Treaty of Varkiza

The Treaty of Varkiza (also known as the Varkiza Pact or the Varkiza Peace Agreement) was signed in Varkiza (near Athens) on February 12, 1945 between the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) for EAM-ELAS. One of the aspects of the accord (Article IX) called for a plebiscite to be held within the year in order to resolve any problems with the Greek Constitution. This plebiscite would help establish elections and thus create a constituent assembly that would draft a new organic law. In another aspect of the treaty, both signatories agreed that the Allies send overseers in order to verify the validity of the elections.^[1] The accord also promised that members of the EAM-ELAS would be permitted to participate in political activities if they surrendered their weapons. Moreover, all civil and political liberties would be guaranteed along with the undertaking by the Greek government towards establishing a nonpolitical national army.

Disarmament

The Treaty specified that the EAM-ELAS would disarm. According to records, it surrendered, within the next few days or weeks, 100 artillery of various types, 81 heavy mortars, 138 light mortars, 419 machine guns, 1412 submachine guns, 713 automatic rifles, 48,973 rifles and pistols, 57 antitank rifles and 17 radios.^[2]

However, the real numbera are higher, as some refused to accept receipts for their weapons. Panagiotis Koumoukelis relates in 'All That Grief' that he refused a receipt for his gun and so he was subsequently tortured by members of the Security Battalions, as he could not produce his receipt.^[3]

Aftermath

Ultimately, the promises enshrined in the Treaty of Varkiza were not upheld. The main problem was that the treaty gave amnesty only for political reasons, but many actions by communists during the Dekemvriana were viewed as nonpolitical. The events that followed entailed widespread anticommunist killings of communists.^[4]

Even though the Treaty of Varkiza was not enforced, it was nevertheless a diplomatic attempt towards officially ending the civil war. The Communist Party of Greece remained legal during the Greek Civil War until 27 December 1947.

Negotiators

Name	Portfolio
Greek Government
Ioannis Sofianopoulos	Minister for Foreign Affairs (Greece)
Periklis Rallis	Ministry of the Interior (Greece)
Pafsanias Katsotas	Military Advisor of the Greek Government
Left-wing forces
Name	Portfolio
Georgios Siantos	General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece
Ilias Tsirimokos	General Secretary of the Socialist Party of Greece
Dimitrios Partsalidis	Secretary of the Central Committee of EAM
Stefanos Sarafis	Military Advisor of EAM

References

↑ Xydis, pp. 7-8. "After a truce on January 11, 1945, between the commander of the British forces and the Communist leader of ELAS (the military arm of EAM, the National Liberation Front), a "peace treaty" was finally concluded at Varkiza, near Athens, on February 12, 1945. It was signed on the one hand by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of a new, British-bolstered Greek government headed by a former general with an indubitably anti-dynastic and republican background, and the Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) for EAM-ELAS, on the other. Article IX of this agreement provided for a plebiscite within the year to decide upon the constitutional problem, with elections to follow for a constituent assembly that would draft a new organic law. Both parties, moreover, agreed to ask the Allied powers to send observers to these elections to verify the genuineness of the expression of the popular will."
↑ Stefanos Sarafis, ELAS: Greek Resistance Army (Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press, 1981), p. 525.
↑ Panagiotis Koumoukelis, 'Our Last Song', in Allan and Wendy Scarfe (eds.), All that Grief: Migrant Recollections of Greek Resistance to Fascism, 1941-1949 (Sydney: Hale & Irmonger, 1994), p. 165.
↑ Stavrianos and Panagopoulos, p. 156. The December hostilities were terminated with the signing of the Varkiza peace agreement on February 12, 1945. In return for surrendering its arms, the E.A.M. was promised freedom to engage in political activities, and the government guaranteed civil and political liberties and undertook to organize a nonpolitical national army. These commitments were not fulfilled, and the Varkiza pact was followed by a rightist reaction and widespread persecution of leftist elements.

