The impact of destalinisation on the reading of the 1940s: The case of the Greek Communist Party

Twentieth Century Communism - ISSN 1758-6437
Volume 2025 Number 28

The impact of destalinisation on the reading of the 1940s: The case of the Greek Communist Party
Anastasia Koukouna pages 101‑128

Abstract

This article explores the impact of destalinisation on the Greek Communist Party (KKE), and on the party’s interpretation of the pivotal events of the 1940s, particularly the Resistance and the Civil War. Destalinisation, culminating in the removal of KKE general secretary Nikos Zachariadis in 1956, prompted a reassessment of the party’s past but also created significant silences, particularly concerning the Civil War. While the KKE publicly distanced itself from the narrative of the Civil War, framing it as a strategic misstep, it also sought to elevate the memory of the Resistance as a unifying national struggle. However, the article argues that the KKE’s reconfiguration of history was not solely a consequence of external Soviet pressures but was also an internal necessity for the political survival of the left in Greece, where political repression persisted after the Civil War.

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To cite this article
Anastasia Koukouna (2025) The impact of destalinisation on the reading of the 1940s: The case of the Greek Communist Party, Twentieth Century Communism, 2025(28), 101-128

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