Unwanted Legacies: Greece and the Great War

Abstract

Why has the Great War legacy been eradicated from Greek collective memory? Talking about this war was counterproductive. For the royal regime, the national schism of1915 was a bitter recollection. Exploiting it was unwise for political parties and unprofitable for current diplomacy. The dubious impact of the First World War on the Macedonian Question further complicated the narrative: war helped eradicate minorities but strengthened their determination for revenge. This was also true for the Asia Minor refugees who considerably influenced the politics of Greek memory. Essentially, the national schism was a serious episode of the Greek birth trauma, the struggle between two competing cultures, pro-Western and pro-Eastern. Reluctance to deal seriously with it has turned an important legacy into a cause of national embarrassment.