Greece’s Presidential Guards marched to the Acropolis yesterday, Saturday 12th of October 2019, to commemorate the 75 years that have passed since the liberation of Athens.
The Acropolis was filled with Evzones who stood proud as Greece’s flag was raised to mark the 75th anniversary since the Nazis’s took down the swastika flag from the Acropolis and the German troops left the capital city after three and a half painful years of occupation. On this day in 1944, Athenians celebrated their liberation and yesterday, the city commemorated this historic anniversary with a day filled with special events.
Deputy Prime Minister Panagiotis Pikrammenos, National Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos and Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis the special ceremony at the Parthenon.
The event was addressed by the government’s vice president, Panagiotis Pikrammenos, who spoke about the historic significance of the anniversary and the struggles of the Athenian and Greek people against fascism and Nazism.
This was followed by a speech by Mayor Bakoyannis, who said, “Above all, we must not forget. We must not forget what happened then and afterwards. We must keep in our memory the parts of our history that wanted us to become divided, separated and to turn on ourselves…we forgot the common enemy. Fascism, intolerance, racism and all that stems from fascism,” he said, noting that this enemy was “still alive” throughout the world.
“It may not conquer countries but it invades societies, corrupts souls and governs people. This is a daily, constant battle,” he added, fought with the weapons of justice, democracy, meritocracy and respect for people and civilisation,” said the Mayor.
