Hearted Youtube comments on Large Man Abroad (@LargeManAbroad) channel.
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FAMOUS QUOTES ABOUT THE GREEKS IN WWII:
Adolf Hitler:
"For the sake of historical truth I must verify that only the Greeks, of all the adversaries who confronted us, fought with bold courage and highest disregard of death.. " (From speech he delivered to Reichstag on 4 May 1941)
Winston Churchill:
"The word heroism I am afraid does not render the least of those acts of self-sacrifice of the Greeks, which were the defining factor in the victorious outcome of the common struggle of the nations, during WWII, for the human freedom and dignity. If it were not for the bravery of the Greeks and their courage, the outcome of WWII would be undetermined." (Paraphrased from one of his speeches to the British Parliament on 24 April 1941)
"Until now we used to say that the Greeks fight like heroes. Now we shall say: The heroes fight like Greeks." (From a speech he delivered from the BBC in the first days of the Greco-Italian war)
Joseph Vissarionovich Tzougasvili Stalin:
"I am sorry because I am getting old and I shall not live long to thank the Greek People, whose resistance decided WWII." (From a speech of his broadcast by the Moscow radio station on 31 January 1943 after the victory of Stalingrad and the capitulation of marshal Paulus)
Charles de Gaul:
"I am unable to give the proper breadth of gratitude I feel for the heroic resistance of the People and the leaders of Greece." (From a speech of his to the French Parliament after the end of WWII)
Maurice Schumann Minister of the exterior of France 1969-1973, member of the French Academy 1974:
"Greece is the symbol of the tortured, bloodied but live Europe.. Never a defeat was so honorable for those who suffered it." (From a message of his he addressed from the BBC of London to the enslaved peoples of Europe on 28 April 1941, the day Hitler occupied Athens after Greece fought a 6-month war)
Moscow, Radio Station to Greece:
"You fought unarmed and won, small against big. We owe you gratitude, because you gave us time to defend ourselves. As Russians and as people we thank you." (When Hitler attacked the U.S.S.R.)
Georgy Constantinovich Zhoucov 1896-1974 Marshal of the Soviet Army:
"If the Russian people managed to raise resistance at the doors of Moscow, to halt and reverse the German torrent, they owe it to the Greek People, who delayed the German divisions during the time they could bring us to our knees." (Quote from his memoirs on WWII)
Benito Mussolini:
"The war with Greece proved that nothing is firm in the military and that surprises always await us." (From speech he delivered on 10/5/1941)
Sir Robert Antony Eden, Minister of War and the Exterior of Britain 1940-1945, Prime Minister of Britain 1955-1957:
"Regardless of what the future historians shall say, what we can say now, is that Greece gave Mussolini an unforgettable lesson, that she was the motive for the revolution in Yugoslavia, that she held the Germans in the mainland and in Crete for six weeks, that she upset the chronological order of all German High Command's plans and thus brought a general reversal of the entire course of the war and we won." (Paraphrased from a speech of his to the British parliament on 24/09/1942)
Sir Harold Leofric George Alexander, British Marshal during WWII:
"It would not be an exaggeration to say that Greece upset the plans of Germany in their entirety forcing her to postpone the attack on Russia for six weeks. We wonder what would have been Soviet Union's position without Greece." (Paraphrased from a speech of his to the British parliament on 28 October 1941)
George VI, King of Great Britain 1936-1952:
"The magnificent struggle of Greece, was the first big turn of WWII" (Paraphrased from a speech of his to the parliament in May 1945)
Franklin Roosevelt, President of the United States of America:
"On the 28th of October 1940 Greece was given a deadline of three hours to decide on war or peace but even if a three day or three week or three year were given, the response would have been the same. The Greeks taught dignity throughout the centuries. When the entire world had lost all hope, the Greek people dared to question the invincibility of the German monster raising against it the proud spirit of freedom."
(Paraphrased from speech he delivered on 10/6/1943)
"The heroic struggle of the Greek people... against Germany 's attack, after she so thunderously defeated the Italians in their attempt to invade the Greek soil, filled the hearts of the American people with enthusiasm and moved their compassion." (Paraphrased from a speech of his on 25/04/1941)
NOTES:
On 10 April 1941, after the capitulation to Germany, the northern forts of Greece surrender. The Germans express their admirations to Greek soldiers, declare that they were honored and proud to have as their adversary such an army and request that the Greek commandant inspect the German army in a demonstration of honor and recognition! The German flag is raised only after the complete withdrawal of the Greek army. A German officer of the air force declared to the commander of the Greek Eastern Macedonia division group, lieutenant general Dedes that the Greek army was the first army on which the stuka fighter planes did not cause panic. "Your soldiers" he said, "instead of fleeing frantically, as they did in France and Poland, were shooting at us from their positions."
