Markos Vafiadis - Resistance and Civil War

Resistance and Civil War

In May 1941, at the beginning of the Nazi German occupation of Greece, he, along with other communist prisoners, was allowed to leave Gavdos and began what was to become the original underground work against the German occupation, initially in Crete, later in Athens, Thessaloniki and Macedonia. This was known as a pivitoal milestone in Greek history, as the country and its boundaries were changed to what is now known as modern Greece. In 1942, he was elected into the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece and was named supervisor of the Macedonia wing of the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS). In May 1944, he was elected as a representative of Thessaloniki to the national congress that took place at the village of Koryschades in Evrytania, but was unable to attend. In October 1944, after the withdrawal of the German army, he entered in Thessaloniki with his men.

In November 1944, he disagreed with Aris Velouchiotis, who wanted ELAS to prepare to fight the British. During the December fighting in Athens, the Macedonian wing of the ELAS didn't fight against the British troops, concerned primarily of the northern-most residents. In February 1946, Markos Vafiadis again disagreed with Nikolaos Zachariadis, the general secretary of KKE, who wanted to resume fighting. Once again, Vafiadis, abstained from using force to influence the region and resorted to diplomatic measures.

However, in July 1946, Zachariadis appointed him as leader of the communist guerrilla formations. In October 1946, when the General Command of the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE) was founded, Vafiadis assumed its leadership, and in December 1947 he was appointed Prime Minister and War Minister of the Provisional Democratic Government.

During the last stages of the Civil War his disagreement with Zachariadis on issues of military doctrine lead to his removal from leadership (August 1948) and later from all offices (January 1949). In October 1950, he was ousted from the Communist Party, while he was in exile in the Soviet Union, where he had fled after the breakup of the DSE.