The role of the “Justice for Greece Committee” for the American involvement in Greece after World War II
Part of : Balkan studies : biannual publication of the Institute for Balkan Studies ; Vol.38, No.1, 1997, pages 159-196
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159-196
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Among the numerous political action groups that were organized duringthe immediate post-War era, one was the “Justice for Greece Committee”.This initiative of the organized American citizens of Greek descent sought tofocus the attention of the American public and government upon the variousproblems in Greece associated with the ending of the Second World War. Themain platform of this Committee involved the economic reconstruction of wardevastedGreece and the annexation of such Greek-speaking areas as theDodecanese Islands (then in possession of Italy), and Northern Epirus (thesouthern part of Albania). Even though these disputed regions were currentlycontrolled by other European countries, the national aspirations of the unitedHellenic-American communities on both sides of the Atlantic could not bereadily dismissed by Congress, especially since the “Justice for Greece Committee”employed the U.S. media in its tactics to publicize its programmethrough both newspapers and radio. This campaign was designed to remind theAmerican public about the hardships which the Greek population had previouslysuffered under Fascism and was now experiencing from Communist aggressionalong its territorial frontiers, which faced imminent invasion by thearmed forces of the three neighboring states converted to Soviet Communism.To prevent the Communist domination of Greece, the “Justice for GreeceCommittee” frequently alluded to traditional American philhellenism whichhad originally inspired the American government to provide the Greeks with military and economic assistance during the Greek Revolution of the 1820s.Even though the United States did not conform with all the demands of the“Justice for Greece Committee», the Truman government extended in a formalplan of assistance known as “Truman Doctrine” enough support to haltCommunist aggression against Greece.
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American involvement in Greece after World War II
