Politics of Forgetting: New Zealand-Greek Wartime Relationship
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Politics of Forgetting: New Zealand-Greek Wartime Relationship Martyn Brown Bachelor of Arts Graduate Diploma Library Science Graduate Diploma Information Technology Post-Graduate Diploma Business Research Master of Arts (Research) A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2014 School of History Philosophy Religion and Classics Abstract In extant New Zealand literature and national public commemoration, the New Zealand experience of wartime Greece largely focuses on the Battle of Crete in May 1941 and, to a lesser extent, on the failed earlier mainland campaign. At a politico-military level, the ill-fated Greek venture and the loss of Crete hold centre stage in the discourse. In terms of commemoration, the Battle of Crete dominates as an iconic episode in the national history of New Zealand. As far as the Greeks are concerned, New Zealand elevates and embraces Greek civilians to the point where they overshadow the Greek military. The New Zealand drive to place the Battle of Crete as supporting its national self-imagining has been achieved, but what has been forgotten in the process? The wartime connection between the Pacific nation and Greece lasted for the remainder of the international conflict and was highly complex and sometimes violent. In occupied Greece and Crete, as well as in the Middle East, North Africa and Italy, New Zealand forces had to interact with a divided Greek nation that had been experiencing ongoing political turmoil and intermittent civil conflict. Individual New Zealanders found themselves acting as liaison officers with competing partisan groups. Greek military units with a history of mutiny and political intrigue were affiliated with the main New Zealand fighting force, the Second New Zealand Division. This complex relationship was compounded by a controversial British foreign policy towards Greece as well as by the emergence of the United Nations Organisation. There are a few published traces of these episodes and almost nothing recorded in commemoration endeavours about this wider experience. What options and constraints faced the New Zealand national leadership (military and civil) at the time? How did they navigate through such a complex relationship? What did they publicly promote, distort, conceal or secretly sacrifice during the events themselves, and what was altered in establishing an official memory? This thesis is therefore a study in the making of an official, “usable” memory that ensures a sanitised version of a publicly acknowledged “special relationship” between the Pacific and Mediterranean nations. And the axiom that the State conceals only that which is damaging to it is not the case regarding New Zealand's constructed war memory of its involvement in Greek matters. i Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my research higher degree candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly indicated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the General Award Rules of The University of Queensland, immediately made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. I acknowledge that copyright of all third-party material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate, I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis. ii Publications during candidature Brown, Martyn, “Investigating the Death of a Legend.” Journal of the Modern Greek Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 18 (2014) (Publication Pending). Brown, Martyn, "Political Context of John Mulgan's Greek Wartime Life and Death." Journal of New Zealand Studies, no. 10 (2011): 89-113. Publications included in this thesis No publications included. Contributions by others to the thesis No contributions by others. Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree None iii Acknowledgements Foremost, I would like to acknowledge my academic advisers, Associate Professor Andrew Bonnell and Professor Clive Moore; also the administrative staff of my School as well as the Graduate School. Mr. Richard Drummond provided additional editorial assistance in the later stages of the project. Besides research funding from the School of History Philosophy Religion and Classics and the Graduate School International Travel Award, I received financial assistance from the following - Hellenic New Zealand Congress, the Brisbane Lodge of the Australasian Hellenic Educational Progressive Association and the World Council of Hellenes Abroad – Oceania and Far East Region and Stavros Niarchos Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies. This generosity assisted