into the country. But the fact of Albania intervening and breaking laws of UN, was expressed in high institutions as well, or western states, by declaring that the interference of Albania and Bulgaria, was a very severe action against UN.⁵⁵

But despite the accusations, from our part, that the western countries were those who pushed Greece to intervene in our country, that it was Greece who urged the attacks against us, it was actually quite the opposite. Britain as well as USA had wanted to have a closeness of Greece with its neighboring countries, especially Albania. The main scope was stability in the Balkans. Australia, which was part of the British politics, had declared itself willing that on 5 November 1948⁵⁶ to hold a meeting in Paris, between Greece and its neighboring countries with the purpose of reconciliation. At the same time, Britain itself, had set as a condition the restart of the relations between Great Britain and Albania, after a resettlement of friendly relations between Greece and Albania,⁵⁷ at a time when the relations were broken because of the Incident in Corfu Channel, where British destroyers were drowned, in the Albanian waters.

However, none of these happened, the Albanian communist state, remained loyal to the idea that communism should triumph in Greece, and it didn’t think at all the profits that the Albanians would have if it distanced itself from this ideology.

Another important problem that is worth to be looked into is the foreign politics aspect of the Greek civil war, and the Albanian press relation with it. Even here, there are some categories of the Albanian press point of view. If the relations with Britain were not difficult to be understood, the same importance had the relation with the French, within this war. French belonged to the western democratic wing, but also had communist parties inside, with a strong influence in the French politics. At the beginning of 1949, a delegation of the French communist party had visited the zone of the Free Greece that was kept under Communists rule. This fact was presented as a triumph of Greek communism, which now was visited from a sister party, from the west.⁵⁸ This meant that the support was now not only from the eastern countries, but from powerful organizations or parties from the west.

Apparently, western communism, initiated with a mission from the French state, had called for truce, the creation of a government where all the parties would participate, and the exclusion of all the individuals that were pro an extremely harsh politics. This came like a bomb for the Albanian propaganda, which two weeks later, in a second article, criticized the French communist party as having fallen into revisionism.⁵⁹ In fact, France was trying to play the role of the intermediate, without holding the side of any of the parties but further aggravating the relations by doing so. On February 21 1949, the Greek Foreign Affairs Minister, Kalderis, had invited all the countries of the European Mediterranean, among them France, to create an alliance for the protection of Europe, but none of them had accepted.⁶⁰ It had now taken the intermediate role to stop as much as possible the Albanian state from helping the Greek communists, if this role was not done appropriately from the Soviet Union.⁶¹

In the foreign politics, in the propaganda of the Albanian press, the Soviet Union was the idol and taboo. It was the only place where all the popular democratic places, communist states took an example. Albania, not only did not make an exception, but at the same time, it was the satellite country, most obedient of the Soviet Union. In the articles published in the Albanian press, it is displayed as the only good choice for Greece, is the one set from the Soviet Union, for free election in Greece and settlement of peace.⁶² This actually looked like the most cynic way, as it was completely clear what the Soviet Union meant with the expression “free elections”. Such an action was carried out in Netherlands, Poland and Czechoslovakia, during the 1948, where under the idea of “free elections” communism was imposed in these countries. An acceptance of such a condition, meant the same fate to Greece as well. This was known from the Albanian press as well, but was interested in such an imposition. The same thing happened to us as well, when according to the Albanian propaganda, the Soviet Union was our protector from Greece, especially during the attacks in the boundary during the August of 1949. It even took the courage in a soviet article to state that USA was behind Greece, in its attempts to invade Albania.⁶³ But which was the main interest that the Soviet Union saw in Albania? The Soviet Union, learning from history, was trying to use Albania like Italy, a trampoline to enter Greece through the Albanian land, especially after breaking relations with Yugoslavia.⁶⁴ However, with the decline of the Greek communism strength, and the end of the Greek Civil War, the interest of the Soviet Union for Albania, as well as the support for it, fell significantly.⁶⁵ Albania was the only satellite of Moscow, which remained faithful, in its naivety, but which was surrounded from opponents of the Soviet Union.⁶⁶

In the aspect of propaganda in the foreign politics, spread through the press for the events in Greece, a big space was covered from the attack that was done towards USA, as the cause of this situation. A big accusation falls upon the President Truman, who since 1948 kept the monarch-fascist army with high funds.⁶⁷ Likewise, America was seen as the main leader in place, the one who governed, the one who forced king Pavli of Glitsburg, to ask the Americans for help,⁶⁸ in many others it is shown as though it is the Americans who are suffering terrible losses but that are not declared. The truth was that losses were present, but we should keep in mind that the American help in Greece was very big, over 300 million dollars.⁶⁹ Thanks to this help, the major part of the Greece was holding up, the non-communist Greece. But which was the relation between USA, Greece and Albania? This is a relation based on documents, not press propaganda.

Regarding Greece, president Truman, in a report for Congress, admitted by the end of 1948, that a part of the Guerilla warriors, after the Gramoz operations fled to Albania. This postponed their liquidation period.⁷⁰ It was thought that the amount was more than 8 thousand Antara, nearly the third of what were located in Bulgaria.⁷¹ For this reason, USA allowed the use of Napalms, from the Greek army in the Gramoz area, despite the consequences, still felt nowadays there.⁷² This was more an attempt to stop the Antara from crossing the Albanian border, rather than retaliating against the Albanians.

Facts and documents showed how much USA supported Albania. USA had always called for a retreat of the Albanians from helping the Greek communism. In exchange, it had promised the integration of Albania as a full member of the UN.⁷³ However, this never happened. A big step backwards for our country and a big loss for the Albanians, who even without this war, were in extreme poverty.

None of them supported Greece, when it sought the annexation of Vorio Epirus.⁷⁴ It had declared that we do not want to add sufferings to the Albanians, more than those that the communist regime is causing, we seemly wouldn’t recognize this regime.⁷⁵

Despite all the facts given, the press and documented ones, we can understand something very important: the Albanian Communist State, was distanced a lot from the national realism, a lot more than the political groupings in Greece. This made Albania blind with its internal problems and thus join the communist ideology, almost challenging the Stalinist one. This policy destroyed the country, and was the first step towards the isolation of the country, not just from Europe, but from the entire Balkans. The Albanian press, the most important and dangerous weapon, was not aimed outside, but inside the country. The press of a small country did not have a big impact outside, but the inside one was huge. The press shows us that since this war, and the following four decades, our country, did not have an iron fence separating us from the West, but a bunker above its head, isolating it from West as well as East.

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