Sources

Xydis, Stephen G. "Greece and the Yalta Declaration." American Slavic and East European Review. Vol. 20, No. 1, (February 1961), pp. 6–24.
Stavrianos, L. S. and Panagopoulos, E. P. "Present-Day Greece." The Journal of Modern History. Vol. 20, No. 2, (June 1948), pp. 149–158.
C.M. Woodhouse "The Apple of Discord: A Survey of Recent Greek Politics in their International Setting (London 1948)308-310

+ Richter, Heinz "British Intervention in Greece, From Varkiza to Civil War February 1945 to August 1946" (London 1986)

Greece during World War II

1940–41 Balkan Campaign	Occupation and Resistance		Greek government-in-exile

Greco-Italian War Battles Pindus Elaia–Kalamas Korytsa/Korcë Saranda Morava–Ivan Himara Klisura Pass Trebeshina Italian Spring Offensive Hill 731 Commanders Greece Ioannis Metaxas Alexander Papagos Charalambos Katsimitros Konstantinos Davakis Ioannis Pitsikas Dimitrios Papadopoulos Georgios Kosmas Italy Benito Mussolini Sebastiano Visconti Prasca Ubaldo Soddu Ugo Cavallero Carlo Geloso German invasion Battles Metaxas Line Vevi Kleisoura Pass Thermopylae Crete Commanders Greece Alexander Papagos Georgios Tsolakoglou British Empire & Commonwealth Henry Maitland Wilson Thomas Blamey Bernard Freyberg Germany Wilhelm List Kurt Student	Occupying powers Authorities/People Germany Günther Altenburg Hermann Neubacher Walter Schimana Alexander Löhr Hellmuth Felmy Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller Alexander Andrae Bruno Bräuer Max Merten Italy Angelico Carta Pellegrino Ghigi Carlo Geloso Piero Parini Bulgaria Andon Kalchev Atrocities Kondomari Kandanos Alikianos Doxato Kommeno Kalavryta Lyngiades Distomo Domenikon Drakeia Cephalonia Mesovouno Pyrgoi Viannos Kedros Kleisoura Haidari concentration camp 200 of Kaisariani Chortiatis The Holocaust in Greece Great Famine Collaborators People Georgios Tsolakoglou K. Logothetopoulos Ioannis Rallis Georgios Poulos George S. Mercouris Ioannis Plytzanopoulos Sotirios Gotzamanis Organizations Collaborationist government Security Battalions ESPO EEE Greek National Socialist Party Secessionists Vlach "Roman Legion" Ohrana Cham collaboration (Këshilla) Atrocities Paramythia Kaisariani Kokkinia	National Liberation Front (EAM) People Aris Velouchiotis Stefanos Sarafis Andreas Tzimas Georgios Siantos Alexandros Svolos Ilias Tsirimokos Markos Vafiades Organizations KKE SKE ELD ELAS ELAN EPON PEEA & National Council E.A. OPLA SNOF Operations Drama Uprising Ryka Mikro Chorio Gorgopotamos Bridge Fardykambos Sarantaporo Porta Pinerolo disarmament Steiri Agorelitsa Atrocities Feneos 5/42 dissolution Meligalas Non-EAM Resistance People Napoleon Zervas Georgios Kartalis Dimitrios Psarros Komninos Pyromaglou Kostas Perrikos Vasileios Sachinis Georgios Petrakis Organizations EDES EKKA YVE/PAO PEAN EOK E.S. MAVI Other Operations ESPO bombing Gorgopotamos Bridge Agia Kyriaki Milia Skala Paramythias Xirovouni Menina Dodona Atrocities Expulsion of Cham Albanians British Mission in Greece (SOE) People Eddie Myers Chris Woodhouse Patrick Leigh Fermor Bill Stanley Moss Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz Operations Operation "Albumen" Gorgopotamos Bridge Operation "Animals" Asopos Bridge Kidnap of Heinrich Kreipe Damasta sabotage	Events El Alamein Dodecanese Campaign April 1944 mutiny Battle of Rimini People King George II Emmanouil Tsouderos Sofoklis Venizelos Panagiotis Kanellopoulos Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos Pafsanias Katsotas Notable units 3rd Mountain Brigade Sacred Band Vasilissa Olga Adrias Katsonis Papanikolis 13th Squadron 335th Squadron 336th Squadron Toward the Civil War Events National Bands Agreement Plaka agreement Lebanon conference Caserta agreement Percentages agreement Dekemvriana Treaty of Varkiza People Georgios Papandreou Ronald Scobie Archbishop Damaskinos Georgios Grivas Angelos Evert Nikos Zachariadis

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