Evening star., 1941-04-26
Athens Still Fights
SavageIy Against
Nazi Air Attacks
Greeks, Believing Honor
Unsmirehed, Taking
Defeat CoImIy
By GEORGE WELLER,


ATHENS, April 26.-With the
German army almost upon her
threshold, Athens is still replying
savagely to every attack of the in
vaders. German raiders, still con-
centrating upon the waterfront
around Piraeus and the extremities
of the African peninsula, came over
early this morning, loosing bombs so
heavy they made the capitals soil
tremble
But Athens, although called the
Paris of the Balkans, is fighting
back harder than Paris ever fought.
An air raid warden, visible upon the
rooftop outside the writer's window,
hearing the first stamping sound of
the bombs, leaped from the sirens
button with the same alacrity as
ever and then stood peering toward
the smoky pail over the Piraeus
docks with the same intense alert
ness as when the Germans were
operating from Bulgaria.
A German raider crossed the low
ceilinged sky, bracketed with black
puffs of anti-aircraft fire, and dis
appeared over Hymettos, with smoke
like doubled fists in the sky behind
him.
Taking Defeat Calmly.
Although fearful faces sometimes
are seen upon the streets, the Greeks
are generally taking defeat with the
calmness derived from a feeling of
having their honor untouched. Per-
haps the Germans, when they arrive,
possibly at the beginning of next
week, will understand that this
little nation can echo fully the
claim of the Germans in the last
war that their army was never de-
feated.
1--WE can carry our heads high"
says the newspaper Eleftheron Vima.
I'VE have done our duty to the end
with every means we possess as a
nation and as a people. We are in
ferior to none. Our national philos-
ophy which, having held for CEN
turies, has become the moral phi
losophy of all peoples without excep-
ton, has taught us what counts is
not the result but the effort, not the
material victory but the moral vic
tory of having done what is required
by our national honor.
Now let come what may. Our
nation has remained faithful to her
self; she has honored her name and
stood by her history.
IF the world has something more
than material force and violence, If
moral laws continue to have value,
or if they are rediscovered some day
in the future, eternal Greece will
find her place again, yes, leading
place among nations truly worthy Of
being free"
Plane Servicing Stressed.
While the reasons why German
aviation obtained the domination of
Greek skies are listened to attentive
ly, when discussed over the London
radio, and the lack of Greek airports
is freely admitted, neutral observers
interested in the recovery of free
dom in Greece believe that it can
not be obtained unless planes of at
least the caliber of Hurricanes are
opposed to Germany's Messer-
schmitts, Junkers and Dorniers.
In sending American help to Eng
land for eventual canalization to the
Near East, it is emphasized that
carefully organized American meth
ods of ground training and ma
teriel upkeep should be introduced
even before the plane shipments.
The chief lesson drawn by tech
nically neutral, but definitely in
terested, air experts is that Amer
ican methods of servicing planes,
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