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Sure November 29, 1964 thousands of people gathered in Gorgopotamos to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the blasting of the bridge of the same name, which was one of the main resistance actions of the Second World War. It is there that the evil happened …
C & # 39; was November 25, 1942 when the united resistance forces of his EDES Napoleon Zerva and ELAS from Aris Velouchiotis with the cooperation of British agents, the Gorgopotamos railway bridge was destroyed. The company brought together 86 ELAS guerrillas, 52 EDES commandos and 14 English commandos, while the bridge defended the guard of one hundred Italian soldiers and five Germans endowed with heavy weaponry. The operation of the Gorgopotamos Bridge is one of the most important acts of resistance in occupied Europe during the Second World War.
November 29, 1964 Thousands of people gathered in Gorgopotamos to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the explosion of the bridge of the same name, one of the most significant resistance actions of World War II. It was the first time that a celebration was being organized by the official Greek state.
In the government, there was the union of the center with Prime Minister George Papandreou. The political climate was heavy with the resignation of Deputy Minister of Coordination Andreas Papandreou a few days earlier. The pro-government newspaper "Eleftheria", adjacent to the Minister of Finance, Costas Mitsotakis, accused him of yielding to charitable projects for the benefit of his friendly people ("Scandalos Skiadares") . its policy of honesty. "
The Gorgopotamos ceremony went off smoothly, to the point that many people started demonstrating because the resistance groups were not allowed to lay wreaths. Subsequently, the crowd, mainly from the left, condemned the government delegation under the leadership of Minister of National Defense Michalis Papakonstantinou. There was a pandemonium, stopping the ceremony and leaving the officials.
C & # 39; was 1h22 pmwhen a powerful explosion was heard among the crowd, causing panic and death. Someone had pushed an antipersonnel mine, so 13 people lose their lives (Georgios Giannakoulis, Nikolaos Dasopoulos, Konstantinos Kaniouras, Christos Kestinis, Konstantinos Lembessis, Kiki Liakopoulou, Apostolos Polymeros, and above from 45 to be injured.
At first, confusion was created and part of the crowd felt like being shot. They turned savagely against the men of the gendarmerie, thinking they were shot. Finally, she triumphed wisely and avoided the worst.
The tragic incident was immediately attributed by the left to a far-right sabotage or to a company run by US services. In the days that followed, he had a lot of tension. The official conclusions of the subsequent investigations included the version of the accident of an old mine that had been installed there in 1947 and which had not been recovered ten years later during the cleaning of the area. The result was questioned by the left, who preferred to lower the tones so as not to aggravate the situation.
Of the police episodes that followed the blast, 18 people were arrested, including General Avgeropoulos of ELAS and General Kosinas of EDES. Several of the defendants were detained until the beginning of the trial which opened in Lamia on May 26, 1965. The court issued their verdict on June 17 and sentenced them to three years' imprisonment. imprisonment and six acquittals. The convicted person appealed and was released.
SOURCES:
Sansimera.gr
ELEFTHERIA Newspaper
Themis Marinou: "Mission Harling 1942: The firm of Gorgopotamos", published by Papazisis
Chris Woodhauze: The bone of contention, published
Eddie Mayers: The Greek complication, ed
Yannis Rangou, Sleep – Case "Gorgopotamos 1964", Publications "Inside"
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