with travel to Greece, United Kingdom, Canada and the U.S.A. My late parents, Henry and Pam, and my sister, Dawn, encouraged me throughout this project. Friends in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom assisted me in various ways with accommodation and other support. I would like to especially acknowledge the late Dr. Ray Goldstein for his early encouragement with my research. Finally, to all the archivists and librarians who stand with those who conduct historical research, my thanks. iv Keywords New Zealand, Greece, Memory Studies, Second World War, Official Histories Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classifications (ANZSRC) ANZSRC code: 210311 New Zealand History, 80% ANZSRC code: 210307 European History, 20% Fields of Research (FoR) Classification FoR code: 2103 Historical Studies, 100% v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract i List of Figures Tables & Charts vii Chapter One Introduction………………………………………. 1 Chapter Two Historical Context………………………………… 27 Chapter Three Giving Meaning to the Disasters of 1941………… 44 Chapter Four Martial Efforts after Crete-Marginalisation and Amplification…………………………………. 82 Chapter Five Humanitarianism and Retribution…………………131 Chapter Six Taking Sides……………………………………….172 Chapter Seven Conclusion…………………………………………225 Bibliography………………………………………………………………228 Appendices………………………………………………………….……..275 vi LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES & CHARTS Chapter 1 Figure 1.1: Howard Kippenberger, Head of the New Zealand Official War History Project. Table 1.1 Official Memory versus Analytical History. Chapter 2 Figure 2.1 Freyberg and one of his officers on Crete. Figure 2.2 New Zealand Prime Minister Peter Fraser. Chapter 3 Figure 3.1 Draft Map showing separate position of New Zealanders. Figure 3.2 Lieutenant General Bernard Freyberg, Commander of the New Zealand Army in the Mediterranean throughout the war, speaking at 1945 Crete Commemoration. Chapter 4 Figure 4.1 Freyberg and Greeks at the Greek National Day, March 1942. Figure 4.2 New Zealand instructor and Greek pupil. Figure 4.3 Freyberg greets the Third Greek Brigade in Italy. Figure 4.4 Greek and New Zealand soldiers mix at Rimini, 1944. Figure 4.5 Don Stott and other New Zealanders evading capture mainland Greece, June 1941. Figure 4.6 Shield of the Descendent Unit of the Third Greek Brigade. Chapter 5 Figure 5.1 Non-U.N.R.R.A. Funds (£NZ) Allocated to Aid Greece, 1940-1944. Figure 5.2 Screen shot from the government newsreel about the Food Ship. Figure 5.3 Edited press release on compensation to Greeks. Figure 5.4 One of the distributed Certificates of Appreciation. Figure 5.5 C.O.R.S.O. farewell. vii Table 5.1: Published Destination of New Zealand National Patriotic Fund Aid to Allied Nations. Table 5.2: Intended Distribution ports of New Zealand Food Shipment. Chapter 6 Figure 6.1 E.L.A.S. Female Partisans on their way to Athens. Figure 6.2 Escape routes of S.O.E. Personnel after fighting broke out in early December 1944. Figure 6.3 Two publications with the same title but vastly different views. viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED 2NZDIV Second New Zealand Division 2NZEF Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force C.O.R.S.O New Zealand Council of Organisations for Relief Service Overseas C.P.N.Z. Communist Party of New Zealand D.S.E. Democratic Army of Greece E.A.M. Ethniko Apeleftherotiko Metopo or National Liberation Front E.L.A.S. Ellinikós Laïkós Apeleftherotikós Stratós or National Liberation Army. E.D.E.S. Ethnikos Dimokratikos Ellinikos Syndesmos or National Republican League. E.O.K. Ethniki Organosis Kriti or National Organisation of Crete. I.D.E.A. Ieros Desmos Ellinon Axiomatikon or Sacred Bond of Nationalist Officers K.K.E. Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas or Communist Party of Greece. M.I.9 A British wartime escape organisation P.E.E.A. Politiki Epitropi Ethnikis Apeleftherosis or Political Committee of National Liberation R.S.A. Returned Services Association S.O.E. Special Operations Executive U.N.O. United Nations Organisation U.N.R.R.A. United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency ix CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION SITUATING THE THESIS This thesis examines the construction and use of an official memory of an often publicly expressed and celebrated “special relationship” between two nations, New Zealand and Greece. Its genesis is expressed as the battles on the Greek mainland and Island of Crete during early 1941. While two countries are involved, this study is predominantly mono-directional rather than comparative and is focussed on the Pacific nation.