Andreas Tzimas | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1909-09-01)1 September 1909 |
| Died | 1 December 1972(1972-12-01) (aged 63) |
| Other names | Vasilis Samariniotis (nom de guerre) |
| Political party | Communist Party of Greece |
Andreas Tzimas (Greek:Ανδρέας Τζήμας; 1 September 1909[1] – 1 December 1972), known also under hisWorld War II-eranom de guerre ofVasilis Samariniotis (Βασίλης Σαμαρινιώτης), was a leadingGreekCommunist politician, best known as one of the leadingtriumvirate of theGreek People's Liberation Army during theAxis occupation of Greece. After the war, he fell into disfavour and died in obscurity in exile in Prague.[2][3]
Andreas Tzimas was anAromanian.[4][5][6] The eldest of four children, Tzimas was born to the family of Dimitrios Tzimas, an Aromanian jurist and lawyer fromSamarina.[citation needed] Andreas' mother originated from an Aromanian family fromMoscopole, in what is nowAlbania.[7] Born inKastoria, Tzimas spent his first years inSkopje, where his father had moved, until theBalkan Wars led the family to relocate once more to Kastoria, which now had passed from theOttoman Empire to theKingdom of Greece. Despite his father's conservative and royalist tendencies—he even served briefly as an MP withIoannis Metaxas'Freethinkers' Party in 1926–28—the young Andreas swiftly turned to the nascentCommunist Party of Greece (KKE), leading to his expulsion from his law studies in theUniversity of Athens in 1929. He returned to his home town of Kastoria, and performed his military service in 1930. Although as the eldest in a family of four sons he was slated for only four months service, eventually he remained in the army for ten, having "earned" six months from disciplinary punishments due to his political alignment.[citation needed]
In 1931 he was arrested under theidionymon law, and spent one and a half years at the fearedHeptapyrgion prison and a year in internal exile onGavdos (until February 1934). There he met among others Thanasis Klaras, the futureAris Velouchiotis.[8]
In 1934 he was sent toMoscow for higher studies.[7] Following his return he was active in the party organization inAthens, until elected as an MP in theJanuary 1936 election. His father had died a few days earlier. Following the establishment of the dictatorial and fanatically anti-communist4th of August Regime under Ioannis Metaxas in 1936, the entire Communist Party went underground. Tzimas remained active in the region ofWestern Thrace, managing to remain at large until his arrest in April 1939. He was imprisoned in theAkronauplia prison, where he remained until after theGerman invasion of Greece.
He was released by the new German authorities on 1 July 1941 due to the intervention of the Bulgarian government, which sought the release of any prisoners ofSlavic Macedonian descent, who declared to be of Bulgarian origin. Although not a Slavic Macedonian himself, Tzimas spoke the language, and managed to be released as well (along with a few others like him).[9] With so many leading members imprisoned, Tzimas rapidly advanced in the hierarchy of the newly reconstituted party: almost immediately he became aCentral Committee member, and in January 1942 he became an alternate member of the KKE's Politburo. From August 1941 until March 1942 he was first secretary of the prestigious Athens Party Organization (KOA), and played a major role in the establishment of theNational Liberation Front (EAM) in September 1941 and in KKE's decision to launch an armed guerrilla campaign, leading to the establishment of theGreek People's Liberation Army (ELAS).
While the KKE leadership clung to orthodox communist doctrine emphasizing the importance of the capital, Tzimas was the leading proponent of having members of KKE leadership move to the countryside, actively promote both the guerrilla campaign and the initiatives to establish "people's power" (laokratia) there.[10] On 2 May 1943, his proposals for the creation of an ELAS high command were adopted by KKE and EAM. From then on, along with the "chief captain" Aris Velouchiotis and the senior military commander,Stefanos Sarafis, Tzimas formed the leading triumvirate of ELAS, with thenom de guerre of "Vasilis Samariniotis" (after his father's home town).[11][12] He favoured close co-operation withTito'sYugoslav Partisans, even supporting the establishment of a common Balkan partisan headquarters, without success.[7] In October 1943 he was sent as part of the first EAM delegation toCairo for talks with the British and the royalGreek government in exile, and after December 1943 served as ELAS' liaison with Tito. In the April 1944 elections held across "Free Greece", he was elected as a representative of the "National Council", the legislative assembly established by EAM.
Despite his distinguished role in theGreek Resistance, after liberation he fell into disfavour with the party establishment: his failure to be elected to the Central Committee in 1945 was followed by his arrest and exile toIkaria. Although he escaped in 1947 and joined the fight of the KKE-backedDemocratic Army of Greece in the ongoingGreek Civil War, he remained on the sidelines. After the KKE's defeat in the civil war, he and his family went toHungary, and then toCzechoslovakia, where he died in obscurity in 1972.
Tzimas spokeGreek,Aromanian,Bulgarian andSerbo-Croatian.[7]
Thus in 1944, the president of the temporary Committee for National Liberation, Alexandros Svolos, the military head of ELAS, Stefanos Sarafis, as well as the political head of EAM, Andreas Tzimas, were all Aromanians.
However, historically the members of this 'minority' have acted as the backbone of Hellenism: [...] such as Alexandros Svolos and Andreas Tzimas.