The Greeks originally surrendered to the Germans only (which makes sense). Mussolini learned about it and got pissed, demanding that the Greek Army surrender to the Italians as well. He ordered additional attacks against the Greeks who were then in the process of surrendering to Germany. The Greeks resisted, and defeated the Italians once more. After the embarrassment to Mussolini, Hitler relented and had General Dietrich convince General Georgios Tsolakoglou to include Italy as well in the surrender.
And here's a very old quote from ancient times:
AESCHYLUS: "BECAUSE ONLY WE (THE GREEKS), CONTRARY TO THE BARBARIANS, NEVER COUNT THE ENEMY IN BATTLE"
Here's a little history lesson on the Greeks in WWII. The Greeks resisted longer than any other country before being occupied by the Nazis.
DURATION OF RESISTANCE (in days):
Greece 219
Norway 61
France 43 (The superpower at the time)
Poland 30
Belgium 18
Holland 4
Yugoslavia 3
Denmark 0 (The Danes surrendered to Hitler's motorcyclist who was conveying Hitler's request to the Danish king for the crossing of the Nazi armies. The
Danish king indicating submission surrendered his crown to the motorcyclist)
Czechoslovakia 0
Luxenburg 0
TOTAL GREEK CASUALTIES IN WWII BY COUNTRY:
Albanians killed 1,165 Greeks
Italians killed 8,000 Greeks
Bulgarians killed 25,000 Greeks
Germans killed 50,000 Greeks
TOTAL LOSES IN POPULATION PERCENTAGES:
Greece 10%
Soviet Union 2.8%
Holland 2.2%
France 2% (The superpower at the time)
Poland 1.8%
Yugoslavia 1.7%
Belgium 1.5%
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Thank you for your kind words, you are very welcome and I hope you enjoy your stay in Greece. It is true what you say that the Greeks are proud of themselves and that, not without reason. They carry a great culture. They walk on the ground where Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Leonidas, Alexander the Great and so many others walked... Moreover, for hundreds of years until today, they are threatened by neighboring peoples who want to seize their homeland. They were once conquered, but managed to break free. And because of their love for freedom, their struggles went down in history.. That's why they are proud.. Because they never hesitated for a country so small in size to mess with empires...
Thank you again.
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Nobody stole any food from anyone. The recipes were of the land.
Which, sure, used to be originally Greek/Armenian/Kurdish, now Turkish.
That's why all the different nationalities that were once part of the Persian, Macedonian, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman empires share so many dishes.
But because the last to put their names on the dishes were the Ottomans, every turk thinks they are Turkish.
When historically, the Turks were even being made fun by scholars as "having no culture other than archery and meat jerky"
But i preffer the Turkish culture surrounding bread.
It should be just a vessel for something meaty and greasy.
Who cares about bakeries! :P
As for baklava, and other syrup/phyllo deserts, you should try the "Lebanese style".
More crunchy, less sweet. More perfect.
Ah yes, Ataturk. Mustafa Kemal, as is his name.
Progressive by turkish standards, a true hero for them.
A monster for the original inhabitants of the conquered lands which he desperately wanted to "turn turkish", as in, genocides and pogroms.
I still cannot comprehend how one can be so patriotic, when everything around them shows that this land is someone else's homeland for millennia, and all you did was put minarets on stuff and called it yours.
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America stands for work at any cost to your health, to hobbies, to fun, and to family. Work produces taxes, consumers, insurers, and happy bankers. Without time to think, reflect, and plan, it’s difficult to see beyond the “free cheese” and know that one is in a big trap. I left three decades ago, and firstly it isn’t easy, so don’t ever convince yourself that it will be. But, in time you’ll be happy that you didn’t stay when you intuitively knew that there’s something wrong in our country and the few who are benefiting from it do not live in your neighborhood — they don’t even live in the upper-middle class neighborhood. Thirty-five years ago 250,000 Americans were leaving our for other countries — this gave me strength to know that I wasn’t alone. Today, this figure must be near 600,000 per year. America has out-priced Americans from our own country. And, it is depressing to drive through neighborhoods where no one sees people because they’re all working or resting from work and who have zero community with one another. As members of a social species, this is absolutely clinically way off. Finally, consider how far down the road the strangeness in our country has gone for it to cause some its citizens to get up and leave everyone they know and the only place that they have known. This isn’t typical of our species is we bond to people and places alike. However, when the water in the pot we’re sitting in continues to get hotter, it’s our survival instincts that are pushing us out of the pot. Think about that for a moment — that it’s an existential matter as opposed to a casual off-the-wall thought.
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