Evening star., 1942-08-16
Greeks, Undaunted by Axis,
Resolved on Final Victory
Starvation Is Widespread and Executions Man!
But Fires of independence Burn Bright, as
By Andre MichaIoboaios,
Greek Minister of Information.

14th of June. l27 people were shot by the
Germans in the Greek Island of Crete,
which was the scene of the last gall
liant stand made by the Greek and AL
lied forces against the Axis invaders in
May, l94l. At the head of group
OF men among those condemned stood
George Papalakis, a school teacher. To
those who were with him and who were
about to meet their death he said, Il
have spent my life teaching the chill
dren in my care to believe in freedom
and now that my hour is come l will
gladly die for it: long live Greece, long
live the King. God speed the Greek
forces fighting abroad" And as the
Nazi firing squad leveled their arms at
them these men all sang the Hymn to
Liberty" which is the Greek national
anthem.
The reason for which these ordinary
citizens of Crete died-among them the
Mayor of the small town of Heraklion
and his family, two leading lawyers, an
automobile tire salesman, several store
keepers, all good citizens of the usual
main street of any small town-or rather
the reason given by the Germans for
shooting them summarily without trial
was that they were aiding and abetting
the guerrilla bands which are success
fully operating In the highland fast
nesses of that rugged mountainous
island.
When one talks of total war one usual
ly refers to the kind of warfare which
the Germans have brought back into
the world out of the Middle Ages 1t
is warfare which does not confine itself
to the operations of armies in the field,
but which brings death and destruction
and pestilence and starvation and utter
misery wherever it is waged.
Nazi Warfare Merciless.
In total war as the Nazis understand
it there is no mercy and no respite for
any one, no distinction between soldier
and civilian, between men and women,
between men Of fighting age and the old
and young. Bombs crash down into
cities. running the homes of the rich and
the poor alike, in many cases homes
which it may have taken a lifetime of
patient labor to build up. In this total
war invading hordes of ruthless and
savage soldiers have occupied nearly the
whole OF the continent of Europe,
despoiing the fair lands which they
have taken of all their products. That
Is Hitler's famous new order" of which
he is 30 proud-the horrible regime
which for the citizens OF this mage
nif1cent and prosperous land Of Amer
lea it would be hard to imagine even
through the distorted prism of the most
gruesome nightmare.
But I am not proposing to write now
about the new order" but q war OF
total sacrifice, the complete and abso-
lutte sacrifice OF a whole. country, OF a
whole nation in defense Of a principle
which it has held more sacred than life
for over three thousand years. And it
Is because the Greeks have truly valued
their freedom more than their individual
lives that the nation, although very
small, has thrived and prospered and
kept its honored place among the nations
Of the world.
Italian Envoy Flaunted.
When in October, 1910, the Italians,
who were supported by their German
master, presented an ultimatum to
Greece the refusal of which signified
invasion, the Premier, who in that one
moment truly represented the will of
the whole Greek people, flung a con-
temptuous mo" in the face OF the Italian
envoy.